FME supports a number of readers/writers for the Esri SDE and Geodatabase formats. Which to use depends on the platform you are running on, and what your needs are.
Working with the Esri Geodatabase formats
This page attempts to clarify the various formats and versions which are available for working with your Esri Geodatabase (File or Enterprise) and FME. In addition, we have a Troubleshooting Guide available that can be a valuable resource for solving issues with your FME and Geodatabase translations.
Supported Versions
FME support will be available for an ArcGIS version for a full year after Esri has retired it. Esri has retired ArcGIS 10.1 as of January 1, 2018, and therefore FME 2019 will not support ArcGIS 10.1. Public documents that contain Esri Product Life Cycle information can be found at: Esri Product Life Cycles.
For more information on FME & retired Esri products, see: Compatibility for retired Esri software
Version of FME for my installed Esri ArcGIS software
This table provides an overview of which version of FME is required if you are working with a particular version of Esri ArcGIS.
| ArcGIS Product | FME Version | Comment |
| ArcGIS Pro 2.3.3 | FME 2018.1 or higher 64 bit only | |
ArcGIS Pro 2.2 | FME 2018.1 or higher 64 bit only | File Geodb Raster Fails to Read Mosaic Datasets |
| ArcGIS Pro 2.1 | FME 2016.1.3 or higher 64 bit only | |
| ArcGIS Pro 2.0 | FME 2016.1.3 or higher 64 bit only | |
| ArcGIS Pro 1.4 | FME 2016.1.3 or higher 64 bit only | |
| ArcGIS Pro 1.3 | FME 2016.1.1 or higher 64 bit only | |
| ArcGIS Pro 1.2 | FME 2015.1.2.1 or higher 64 bit only | |
| ArcGIS 10.7 | FME 2018.1 or higher | |
| ArcGIS 10.6.1 | FME 2017.1.1 or higher | |
| ArcGIS 10.6 | FME 2017.1.1 or higher | |
| ArcGIS 10.5.1 | FME 2016.1.3 or higher | |
| ArcGIS 10.5 | FME 2016.1.3 or higher | |
| ArcGIS 10.4.1 | FME 2016.0.1 or higher | |
| ArcGIS 10.4 | FME 2015.1.1 or higher | See Named Connections for Data Interoperability |
| ArcGIS 10.3 | FME 2014 SP5 or higher | |
| ArcGIS 10.2 | FME 2013 SP3 or higher |
Note: Additional information on version compatibility between client versions and geodatabase versions can be found on this ESRI Resource page: Client and geodatabase compatibility. In particular, please reference the links discussing "Compatibility between clients and geodatabases for your particular DBMS"
Requirements
The FME Esri Geodatabase formats requires ArcGIS software to be installed and licensed on the same machine as FME except for Esri Geodatabase (File Geodb Open API). See Esri Licensing for more details.
If you are using FME Server, please see Using FME Server with Esri Software. Note: The exception is the FME Format - Esri Geodatabase (File Geodatabase Open API). This does not require any Esri software to be installed or any additional Esri license.
Connecting
As of ArcGIS 10.1 the default way to connect to a 10.1 or higher Enterprise Geodatabase (ArcSDE) is by using a direct connection (two-tier connection). Direct connect can be used with the FME Format - Esri Geodatabase (ArcSDE Geodb) but requires a database client which matches the platform of the FME install. See here for more information.
As of FME 2015 Esri connection files (.sde files) are the only supported method of connecting to an Enterprise Geodatabase.
Esri Formats Supported by my FME Version
Note: If the Esri formats are greyed out in the format galley then additional troubleshooting information can be found here for Esri Geodatabase and here for Esri ArcSDE.
| Format | Required Safe Software Application | Required Esri Application | OS | Comments |
| Esri Geodatabase (Personal Geodb) | 32 bit FME | ArcGIS for Desktop | Windows only | |
Esri Geodatabase (File Geodb Open API) | 32 or 64 bit FME | none | 32 or 64 bit Windows, Linux and Mac | Limited Geodatabase functionality support |
| Esri Geodatabase (File Geodb) Esri Geodatabase (ArcSDE Geodb) | 32 bit FME | ArcGIS for Desktop | Windows only | |
| 64 bit FME | ArcGIS for Desktop and 64 bit Background Geoprocessing | Windows only | Cannot use 64 bit FME Desktop to extend ArcGIS for Desktop. | |
| 64 bit FME | ArcGIS Server | Windows only | ||
| 64 bit FME | ArcGIS Pro | Windows only | Supported with FME Desktop only at this time | |
| Esri Legacy ArcSDE | 32 bit FME | none | Windows only | Requires 32 bit client libraries. Deprecated as of 2019+, see here for more information. |
| 64 bit FME | none | Windows and Linux | Requires 64 bit client libraries. Deprecated as of 2019+, see here for more information. |
To learn more about the capabilities of each of the Esri formats supported by FME, see this Comparison of FME readers and writers for SDE and Geodatabase.
Version of FME equivalent to the Esri Data Interoperability Version
For information on FME and Esri Data Interoperability, see: Versions of FME that are Equivalent to the Esri Data Interoperability Extension
Version of FME that will access my Enterprise ArcSDE Geodatabase if I don't have ArcGIS installed
FME can connect to an ArcSDE database, without having ArcGIS installed, by using the FME formats Esri Legacy ArcSDE (SDE30) and Esri Legacy ArcSDE Raster described in this chart.
| ArcSDE Version | FME Version | Comment |
| ArcSDE 10.4 | FME 2015.1.1 or Higher | See Requirements below. |
| ArcSDE 10.3 | FME 2014 SP4 or higher | See Requirements below. |
| ArcSDE 10.2 | FME 2013 SP3 or higher | See Requirements below. |
| ArcSDE 10.1 | FME 2012 SP3 or higher | See Requirements below. |
Requirements
FME no longer installs the required libraries for reading and writing to ArcSDE (as of FME 2009). You should instead obtain these libraries from an Esri product to ensure compatibility between FME and your SDE database. See here for information on what is required.
Connecting
As of ArcGIS 10.1, the default way to connect to a 10.1 or higher Enterprise Geodatabase is by using a direct connection (two-tier connection). Direct connect can be used with the FME Formats Esri Legacy ArcSDE (SDE30) and Esri Legacy ArcSDE Raster but requires a database client which matches the platform of the FME install. Direct Connect is recommended for connecting to ArcSDE 10.1 or higher. See here for more information.
As of FME 2015, the connection parameters can be populated from a '.sde' connection file to make it easier to get the 'Instance' string for the direct connection correctly. This is supported only if a compatible version of ArcGIS is installed.
Esri Legacy ArcSDE (SDE30) Deprecation
As Esri has officially retired Esri Legacy ArcSDE, Safe Software is taking steps to phase out the format in FME. Beginning in FME 2018.1 (Build 18509+), we are implementing a warning message in the log for workspaces which contain Esri Legacy ArcSDE formats to raise awareness and encourage users to switch format.
The affected formats include:
- Esri Legacy ArcSDE (SDE30)
- Esri Legacy ArcSDE Raster (SDERaster)
- Esri Legacy ArcSDE Raster Catalog (SDERasterCatalog)
- Esri Legacy ArcSDE Raster Map (SDERasterMap)
For more information about please see the Esri Legacy ArcSDE (SDE30) Deprecation article.
Unable to read from the table/feature class 'PRO_TEXT'. If 'PRO_TEXT' contains a class extension, make sure it is registered on this computer
The scant documentation I can find from ESRI regarding Pro annotation being different than its predecessor is here:
https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/tool-reference/tool-errors-and-warnings/001001-010000/tool-errors-and-warnings-02126-02150-002145.htm
Do I need to use a different reader? Or is support for this format forthcoming?
If you are getting one of these errors below you might be missing a step in the setup process to get it to work with FME Server running under a different user account
Errors:
Unable to perform any licensing related tasks. This 64-bit version of FME requires 64-bit Background Geoprocessing, ArcGIS Pro or ArcGIS Server. Refer to this this article http://fme.ly/qua for more details
ArcObjects could not be initialized. ArcGIS required for the specified Python Compatibility 'Esri ArcGIS Pro 2.1/2.2/2.3 (Python 3.6)'
For those trying to use ArcGIS Pro 2.2.* with FME Server. There is an additional step necessary not found in any documentation I have seen. Unlike ArcMap or ArcEngine it was a machine license set by the Desktop Administrator, ArcGIS Pro is licensed on a per/user level. Here are the items you need to ensure to make it work.
- ArcGIS Pro needs to be installed with the option for all users to be able to use the application.
- In order to allow your account running FME Server Service to use the ESRI licenses you'll need to launch ArcGIS Pro and set the license level for that user. After this is set the errors mentioned above will go away.
Ensure these two options and it will allow FME Server and ArcGIS Pro to work together.
