A workspace is a file responsible for storing a translation definition.
Workspaces are the primary containers of translation components. At the top of the hierarchy they can contain any number of Readers, Writers, and feature types; or sometimes none at all!
A workspace can be created empty - i.e. the canvas is blank and each new component is added from scratch - or it can be created so that its initial state contains a number of other components.
Workspaces can be created using the commands on the File menu, or through shortcuts in the Start tab.
The Blank Workspace option simply empties the canvas and allows the user to construct all components manually. The Create and Generate options are ways to create a workspace containing some components.
Creating a workspace through the Generate options is a simple way to define a translation because it includes reader, writer and feature type components in the setup process.
The Create Workspace dialog provides options for generating a workspace, but also for creating one from a template installed either locally or in the FME Store.
Workspace parameters are those that relate to a workspace as a whole, and which have an effect on how the translation is performed. They apply to the current workspace only and may change between workspaces.
Workspace parameters are shown and set in the Navigator Window.
For ease-of-use, workspace parameters are divided into two sections: basic and advanced.
There are a number of basic workspace parameters.
The Writer Redirect parameter overrides the Writer defined in the workspace. It causes FME to send the translation output elsewhere and no data is written to the destination datasets. To write output again the user must remove the redirect by choosing the No Redirect setting.
The Writer Redirect options are:
- Redirect to FME Data Inspector: Output is sent directly to the FME Data Inspector.
- Redirect to FFS File: Output is sent to an FFS (FME Feature Store) file.
- Disable Output: Output is ignored and not used (similar to a NULL format writer).
######TIP The Redirect to FME Data Inspector command can also be found on the menu bar, under the Writers menu.
It‘s often desirable to pass a workspace to an FME user for them to run, but not to edit. A password-protected workspace cannot be opened for editing in Workbench without the password.
It can, however, still be run within the FME Universal Translator or from the command line.
Also, developers or consultants may want to pass on a workspace to an FME user without revealing the contents. Password protecting a workspace causes it to be encoded so that its contents cannot be read in a standard text editor.
The advanced workspace parameters are perhaps not as valuable in everyday use, but have great importance in specific scenarios. Some particularly important ones are:
Different GIS applications have slightly different algorithms for reprojecting data between different coordinate systems. To ensure that the data FME writes matches exactly to existing data, this parameter permits a user to use the reprojection engine from a different application.
A user with ArcGIS installed is choosing to use that package’s engine for reprojecting the spatial data.
These parameters deliver the ability to run a TCL or Python script before or after an FME translation.
Script parameters in the workspace settings dialog:
Potential uses of such scripts include:
- To check a database connection before running the translation
- To move data prior to or after the translation
- To write the translation results to a custom log or send them as e-mail to an administrator
- To run scripts from other applications; for example Esri ArcObjects Python scripts
Settings that provide information about a workspace, but have no effect on the translation- such as Workspace Name and Workspace Description - are found in the Workspace Properties section.
Workspace Properties are basically metadata fields that are useful in investigating the workspace's history. They appear in the Create Workspace dialog when saved as a template.