# Form Basics - Exercise 2

<table><thead><tr><th width="176">Exercise Details</th><th>Basic Workspace Creation</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Locality</strong></td><td>Melbourne, Australia</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Data</strong></td><td>Waste Collection (Esri Shapefile)</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Overall Goal</strong></td><td>Create a workspace to translate waste collection data in Shapefile format to GeoJSON (Geographic JavaScript Object Notation)</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Demonstrates</strong></td><td>Basic workspace creation with FME Workbench</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Start Workspace</strong></td><td><em>None</em></td></tr><tr><td><strong>End Workspace</strong></td><td>C:\FMETraining\Workspaces\FormBasics-Ex2-Complete.fmw</td></tr></tbody></table>

Congratulations! You have just landed a job as a technical analyst in the GIS department of your local city.

On your first day, you've been asked to do a simple file format translation.

We've outlined all of the actions you need to take, though FME's interface is so intuitive you should be able to carry out the exercise without the need for these step-by-step instructions.

***

{% stepper %}
{% step %}
**Start FME Workbench**

If it isn't open already, start FME Workbench by selecting it from the Windows start menu. You'll find it under Start > FME Form 2024.x > FME Workbench 2024.x

If Workbench is already open, click on the Start tab above the main canvas.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Select Generate Workspace**

Select File > Generate Workspace to begin with the Workspace Generation process.\
Alternatively, you can use the shortcut Ctrl+G:

<figure><img src="https://3765209747-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FCM1VHDSP1DZXo7JkxunP%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-6bb37478aaff5befa9e928d2af4de7f2f3889112%2Fform-basics_2.7.1.png?alt=media" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Define Translation**

The Generate Workspace tool opens up a dialog in which to define the translation to be carried out. Fill in the fields in this dialog as follows:

<table><thead><tr><th width="176">Parameter</th><th>Value</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Reader Format</strong></td><td>Esri Shapefile</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Reader Dataset</strong></td><td>C:\FMETraining\Data\Australia\WasteCollection\WasteCollection.shp</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Writer Format</strong></td><td>GeoJSON (Geographic JavaScript Object Notation)</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Writer Dataset</strong></td><td>C:\FMETraining\Output\WasteCollection.json</td></tr></tbody></table>

The dialog will look like this:

<figure><img src="https://3765209747-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FCM1VHDSP1DZXo7JkxunP%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-92e9a4c1831f7ecbd8d54e0a8b72787ee6af2a96%2F02_Ex2_02_Basic%20Workspace%20Creation.jpg?alt=media" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Remember, you can set a format by typing its name, by selecting it from the drop-down list, or by choosing 'More Formats' and selecting the format from the full table of formats. For now, ignore the Workflow Options and leave the default of 'Static Schema.'
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Generate and Examine Workspace**

Click OK to close the Generate Workspace dialog. A new workspace will be generated into the FME Workbench canvas. The list of attributes is exposed by clicking the arrow icon on each Zones object:

<figure><img src="https://3765209747-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FCM1VHDSP1DZXo7JkxunP%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-58ec9a5a5cf7f1af12513598c398515a1a301c73%2F02_Ex2_03_Basic%20Workspace%20Creation.jpg?alt=media" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Then, you can expand the rectangular object labelled Reader Feature Types to contain the exposed attribute list. This object is called a bookmark; we will discuss it more later in the course:

<figure><img src="https://3765209747-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FCM1VHDSP1DZXo7JkxunP%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-20a2483bb95277475be08c2006d41cb22d134e94%2F02_Ex2_04_Basic%20Workspace%20Creation.jpg?alt=media" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Run Workspace**

Run the workspace by clicking the run button on the toolbar, or by using Run > Run Workspace on the menu bar. The workspace runs and the log file reports a successful translation:

<figure><img src="https://3765209747-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FCM1VHDSP1DZXo7JkxunP%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-2f81bee999c1bd74857e38b87e2de40869bd5ff7%2F02_Ex2_05_Basic%20Workspace%20Creation.jpg?alt=media" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Locate Output**

Locate the destination data in Windows Explorer to prove that it's been written as expected (don't forget the Open Containing Folder button from Exercise 1). In the next section, we'll cover how to inspect the dataset visually to ensure that it is correct:

<figure><img src="https://3765209747-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FCM1VHDSP1DZXo7JkxunP%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-3d9cc28f95c556aa3c3e110f6c47ede154bab74a%2F02_Ex2_06_Basic%20Workspace%20Creation.jpg?alt=media" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Save Workspace**

Save the workspace. We'll be using it in a later exercise. Remember there is a toolbar save button, and on the menu, there is File > Save.

{% hint style="info" %}
**TIP**

*When a translation is run immediately without adjustment it's known as a "Quick Translation". Because FME is a 'semantic' translator, with an enhanced data model, the output from a quick translation is as close to the source data in structure and meaning as possible, given the capabilities of the destination format.*
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

***

{% hint style="success" %}
**CONGRATULATIONS**

*By completing this exercise, you have learned how to:*

* *Create an FME Workspace*
* *Run an FME Workspace*
  {% endhint %}