Introduction to FME Workbench

Let's take a closer look at FME Workbench. If you are opening a workspace directly, you can start Workbench through the Windows start menu:

Major Components of FME Workbench

The FME Workbench user interface has multiple components:

Canvas

The FME Workbench canvas is where you define the translation. It is the primary window within Workbench:

By default the workspace reads from left to right; data source on the left, transformation tools in the centre, and data output on the right. Connections between each item represent the flow of data and may branch in different directions, merge together, or both.

Menu/Toolbar

The menu bar and toolbar contain many tools: for example, tools for navigating around the Workbench canvas, controlling administrative tasks, and adding or removing readers/writers:

Navigator

The Navigator window is a structured list of parameters that represent and control all of the components of a translation:

Transformer Gallery

The Transformer Gallery is a tool for the location and selection of FME transformation tools. The number of transformers varies depending on the version of FME and any optional custom transformers installed:

Translation Log

The Translation Log reports on translations and other actions. Information includes any warning or error messages, translation status, length of translation, and the number of features processed:

Parameter Editor Window

The Parameter Editor window is for editing parameters for objects on the canvas window:

...although each canvas object also has its own parameter window as well.

Visual Preview

Visual Preview is an embedded version of FME Data Inspector that displays features in a table or on a map. This window lets you track how your data is changing as you build your translation. Many of the features available in the stand-alone Data Inspector application are available in Visual Preview. We'll discuss it more in a later section.

Window Control

All windows in Workbench can be detached from their default position and deposited in a custom location. To do this simply click on the frame of the window and drag it into a new position.

If a window is dragged away from its current location, the window positioning tools will help you to snap it back to various parts of the screen.

You can snap a window to the edge or the screen, or split an existing window into two, depending on your own personal preferences.

If a window is dropped beside an existing window (or between two existing windows), then they will become stacked.

TIP

No need to scale back on canvas space. Press F11 to move lesser-used windows to one side and expand the canvas window to full size! The windows can also be undocked and moved to another monitor for even more space!