FME 2018.0 Betas are available, with the official release coming in March. There’s a lot to be excited about this release: workspace authoring more efficient, new formats & transformers and much more. Here are the top new features and enhancements:
Connect & Transform – More format support and transformation power
1. New Format Reader/Writers
- Apple Venue Format Reader & Writer
- Bentley i-Model Reader (V1)
- CALS (Continuous Acquisition and Life-Cycle Support) Raster Reader & Writer
- Esri Geodatabase Mosaic Dataset Writer (ArcSDE & File Geodatabase) –
- Esri Indexed 3D Scene Layer (I3S)
- GDAL Generic Raster Reader (read anything GDAL supports)
- 54 new GDAL-based Raster Formats
- GDAL VRT Raster Reader
- Google Cloud Spanner Reader & Writer
- HERE Venue Format Reader
- HYPACK Reader & Writer
- IDRISI Raster Reader & Writer
- LDAP (Active Directory) Reader
- Microsoft PowerPoint Writer
- Microsoft Word Writer
- PCD (Point Cloud Data) Reader & Writer
- PDF Reader (2D/Raster/Text)
- SOSI GML Reader & Writer
- Well Log ASCII Standard (WLAS) Reader
2. New Transformers
- 3DBufferer
- HDFSConnector (for moving files into and out of Hadoop)
- FeatureJoiner
- MSWordStyler
- PowerPointStyler
- ProjectWiseConnector
- S3Connector
- SalesforceConnector
- SurfaceDissolver
3. Indoor Mapping Formats
Connect to indoor mapping applications with added support for several indoor mapping formats, including Apple Venue Format (reader & writer), HERE Venue Format (reader), IBM TRIRIGA (transformers on FME Hub), and ArcGIS Indoors (templates on FME Hub).
Indoor map of Vancouver Airport, viewed in the FME Data Inspector.
4. PDF Reading
PDF is no longer where data goes to die. FME’s new PDF Reader means you can extract rasters, vector data, and text from PDF documents.
Left: PDF data viewed in the FME Data Inspector. Right: PDF data viewed in Adobe Reader. Not too shabby!
5. Create 3D Web Visualizations
Create 3D visualizations that anyone can view in a web browser, with new support for Esri I3S and glTF for Cesium (FME 2017).
Left: every building in NYC loaded as Cesium 3D Tiles. Right: with textures added, written to I3S and loaded in ArcGIS Earth.
6. Generate Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint Files
New transformers let you style and output your data for Excel spreadsheets, Word pages, and PowerPoint slides.
A map of Canada written to PowerPoint with FME. Each province is its own polygon with a label.
7. Coordinate System Updates
- Australia’s GDA 2020 & German Niedersachsen datum shift grids available
- RSO System Updates (Malaysia)
8. More Format and Transformer Improvements
A lot of existing formats and transformers were improved. For example:
- S3 transformers have been merged into a single S3Connector, and files can be accessed directly like a filesystem
- Creator now supports creating clothoids and 3D arcs
- FeatureWriter supports output ports
- Several transformers have an added Tolerance parameter
FeatureWriter with multiple input and output ports.
Work Play More Efficiently – FME Workbench enhancements
9. Collapsible Bookmarks
More easily manage large workspaces by collapsing sections under colorful bookmarks that you can expand when necessary.
10. Partial Workspace Runs (Tech Preview)
Get immediate feedback when authoring FME Workspaces by running only the portion of the workspace you’re focused on.
“Run from This”, “Run just This”, and “Run to This” buttons.
11. Embedded FME Data Inspector (Tech Preview)
Instantly view transformation results right inside FME Workbench
12. Copy & Paste Transformer Test Conditions
Copy-paste conditions and conditional values between transformer dialogs.
13. Customized Translation Log
Filter the translation log to display only error or warning messages.
14. Better Performance
Significant improvements in engine performance with many scenarios clocking in 30% faster and using 45% less memory.
15. FME Python API
A documentation overhaul makes the FME Python API much easier to navigate and learn from.
FME Server Updates
FME Server 2018.0 was built from the ground up and has a lot of new features to get excited about.
16. Job Filtering
In the Job interface, flip a switch to filter by jobs that have succeeded or failed.
17. Password Recovery
Administrators can set up a system email account so users can recover their passwords.
18. Dark Mode
Customize your FME Server interface.
19. Workspace Viewing (Tech Preview)
View your FME Workspace from directly within the FME Server interface.
20. Deployment Visualization
See the hosts comprising a deployment and the server components on each host.
21. Project Sharing
Share FME Server Projects without sharing security credentials. Coming soon to FME Hub.
22. FME Server on Docker
This is out of tech preview. Quickly deploy FME Server on any platform that supports Docker.
23. Version Control
Also out of tech preview. See previous versions in the FME Server interface, and create a version history when publishing a workspace from FME Workbench.
Bonus: FME Augmented Reality
Soon you’ll be able to convert 3D objects to .fmear and view them in augmented reality devices.
Source: https://blog.safe.com/2018/01/whats-new-fme-2018-0/
