FME ESRI Compatibility

From fmepedia

This page is intended to provide information on compatibility between FME Desktop Readers and Writers, and ESRI-supported data formats.
If you have any further questions or concerns please contact the Safe Software support team (http://www.safe.com/support/contact/form.php).

Table of contents

1 Reader and Writer Compatibility 2 Version Compatibility 2.1 Supported Versions 2.2 ArcSDE Writing 3 FME 2010 and ESRI ArcSDE (SDE30) Compatibility 4 FME 2009 and ESRI ArcSDE (SDE30) Compatibility 4.1 Q) Does FME 2009 work with ArcSDE 9.3? 4.2 Q) Does FME 2009 work with ArcSDE 9.2? 4.3 Q) Does FME 2009 work with ArcSDE 9.1? 4.4 Q) Does an ArcGIS 9.x installation make FME compatible with ArcSDE 8.3? 5 FME 2009 and ESRI ArcSDE (GEODATABASE_SDE) Compatibility 5.1 Q) Does FME 2009 work with ArcSDE 9.1? 6 Direct Connect Issues

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Reader and Writer Compatibility

FME supports a number of readers/writers for SDE and Geodatabase. Which to use depends on the platform you are running on, and what your needs are.

FME Format Name	FME Short Name	Output Type	Comment
ESRI ArcSDE	SDE30	SDE Table	Uses SDE C-API Increased performance over ArcObjects-based Geodatabase writer (see Increasing Performance here (http://www.fmepedia.com/index.php/ESRI_Geodatabase_(ArcSDE))) Loads features directly into existing SDE feature classes (new ones can also be created and later registered with Geodatabase) Both single and double precision layers can be supported Can apply updates to SDE feature classes (both attributes and geometry) No support for Geodatabase specific features such as networks, subtypes, and domains No support for circular and elliptical arcs Support SDE Versions. Must create tables with a single allowable geometry if they are to be registered with Geodatabase and viewed in ArcCatalog See Below for important changes to this reader/writer for FME2009
ESRI Geodatabase (ArcSDE)	GEODATABASE_SDE	Enterprise SDE Geodatabase	Can create or insert into Enterprise (SDE) Geodatabase feature classes Can read Geodatabase network information including connectivity information Can read and write Geodatabase Arcs and Annotation Supports subtypes and domains Supports Enterprise Geodatabase/SDE versioning. Supports ESRI Personal ArcSDE (SQL Server Express based Geodatabase) - though you must connect to Personal ArcSDE via a direct connection ArcGIS must be installed and licensed (ArcView or higher license required for reading, ArcEdit or higher license required for writing.)
ESRI Geodatabase (MDB)	GEODATABASE_MDB	Personal Geodatabase	Can create or insert into Personal Geodatabase feature classes. Can read and write Geodatabase Arcs and Annotation. Supports subtypes and domains ArcGIS must be installed and licensed (ArcView or higher for reading,or writing in ArcGIS 9.2)
ESRI Geodatabase (File-based)	GEODATABASE_FILE	File Geodatabase	Stores information in a set of files located in a directory ending in .gdb Much faster performance than the personal geodatabase, and can also store much more data. ArcGIS must be installed and licensed (ArcView or higher for reading or writing in ArcGIS 9.2)
ESRI Geodatabase (XML)	GEODATABASE_XML	XML Geodatabase

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Version Compatibility

This section is intended to help identify which versions of FME are compatible with which versions of ArcGIS and ArcSDE.

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Supported Versions

FME support is likely to extend for an ArcGIS version as long as ESRI consider it still active.

Public documents that contain ESRI Product Life Cycle information can be found at:

http://downloads2.esri.com/support/product%20life%20cycle/ao_/584ArcGIS_PLC.pdf 
http://support.esri.com/knowledgebase/relatedDocs/ProductLifeCycle.pdf

According to these, ArcGIS 8.3 was retired on the 1st September 2008, and ArcGIS 9.0 in December 2008.

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ArcSDE Writing

This table provides a simple overview of which version of FME is required if you are WRITING to ArcSDE or Enterprise Geodatabase.

• = supported
• = supported but see comments
• - = not supported

FME Version		ArcSDE 9.1	ArcSDE 9.2	ArcSDE 9.2 SP5+ and 9.3	Comment
FME 2006GB	ArcSDE Vector/Raster		-	-
	Geodatabase		-	-
ArcGIS 9.1 DataInterop	Import Tool		-	-
ArcGIS 9.2 DataInterop	Import Tool			-
ArcGIS 9.3 DataInterop	Import Tool
ArcGIS 9.1 Extended with FME				-	Depends on the FME version
ArcGIS 9.2 Extended with FME					Needs FME 2008 or higher available from Our Download Site (http://www.safe.com/support/downloads)
ArcGIS 9.3 Extended with FME
FME 2007	ArcSDE Vector				See instructions on ArcGIS 9.3 and 9.2 SP5 Update (http://www.fmepedia.com/index.php/ArcGIS_9.2_SP5/6_and_ArcGIS_9.3_Update)
	Geodatabase				ArcGIS/ArcEngine Client needs to be compatible with the Geodatabase
	ArcSDE Raster
FME 2008	ArcSDE Vector				See instructions on ArcGIS 9.3 and 9.2 SP5 Update (http://www.fmepedia.com/index.php/ArcGIS_9.2_SP5/6_and_ArcGIS_9.3_Update)
	Geodatabase				ArcGIS/ArcEngine Client needs to be compatible with the Geodatabase
	ArcSDE Raster
FME 2009	ArcSDE Vector				See notes below
	Geodatabase				Needs build 5670 or higher available from Our Download Site (http://www.safe.com/support/downloads)
	ArcSDE Raster				See notes below
FME 2010	ArcSDE Vector				See notes below
	Geodatabase				ArcGIS/ArcEngine Client needs to be compatible with the Geodatabase
	ArcSDE Raster				See notes below

See Safe Software (http://www.safe.com/formats) for additional information on the FME Desktop editions (license levels) that work with ESRI data formats and products.

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FME 2010 and ESRI ArcSDE (SDE30) Compatibility

FME 2010 has no known compatibility issues other than those identified for FME 2009 below, relating to the distribution of the ArcSDE libraries.

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FME 2009 and ESRI ArcSDE (SDE30) Compatibility

This section relates to accessing native ArcSDE with the SDE30 Reader and Writer.
It does not apply to FME's Geodatabase Readers and Writers; these access SDE via ArcObjects and have always required an appropriately-licensed version of ArcGIS software to be installed.

Q) Does FME 2009 work with ArcSDE 9.3?

In order to avoid problems of version incompatibility, as of FME2009, FME no longer installs the required libraries for reading and writing ArcSDE.

You should instead obtain these libraries from an ESRI product to ensure compatibility between FME and your SDE database.

There are three methods for obtaining the required libraries:

1) Install ArcGIS Desktop 9.3

OR

2) Install the SDE C SDK (available on your ArcGIS Server 9.3 DVD) and set up the environment variable described below

OR

3) Install ArcEngine and check for the environment variable described below

For options 2 or 3 you will need to set up a system environment variable as follows:

 Variable Name - ARCGISHOME
 Value - <ArcGIS Directory>\arcsde\
 (i.e. pointing to whichever folder contains the bin folder which contains the SDE .dlls)

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Q) Does FME 2009 work with ArcSDE 9.2?

Yes - however the same requirements exist as described above for ArcSDE 9.3. Install a 9.2 product and ensure that the system environment variable ARCGISHOME has been set as described above.

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Q) Does FME 2009 work with ArcSDE 9.1?

A) Yes. However you will need to download and install some other ESRI product with newer versions of the dlls than are available in an ArcGIS 9.1 install. The simplest solution is to download and install ArcGIS Explorer and then add the ARCGISHOME variable as described above.

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Q) Does an ArcGIS 9.x installation make FME compatible with ArcSDE 8.3?

A) Yes, but for reading features only. An FME installed along with ArcGIS 9.x libraries can, at most, only read features from ArcSDE 8.3.
For more information see this ESRI knowledgebase article (http://support.esri.com/index.cfm?fa=knowledgebase.techArticles.articleShow&d=28928)

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FME 2009 and ESRI ArcSDE (GEODATABASE_SDE) Compatibility

This section relates to accessing ArcSDE with the Geodatabase (ArcSDE) Reader and Writer.

Q) Does FME 2009 work with ArcSDE 9.1?

A) Yes - using the Geodatabase reader (ArcGIS 9.1 desktop on the client) to access an ArcSDE 9.1 Geodatabase - PR#19557 has been resolved in build 5670 or higher of FME 2009. This is available for download from Our Download Site (http://www.safe.com/support/downloads)

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Direct Connect Issues

See this fmepedia page for issues related specifically to Reading and Writing to SDE Geodatabases using Direct Connect.