Formats and Licenses

From fmepedia

Table of contents

1 General 1.1 Q) I can’t find the format I want by typing it, and it is greyed-out in the formats gallery 2 ESRI 2.1 Q) How do I tell FME which type of ESRI license to use when writing geodatabase data? 2.2 Q) What ArcGIS license type do I require for FME to support GeoDatabase formats? 3 GE/Smallworld 3.1 Q) I have a license to read Smallworld, but it still isn’t in the available source formats. 4 AutoDesk MapGuide 4.1 Q) What FME license do I need to use FME Provider for MapGuide? 5 Raster 5.1 Q) When I try to write to ECW or JPEG2000 I get an error message that the writer is not licensed for this version of FME. Why?

---

General

Q) I can’t find the format I want by typing it, and it is greyed-out in the formats gallery

A) A format is usually unavailable because your FME installation is not licensed to use it. If you see a format missing then check your license to ensure it is what you are expecting. Also check the format you require is available in that edition using the Product Comparison Chart (http://www.safe.com/products/fme/formats/index.php) on the Safe corporate website.

This web site will also tell you if you need certain application software installed before a format becomes available. For example, our GeoDatabase reader makes use of ArcObjects, so will only be available when you have an ArcGIS product of some sort installed.

Other alternatives are that you are looking to write a format which is only available for reading, for example SEF format; or trying to read a format which is write-only, for example GIF format.

Again see the Product Comparison Chart (http://www.safe.com/products/fme/formats/index.php) to check this.

---

ESRI

Q) How do I tell FME which type of ESRI license to use when writing geodatabase data?

A) There isn't an ESRI license selector in FME and we have no plans to add one. The way this is done is through the ESRI Desktop Administrator.

Known issue: If you have ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Engine installed on your machine, FME does not always check out the license specified in the ESRI Desktop Administrator.

A workaround is to temporarily "hide" the ArcGIS Engine license file by renaming the file "c:\program files\esri\license\sysgen\keycodes" while using FME to write to a geodatabase.

Q) What ArcGIS license type do I require for FME to support GeoDatabase formats?

A) FME requires an licensed ArcGIS installation to support Geodatabase formats:

• Personal Geodatabase (File and MDB)
  • Reading: ArcView or ArcEngine level or higher
  • Writing: ArcView or ArcEngine level or higher

• SDE Geodatabase
  • Reading: ArcView or ArcEngine level or higher
  • Writing: ArcEditor or ArcEngine with the Geodatabase Update Extension

• Please note FME also includes the ArcSDE Reader/Writer which does not require an installation of ArcGIS but does require access to SDE libraries. Please see the fmePedia article on [FME_ESRI_Compatibility (http://www.fmepedia.com/index.php/FME_ESRI_Compatibility)]

---

GE/Smallworld

Q) I have a license to read Smallworld, but it still isn’t in the available source formats.

A) In the case of Smallworld v3 it isn’t available in the source dataset list because you have to export from Smallworld using the Smallworld/FME Magik interface.

In other words you can't create a Smallworld v3 reader from within Workbench, only from the Smallworld FME Interface (you can edit the subsequent workspace in Workbench, but have to return to the Smallworld/FME interface to run it)

---

AutoDesk MapGuide

Q) What FME license do I need to use FME Provider for MapGuide?

A) The FME Provider for MapGuide is a separate product and license unto itself. It's based on the Professional license, but it's possible to extend it to include higher formats by purchasing a license to do that. If you install the FME Provider license and an FME ESRI Edition license then you'd have GeoDatabase support in MapGuide. I don't know what the costs would be for that - if anyone is interested then they should contact sales@safe.com (mailto:sales@safe.com).

---

Raster

Q) When I try to write to ECW or JPEG2000 I get an error message that the writer is not licensed for this version of FME. Why?

A) This might be caused by using FME for Smallworld. At the time of writing our licensing agreement does not permit us to distribute ECW and JPEG2000 support with FME Server. Since FME for Smallworld includes FME Server we can't support those formats from an FME for Smallworld installation.