We've updated this course, so the videos don't exactly match the lessons. However, we've included them for you to review, and we will update them later in 2025.

Learning Objectives

After completing this lesson, you’ll be able to:

• Know when to use workflow transformers to read and write FME formats.
• Know when to use workflow transformers to read and write web services.
• Know when to use workflow transformers to read and write attributes.
• Know when to use workflow transformers to receive/send data packets.

Workflow Transformers

Although data is usually read and written using readers and writers, transformers can perform the same tasks. These transformers appear in the Workflows category of the Transformer Gallery and can handle data in web services.

Key Workflow Transformers

Some of the critical workflow transformers and the tasks that they carry out are as follows:

• Read and Write FME Formats
  • FeatureReader, FeatureWriter
  • These transformers let you read or write data during a workflow. The FeatureReader also lets you use input features in a spatial filter to control which features are read.
• Read and Write Web Services
  • DropboxConnector, GoogleDriveConnector, SalesforceConnector, SlackConnector, and many more
  • These transformers let you upload, download, and interact with web services.
• Read and Write Attributes
  • AttributeFileReader, AttributeFileWriter
  • The AttributeFileReader lets you read the contents of a file to an attribute, either as plain text or a binary blob.
  • The AttributeFileWriter lets you write the contents of an attribute to a file.
• Receive/Send Data Packets
  • JMSSender/Receiver, SQSConnector, TCPIPSender/Receiver
  • These transformers let you send and receive messages using a variety of protocols.

These transformers are part of a workflow because they don't necessarily read or write data at the start or end of a translation; they can be set up to read or write data mid-translation. This provides certain advantages over fixed-position readers and writers.