Create an Esri Spatial ETL tool

Available with Data Interoperability license.

Workbench is an application for creating workflows used for moving data between different formats and applications that often involve more than a format-to-format translation. Datasets can contain more complex components that may not fit the requirements of the destination system. To preserve key aspects of the data and load it seamlessly into the target application, you may need to adjust the data model, contents, descriptive elements, and the coordinate system. This is known as data transformation, and it is one of a spatial ETL tool's core capabilities.

A spatial ETL tool is a geoprocessing tool that either references or contains the FMW file. The geoprocessing ETL tool allows your workbench tool to be used in ArcGIS Pro. To support this workflow, there are a few ways to use the ETL tool that best suits your needs.

Default ETL tool

The default behavior is to create a new spatial ETL tool and a default FMW file, which is automatically referenced by that ETL tool. This method is a way to create a new FMW file already referenced by the new ETL tool you created.

1. Right-click a toolbox in the Catalog pane, point to New, and click Spatial ETL Tool.

   The Tool Properties dialog box appears.

2. Define an appropriate Name and Label, and use the default FMW file in your Workspace parameter, and click OK.
3. The Workbench application is launched.
4. Choose Format from the drop-down list, or click more formats to open the FME Reader Gallery dialog box, and click OK.
5. Click the browse button (...), browse to the file, and click Open.
6. Click the Parameters button to edit the default FME reader parameters.

   Parameters can include optional and required settings and vary among formats.

7. In the Writer section of the dialog box, click Format from the drop-down list, or click more formats to open the FME Reader Gallery dialog box, and click OK.
8. Click the browse button (...), browse to the file, and click Open.
9. Click the Parameters button to edit the default FME reader parameters.

   Parameters can include optional and required settings and vary among formats.

10. Click OK.

    Workbench opens with a diagram of your dataflow.

Reference an existing FMW file to an ETL toolbox

If you already have an FMW file authored either in ArcGIS Pro or in FME Desktop, you can use that in ArcGIS Pro. You will have to attach the FMW file to an ETL tool so it can be used in ArcGIS Pro. This workflow allows you to share your FMW files with others or run them in the geoprocessing environment.

1. Right-click a toolbox in the Catalog pane, point to New, and click Spatial ETL Tool.

   The Tool Properties dialog box appears.

2. Define an appropriate Name and Label.
3. For the Workspace parameter, choose the Existing ETL workspace from the list and browse to an existing FMW file you have on disk.
4. The ETL tool is now referencing that FMW file.
5. If you need to make further edits to that FMW file, right-click the spatial ETL tool and click Edit.
6. Workbench will open and load in that FMW file.

Embedded FMW files

Embed the FMW file in the toolbox if you want to share a single toolbox and have your users see that workspace. This method works well if you have multiple ETL tools for multiple FMW files and you want to embed them in a single toolbox and share one file.

1. Right-click the Spatial ETL Tool in the Catalog pane and click Properties.

   The Tool Properties dialog box appears.

2. Define an appropriate Name and Label.
3. Click to check the check box for the Options parameter from the list and browse to an existing FMW file you have on disk.

   The spatial ETL tool now has the FMW file embedded.

Import an Esri Spatial ETL tool from ArcMap

Esri Spatial ETL tools authored using ArcMap can be shared with ArcGIS Pro 1.4 and later.

1. From the Catalog pane navigate to an existing ArcMap Spatial ETL tool.
2. Right-click the Spatial ETL Tool and click Edit.
   Workbench will launch and load the ETL Workspace.
3. The Workspace can now be run, or modified and saved as a new FMW file.