The 10 most frequently asked questions about FME training

Wondering what to expect from Tensing’s FME training?

If you work a lot with data, it is likely that you regularly encounter issues where data from different sources must be compared or merged. Confidently “pressing the button” remains exciting: Have you really thought of everything? Is your valuable data properly protected?

Tensing believes in the power of FME (Feature Manipulation Engine), the professional tool that allows you to confidently execute all your data transformations. Difficult? No, it is not. In two days, we will teach you the basics in one of our FME Training sessions.

Our certified trainer, Pim Christiaans, answers the most frequently asked questions about FME Training.

1. WHAT ARE THE MAIN FUNCTIONS OF FME?

With FME, you create insightful workflows yourself in just a few clicks, so you can follow your data at any time. Thanks to the clear design of FME, you can continuously improve and upgrade your processes, so you keep tight control over all the data that you manage. An additional advantage is that you do not need any substantive knowledge of other software packages in order to process the data from those packages, because the visual programming language helps you develop and set up workspaces without coding.

Do you want to spend as little time as possible on standard processes so that you can focus on the things that are really important? Then automate your processes so you can stay engaged with the other critical projects that will propel your organization to future success

2. WHY FME, IF I CAN ALSO EDIT MY DATA WITH EXCEL?

Editing data is, of course, possible in Excel. But this will be a challenge if you also want to import or even edit data from other sources, because you will quickly come to the limits of Excel’s functionality. An important advantage of FME is that it also supports geometry: displaying your data on a map is a piece of cake. If you routinely work with data from multiple sources and/or file formats, then FME is the right choice for you.

In short, if you properly set up your processes in FME, you have to build it only once. The data is always different, but the process is always the same

3. WHAT BASIC KNOWLEDGE SHOULD I HAVE BEFORE I START TRAINING?

You do not need specific knowledge for the first training. Anyone who regularly works with data from tables or online sources — with or without a geo component — can start. Because we work in small groups, we always adapt the training to the knowledge level of the group. You are also in control of your own progress during training and will work on many real-life assignments. And, rest assured, during the real-life assignments in our training sessions, I can always give you extra information and guidance if you need it.

4. WHAT DO I LEARN IN BASIC TRAINING?

In basic training, we really start from the beginning. As mentioned, you do not need knowledge of programming or other complex computer languages. If you regularly work with data and want to achieve better results faster, then it's time to get started with FME.

The basic training consists of:

Introduction to FME Form (formerly Desktop) and the various components
Easily build conversion scripts yourself with FME Workbench
Start with simple conversions
Work towards increasingly complex transformations
Visualize and inspect data with FME Data Inspector
Apply “best practices” to workspaces
Manipulate the geometry and the attribute information with transformers
Work with multiple data sources in one workspace
Build reusable workspaces that require little maintenance

Do you have a real-life problem you need to solve? Then bring it to our training session so we can discuss it and find the solution together.

5. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF FME TRAINING?

There are training sessions for beginners as well as for real data tigers. You learn the basics with the FME Form Introductory training. Think of the software interface: simple transformations and frequently used transformers. Once you have mastered the basics, the FME Form Advanced training is a nice way to continue building expertise. Here, you can further expand your knowledge and start working with on transformers yourself. The transformations will surprise your colleagues — and your whole team will benefit from your knowledge.

If you make frequent use of the same workspaces that you would like to run automatically, then FME Flow may be an interesting solution for you. With this, you automate and plan the workspaces and therefore always keep your data up-to-date. We also offer two types of FME Flow training: FME Flow Authoring is about how you smartly configure the server environment, and FME Flow Administration is focused on maintaining the environment.

6. WHAT ARE THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH TENSING FME TRAINING?

Please contact us for information on the costs associated with the training course. In addition to these two days, you will become a member of the Tensing FME Community at no additional cost. One benefit of membership in this community is Refresher Days, where you will receive follow-up training as well as collaborative sessions with other users and with Tensing trainers. You will also have access to FME World Tour events.

As a member of the Tensing FME Community, you will be invited to some exclusive events and will receive advanced notice of other events. So, you will benefit from the knowledge from the training sessions and then keep your knowledge up-to-date. And you can always approach me or one of my colleagues after the training if you have questions about the use of FME in your real-world environment. We are always happy to help you at any point on your path to FME excellence.

7. IS FME ONLY FOR LOCATION DATA?

FME originated from data with a location component. FME has developed further in recent years so that it now functions perfectly with data from almost all sources. FME currently supports more than 325 data formats, and this number continues to grow. Wondering if your data formats are included? Discover the answer on the Safe Software website. If you indicate during a training course that you do not work with location data yourself, please alert the trainer so that training can be adjusted to reflect your specific situation.

8. HOW WILL I BENEFIT FROM TENSING’S FME TRAINING?

After the training you can:

Merge data from different sources into one format
Create workflows that you can improve or upgrade at any time
Get started with all kinds of data formats without having specialized knowledge of multiple software packages
Compare and optimize data from different sources
Automatically perform recurring data operations
Use FME efficiently and confidently (thanks to the handy tips and tricks you learn in training)
Surprise your colleagues with fast and powerful data analyses

9. WHEN IS THE NEXT TRAINING?

You will always find the most up-to-date training dates on our website. View our training options and register today for a training that fits your specific needs.

10. HOW DO FORMER PARTICIPANTS RATE TENSING’S FME TRAINING SESSIONS?

Participants in Tensing’s FME Training sessions have been very positive about the content and structure of the training, giving the sessions an average rating of 8.2 on a 10-point scale.