Data to the Masses:
Automated Word
Document Creation
with FME

Meet the Presenters
Mary Brown
GIS Team Lead
Humanitarian Aid, Swiss
Agency for Development
and Cooperation
Kailin Opaleychuk
Technical Support
Specialist, FME Desktop
Safe Software
Dale Lutz
Co Founder
Safe Software

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Agenda
● Introduction
● Maryʼs use cases:
○ Typical challenges for GIS at
Swiss Humanitarian Aid (HA-GIS)
○ Finding solutions
○ Examples of what came of some
perseverance and FME creativity
● Demo: Microsoft Word Writer
● Demo: Powerpoint Documents
● Resources & Q+A

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FME's role in establishing GIS
at Swiss Humanitarian Aid

Mary Brown
GIS Team Lead, Swiss Humanitarian Aid SHA,
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA
Six years getting GIS established at
Swiss Humanitarian Aid.
Over 15 years as an FME addict.

FME provided the technical
empowerment for GIS to become
established at the core of Swiss
Humanitarian Aid.

The challenges are manifold
South Sudan, © Alex Kühni / SHA

Typical challenges
Some of the challenges I face in my job:
● Crisis-driven, rapid response required
● Providing a spatial overview of any given crisis (e.g. earthquake)
● Wide range of data sources/formats, ever changing, event-specific data
● Rapid process development, combination of sources
● Regular updates to source data
● Tiny GIS team, high demands in crises
● Crises often hit on a Friday and Murphy loves GIS!
● FME Cloner transformer fails on GIS staff

Key to solving the problems faced
● First principle: believe in FME!
In 15 years of data handling/integration,
FME was almost always up to the task
● Modular approach
● Experiment, re-use what works, use
parameters, use generic processes
● Ask for help if needed
● Use FME Server to automate, notify
and allow others to run processes
● Be proactive, just do things!
● Presenting a prototype or
finished product is often more
easily understood than words,
concepts…
● Communication & perseverance
– why the where is important
● Let the data/maps and other FME
output do the talking!

Example 1 – Fire Tracking Bolivia

The Problem
● The President is coming to
visit tomorrow!
● …. so can you make the
prototype internet accessible
asap?
(i.e. from Portal+SDE to AGOL
+ Feature Services)
Example 1: Fire Tracking Tool
The Solution
● Try not to panic, think FME!
● Can FME write features to AGOL?
● Fewer features, automate
● Control features per commit
● Add attributes for symbology
● Configure web app on AGOL
● Summary report in Excel
● Email from FME Server
The Result
● AGOL web app used by Bolivian
authorities to fight wildfires
● Layer choice and option to print
maps with GPS coordinates for
the pilots (grid and coords
generated with FME).
● GIS provided as Humanitarian
Aid for the first time by SHA!
● Idea to production: 2.5 days
Background
Wildfires in Bolivia 2019 🡪 request to our Humanitarian Hub in Lima for assistance.
Request for satellite imagery of affected area. It all started on a Friday evening…

The Problem
● Major wildfires in E. Bolivia
Example 1: Fire Tracking Tool - Output
The Solution
● Recycle FME processes from
previous wildfire events
● Make PDFs, then web map/web
app
The Result
● AGOL web app & emails/xlsx
Background
Dynamic situation, huge area affected, not viable to provide satellite imagery. Prototype built in Portal for ArcGIS
using NASA Hotspot data for last 7 days.

Example 2 – Covid-19 Digital Situation Report

The Problem
● Covid-19 – thousands of Swiss
citizens stranded abroad
● Administrative scramble,
political pressure
● Lack of comparable experience
of a global crisis – email-centred
communications
● The “overview” = a series of
illegible Excel sheets produced
by copy/paste from emails
● Someone reckoned GIS could
help….
Example 2: Covid-19 Digital SitRep
The Solution I
● MS SharePoint survey, updated by
staff abroad
● A giant technological leap – but only
if output was a Word file, to email
● Automate export of content (JSON)
● Read JSON with FME, join to country
boundaries, write to geodatabase
● Automate updates
The Result I
● A series of simple web maps,
added to a StoryMap Series
● IT: process to generate Word
files and auto-email to
representations when updated.
Background
With offices in over 170 countries, Covid-19 had a major impact on the Swiss Foreign Ministry.

The Problem II
● Report generation problems
● Decision to advance or drop the
idea imminent
● Nerves on edge
● Audience were diplomatic staff
– a difficult reception for
technological innovation
Example 2: Covid-19 Digital SitRep (cont.)
Technical Crisis
● Friday 6pm: Report generation very
buggy, IT pessimistic ⇨ high risk plug
would be pulled
● Friday 6:30pm: decision to try to
save the day with FME…
● Saturday: research Word file
generation with FME Server,
prototype
● Prototype proposed to IT as backup
● New motivation – by Monday we
had 2 working reporting systems!
● Plug wasn’t pulled, go–live
rescheduled to allow fine-tuning
The Solution/Result II
● A series of web maps in a
StoryMap Series
● Report generation and emailing by
NPrinting/Qlik
● Report generation for IT Support
and staff at HQ by FME Server
● Idea to production: 2 weeks
Background
Problems, doubts setting in, diplomats & technological experiments don't mix well…
Map services 20
Web requests >210,400
Digital Sitreps >5,000
FME Workspaces 6
FME Server Automations 3
Process runs 8,376
SharePoint export scripts 2

The Problem
● Stranded Swiss, political
pressure
● Dynamic situation, regional
differences
● Multiple internal actors needing
an overview of the situation
● Emails and giant Excel sheets…
Example 2: Covid-19 Digital SitRep - Output
The Solution
● MS SharePoint questionnaire
● FME processing
● Web mapping
The Result
● A StoryMap Series on Portal
● Automated report/email generation

In summary…
● I learnt a lot!
● A “transformational” project succeeded
because of FME
● Without the MS Word Writer it
wouldn’t have been possible

GIS is now established at the core of SHA.
Without FME this would have been almost impossible.
Without my conviction that it would be the answer – neither of these
(for us) revolutionary applications would have been considered, never
mind successfully implemented under great pressure and with very
short deadlines.

Thank You!
Any Questions?
mary.brown@eda.admin.ch

Flash Demo

Pre-demo slide
The Goal
Use FME to create a
simple PowerPoint
presentation
The Obstacles
Integrating various
media and content
types into
PowerPoint
The Solution
Leveraging FMEʼs
PowerPointStyler as
well as PowerPoint
Writer
The Result
A basic PowerPoint
presentation

Input JPEG Folder

Workspace

Output Presentation

Demo

Input Spreadsheet & JPEG Folder
+

Workspace

Output Guide

Lesson Slide
In the last demo, we
reviewed how to combine
multiple content types
and write to a single
destination, Microsoft
Word.

Order in FME and Tips & Tricks

Order in FME
- Microsoft Word and PowerPoint writing in FME is order-dependent
- Feature order must be controlled in the workspace
- Generally if there are no blocking transformers, the features will be written in the
order they are read

1. PowerpointStyler: Slide Order Group By
- Slide Order Group By: If a value is
provided, then the features will be
sorted by that value.

1. Sorting
- The simplest method for controlling order
- Manually assign an ʻOrderʼ attribute and use a Sorter transformer
- Sort: numerically, ascending

2. Creators
- Create at End parameter
- This parameter determines whether the feature is created after all reader features have
been processed (Yes), or whether the feature is created immediately before the first
reader feature is processed (No).

3. Set Connection Runtime Order
- If a transformer output port
connects to more than one
destination—you can control
the order in which these
connections execute.
- Right-click on one of a
transformers connections and
select Set Connection Runtime
Order.

Tips & Tricks
- Feature Caching is not your friend
- Bulk mode is your enemy, if youʼre
running into bulk mode issues,
consider using a Decelerator of ʻ0ʼ

Microsoft Word Writer

Pre-demo slide
The Goal
Use FME and
OpenAI to generate
and automate
thank you letter
creation
The Obstacles
Creating one
thank you letter
per
person/prompt
The Solution
Use FMEʼs Word
Writer to fanout
datasets
The Result
Batch produced
letters

Demo

Input Spreadsheet

Workspace

20
22
FME
User
Conference
Output Thank-You Letter

Base Files and Formatting
- Base files are not template files
- The writer will only append
features to the end of the existing
base document
- To avoid awkward formatting, try
to use formatting functions
available in the native application

Powerpoint Docs

Pre-demo slide
The Goal
Save time by
automating weekly
processes like
presnetation
creation
The Obstacles
Creating
information from
data
The Solution
Use a combination of
FME transformers to
create graphics and
media content
The Result
Webinar Attendees
Summary
Presentations

Demo

Input Spreadsheet

Workspace

Output Presentation

Summary Points
- Use FME transformer parameters to
enhance your workflows
- Base files can create help create
more aesthetic outputs
- Feature order is important!

Next Steps
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Resources
● Tutorial: Getting Started with the PowerPoint Writer
● How to Create a Microsoft Word Base File to Use With the MSWordStyler
Transformer

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