Considerations
When connecting to a Snowflake database from FME Form, users may encounter the error: "Cannot perform SELECT. This session does not have a current database."
This typically occurs when attempting to read schema information or add feature types to the canvas.
Why This Happens
Snowflake JDBC connections used by FME are case-sensitive. All parameter values, including those for Warehouse, Database, and Schema, are automatically wrapped in double quotes by the Snowflake JDBC driver. If the case used in the FME database connection does not exactly match what the database expects, the session fails to resolve a default database, resulting in the error message.
You may also notice this line in the translation log window:
{warehouse="my_wh", db="mytest_db", user=myusername, application=SafeSoftwareFME, password=************, schema="mytest"}
This confirms that lowercase values were submitted to Snowflake, which may not match the database’s actual identifiers.
How to Resolve It
Update your database connection parameters to match the case expected by the Snowflake database:
Open FME Options and edit the Database Connection used for Snowflake.
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Update the following fields to reflect the correct case:
Warehouse
Database
Schema
Save the connection and re-run your workspace.
Example of Lowercase (may cause issues):
Example of Correct Uppercase:
Additional Notes
This issue occurs specifically because FME’s Snowflake connection uses JDBC, which retains the exact case of parameter values due to quoting. This behavior differs from other database systems that may auto-convert or ignore case discrepancies.
To avoid future issues, always confirm the case format used by your Snowflake administrator and apply it consistently in your connection setup.