Geodatabase Formats Missing, Greyed Out or Have Unmet Dependencies

Symptom

The Geodatabase formats cannot be used and are greyed out in the formats gallery. Clicking on a greyed out format reports an error that the format cannot be used and has unmet dependencies.

Running a workspace fails with a licensing error. The error states that the software version being used is 64-bit:

If you try and run an existing workspace using FME64bit then you may get the error: Failed to Retrieve feature type as shown above.

Resolution

To correct this issue please try the following. Please note that you must have ArcGIS installed on the same machine as FME. The bit version, 32-bit or 64-bit, must be the same for FME and ArcGIS.

Install and License ArcGIS
See this article for the license required to support Geodatabase formats.


ArcGIS Pro and FME 
Ensure ArcGIS Pro is installed for everyone, otherwise FME will be unable to find an ArcGIS Pro license. If you are unsure if whether ArcGIS was installed with the "Anyone who uses this computer (all users)" option, try checking the location of the ArcGIS Pro install directory. If Pro is installed for all users, the installation directory will be located in "C:\Program Files\ArcGIS\Pro".


Note: FME Flow requires that ArcGIS Enterprise or ArcGIS Server software be installed. While it is technically possible for FME Flow to use ArcGIS Pro, we have been informed by Esri Inc. that the use of ArcGIS Desktop or ArcGIS Pro in a server context violates Esri's license terms. See this article for more information. 

Correct Software Incompatibility

32-bit FME

The standard Geodatabase library installed by ArcGIS for Desktop is a 32-bit library and can only be accessed via a 32-bit application. Please install and run 32-bit FME to correct this issue. Please keep in mind that it is possible to have both 32-bit and 64-bit FME installed on the same machine and sharing a license file.

Note: FME 32-bit has been deprecated, please see FME 32-bit Windows Support for more information. Only FME 2021.1 or older supports FME 32-bit. 

64-bit FME

You can utilize 64-bit FME provided you install either ArcGIS for Desktop 64-bit Background Geoprocessing or ArcGIS Pro 64bit or ArcGIS for Server. See Notes on FME and Esri Versions and Compatibility for more information.


Use a Mapped Network Drive
Fix the FME shortcut link - i.e. from something like this:

• ArcGIS software is not installed and licensed on the system.
• 64-bit FME is being used without ArcGIS for Server or 64-bit Background Geoprocessing Installed.
• FME is installed on an application server but ArcGIS is installed on your local machine.
• \\appsserver\apps32\FME\workbench.exe

to something like this:

• L:\apps32\FME\workbench.exe

Ensure FME Flow is Running with the Correct Permissions

FME Flow requires that ArcGIS Enterprise or ArcGIS Server software be installed. While it is technically possible for FME Flow to use ArcGIS Pro, we have been informed by Esri Inc. that the use of ArcGIS Desktop or ArcGIS Pro in a server context violates Esri's license terms. ​​​​​​​See this article for more information. 

Additional Information

Esri Geodatabase (File Geodb Open API)

If you do not have access to ArcGIS and still need to read or write a File Geodatabase then you might consider using the Esri Geodatabase (File Geodb Open API) format. This does not have any of the dependencies listed above, but is limited to simple geometries as described in the user documentation.