GDAL/PROJ Library Updates Affect Coordinate System Handling

Introduction

Many parts of FME rely on GDAL, both directly and indirectly. The migration to GDAL 3 and PROJ 6 in FME 2020, has primarily altered behavior that has to do with either storing a description of a coordinate system or recognizing a coordinate system description.

What is Affected?

These changes affect the following FME components:

• Any reader/writer where a coordinate system is stored with the data

  • Includes Well Known Text formats and Esri WKT, especially if an uncommon coordinate system is used

  • Almost all GDAL-based formats

  • May include formats that use an authority code to look up coordinate systems

  • Does not include formats that always use the same implied coordinate system (for example, most geospatial-database-as-a-service web platforms just use LL-WGS84).

• A GeoTIFF reader/writer or a reader/writer that contains GeoTIFF specifications

• Any use of the CoordinateSystemDescriptionConverter transformer

• Use of coordinate systems based on the South American Datum of 1969

• Use of coordinate systems based on Militar-Geographische Institut (Austria)

• Any FME components that consume WKT in another format

If this migration results in your workspaces breaking, please contact Safe Support.