Format Greyed Out in the Format Gallery

Consideration

When adding a reader or writer to a workspace in FME, you can view all available formats by clicking the drop-down arrow next to Formats and then selecting More Formats.

This opens the Format Gallery, which lists all formats that FME can read or write. Some formats may appear greyed out, and hovering over them will display a tooltip explaining why they are unavailable.

Why This Happens

A format may be unavailable due to one of the following reasons:

• Missing Dependencies
  • Some formats rely on external libraries, drivers, or applications that must be installed and licensed on the same machine.
• Operating System
  • Some formats only work on certain operating systems. 
  • Dependencies must match FME version architecture, such as 32-bit or 64-bit Windows, or macOS Intel or macOS Apple Silicon. 

How to Resolve It

1. Install Required Libraries

Ensure all format dependencies are installed and match your FME version architecture 

2. Check Platform Availability

To determine the requirements for a format, see the Readers and Writers Documentation. Search for the desired format, and on the Quick Facts page for that format, both Dependencies and Operating System requirements will be listed.