Introduction
As of FME Form 2025.0, offline documentation will no longer be shipped with the product but will still be available online or can be downloaded for offline use. FME Form has been using online documentation as the default option for many years. This will help reduce the size of the FME Form installer and the time it takes to install. Additionally, our documentation can be updated outside of the product release cycle.
Symptom
If the computer on which FME is installed is connected to the Internet, online documentation will be loaded through the Help menu.
If the computer on which FME is installed is not connected to the Internet, documentation will be unavailable, and the user will need to download the offline documentation or go online to access it, either through that computer or a different computer or mobile device.
Documentation is always available online at docs.safe.com.
Workaround
Option 1: Download Offline Documentation
1. Download Documentation Files
Offline documentation can be downloaded from the Safe Software Downloads page starting with FME 2025.0.
2. Create help Folder
Ensure any instances of FME are closed. Then in a file browser, navigate to the following paths:
Windows:
C:\Program Files\<FME Version>macOS:
/Library/FME/<FME Version>
Create a new folder called help, which is where we will unzip the downloaded documentation files. When prompted, click Continue to create the folder as an admin. If you do not have admin permissions, please reach out to your IT department to have them install the folder.
Windows:
C:\Program Files\<FME Version>\helpmacOS:
/Library/FME/<FME Version>/help
3. Unzip Help Files
Now navigate to where the downloaded help zip file is, and extract it to the newly created help folder. Again, you may be prompted to continue as an admin.
This file is large and may take some time to extract.
4. Open FME
After the files have been unzipped. Open FME Workbench, then go to Utilities > FME Options > Default Paths. The offline path should be available. Enable Use Offline Help Only.
Known Issue
If you try to import the zip file directly into FME, an error message will appear stating insufficient permissions. Install the files as instructed above.
Option 2: Access Online Documentation
You can view FME documentation online by going online or by using another computer or mobile device with Internet access.
If you have FME 2024.2 or older installed as well, please reference the offline documentation through that version.