Tips Tricks 17

Tips & Tricks
VERSION 11 | 2017
Table of Contents
Alteryx Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Sample Workflows, Alteryx Community, Gallery, Alteryx Blogs & Help
Documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
The not-so-new kits on the block: Alteryx Starter Kits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Product Training and it’s many flavors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Alteryx Support team…at the ready !!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Licensing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Workflow Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Set yourself up for success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Personalize your Alteryx canvas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Turn back time with Autosave Workflows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Collect and display data profile Information NEW to 11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Bringing your data in. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
No need to Reconnect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Refresh with F5 and other shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Just Browsing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Mad about organization? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
The Go-To Time Savers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Quickly Forget those missing fields. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Close All But This NEW to 11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Open Containing Folder NEW to 11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Global Variables, the only Constant is Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Pinned Possibilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Workflow Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Resource Optimization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Lean for Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Data Preparation & Blending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Sometimes You Feel Like a Join, Sometimes You Don’t:
Joining and Blending Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Summarize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
When You Got It, Select It: Tips and Tricks for the Select Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz, Oh, What a Formula It Is: Tips and Tricks
for the Formula Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Tile Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Filters, Filters, Everywhere: ACE MarqueeCrew’s Trick to
Optimize Filtering on Large Datasets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Get More from DateTime: New to 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Spatial Tips and Tricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Spatial Processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Map Input. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Browsing Spatial Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Tom Tom Spatial Data Extraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
| 2
Database Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Database Connections Best Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Connecting to Databases. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Workflow Efficiency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Writing Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
IN-DB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Community Resources for Connectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Create Your Own Connector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Analytic Apps and Macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Analytic Apps Best Practices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Apps and Macros Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Debug. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Keep Your Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Manageable Macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Macro Input Shortcut. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Macro Building. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Server and Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Workflow and Macro Sharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Run As . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Workflow Execution Permissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Schedule from the Gallery: NEW to 11! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Gallery Admin Help Page: NEW to 11! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Alteryx Server Usage Report: Monitoring and Reporting on
Alteryx Across the Organization: NEW to 11! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Tool Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
3 |
Getting Started –
Alteryx Resources
Getting Started – Alteryx Resources | 4

Getting Started – Alteryx Resources
Sample Workflows, Alteryx Community, Gallery,
Alteryx Blogs & Help Documentation
Sample Workflows:
There are a number of Samples that come prepackaged in your Alteryx installation.
Simply go to Help→Sample Workflows to find fully annotated Workflows, Macros,
and Apps. Their purpose is to show you real world analytical problems and how
to solve them. Get a sense of how to use the Alteryx Interface with the paint-by-
number training approach in “Tutorials”. Then move on to the more complex samples
that cover everything from basic data joins to Predictive Analytics!
One-Tool Examples:
Within the Sample workflows menu, you’ll find a number of One-Tool Examples. These
are simple to follow, fully annotated, use case examples for specific tools within Alteryx.
There are a number of tools available across many different tool categories:
Originally debuted in version 11.0, find one tool samples when you search a tool by name
in the global search bar. New to Version 11, also find many updated and new samples.
5 | Getting Started – Alteryx Resources

New in Version 11: One Tool Samples Enhanced in Version 11: One Tool Samples
Data Cleansing Tool Browse Tool
Multi-Field Formula Input Data Tool
Multi-Row Formula Output Data Tool
Field Summary Tool Formula Tool
Test Tool DateTime Tool

Alteryx Community:
Check out http://community.alteryx.com to engage in the Alteryx open forum for
all users! Here you can post questions, answer questions, and search for previously
discussed topics. Users also have access to the Knowledgebase which contains
articles written by the analytics and data visualization experts from the Alteryx
staff. Also feel free to drop Ideas in our Idea Center. This is a place for you to share
your ideas or vote on existing ideas for improvements or tweaks to Alteryx. Your
suggestions will ultimately drive the advancements in the future versions of Alteryx!
Gallery:
Check out the Analytics Gallery at http://gallery.alteryx.com. Here you can browse
the Alteryx Public Gallery to find apps that solve business problems across a variety
of industries. Many of these apps can also be downloaded to your machine and
opened in your Designer! Use the gallery to learn how apps are constructed and
how data flows through properly configured tools. You can reverse engineer apps
you are interested in and incorporate those features into your own workflows. The
Macro District is also available and always growing with useful macros that simplify
reusable processes. You can download Macros from the Gallery and add them to
future workflows.
The Macro District includes macros sourced

from users within Alteryx as well as other
developers. Browse, share, and customize
these analytic applications to put them to
work for your business!
Do you have a macro to share? To add your

macro to the Macro District, save your macro in a workflow as an Analytic App
(even if it’s not an app), add the text “Macro District” to the Meta Info area where
you add your description and then Publish it to the Gallery. Make sure the option
to Download is selected so others can check out your handiwork. If you can set up
your workflow as a sample highlighting how to use your macro, that’s even better.

The Alteryx Predictive District delivers pre-built
tools, workflows, and macros to help
incorporate specialized analytical techniques
and processes that can help impact the
business. Learn more about how Alteryx
empowers data analysts and line-of-business
users to perform their own predictive analytics.
Note: Many of the tools make use of functionality recently added to the Alteryx
Predictive Plug-In. As a result, we highly encourage community members to upgrade to
the most recent Predictive Plug-in, available from the Alteryx Download site. In addition,
some tools require additional R packages. The tools attempt to install the needed R
packages, but are not always successful due to firewall and proxy server issues.
Alteryx Blogs:
Look to blogs written by Alteryx employees to learn more about new macros and
Alteryx concepts at Engine Works Blog (community.alteryx.com) and Chaos Reigns Within
(http://www.chaosreignswithin.com/). The Engine Works Blog features information
about new macros published in the Macro District, details about new releases, Inspire
related posts, and more. Chaos Reigns Within is the personal blog of a Software
Developer at Alteryx and he publishes a Blog Macro Pack each quarter. Some of the
macros are prototypes and most have not gone through the extensive testing process it
takes to make it into the product, but you just might find a solution to the problem you
have been struggling with and it is as easy as downloading a macro!

Help Documentation:
Alteryx has an online repository for all your in-product questions. Every tool within
Alteryx has a help page that explains configuration options.
There are four ways to access the Help file from the Designer.
1. Click on any tool on your canvas and press the F1 key.
2. Open any tool’s configuration window and click on the Help icon:
3. Click on any tool on your canvas and click the help icon in the top right hand
corner of the Designer:
4. Type the name of any tool in the global search bar
Also within the help documentation is useful information about building macros,
constructing formula expressions using the built in functions, data type explanations
and more!

The not-so-new kits on the block: Alteryx Starter Kits
Get the most out of Alteryx by leveraging Starter Kits. The kits contain key
analytic applications, visualizations, and tutorial information. All Starter Kits can be
downloaded from http://www.alteryx.com/analytic-starter-kits. For silent install
instructions, email [email protected]

Product Training and its many flavors
Live Training
Visit https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Live-Training/bd-p/live-training for Online
instructor-led training sessions covering a range of topics from getting started with
Alteryx to advanced predictive analytics. These training sessions focus on practical
use cases geared to illustrate how to use individual tools in Alteryx to construct
an analytical solution. Can’t make one of our future sessions or want to watch a
previous session? Access all previous session recordings and workflows all in the
same location.
Weekly Challenge
Visit https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Weekly-Challenge/bd-p/weeklychallenge
to participate in our weekly challenge. The challenges are a fun and interactive way
to engage with the Alteryx Community and sharpen your skills. Previous weekly
session exercises make great training materials to help ramp up new teammates.
Product Training
Alteryx offers an abundance of training online at http://www.alteryx.com/
product-training. The Getting Started section is great for beginners and includes
short videos, accompanying help files, and exercises to solidify the concepts. The
On Demand videos cover a variety of topics and can be used to learn about a
subject in general or you can watch a video pertaining to the tool or process you
are specifically interested in exploring. The Self-Paced Training section contains
various exercises at the Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced skill levels for users
to download and complete at their own speed. Solution files are also available for
download here so you can compare your answer to a best practice solution.

Alteryx Support team… at the ready!!
There are three ways to contact Alteryx for support:
Community (24/7 Self Service): Want answers now? The Alteryx Community has a
host of articles, documents, and answers to commonly asked questions.
Email (8-8 EST): Need to open a support ticket? Email [email protected] with
complex questions that may require screenshots, sample workflows, or data files.
Chat (8-8 EST): For quick and simple questions that can be solved in a brief text-
only exchange.

Licensing
For information on how to activate and manage a license, visit Community for our
in-depth licensing series
https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Alteryx-Knowledge-Base/Licensing-Series-
Part-1-Welcome-to-Alteryx/ta-p/37534
Installing a license:
Part-2-Installing-Licenses/ta-p/37626
Managing a license:
Part-3-Managing-Your-License/ta-p/37715
Information on license errors:

Part-4-License-Errors/ta-p/37811
If your question isn’t answered in the community articles, you can get support for
licensing by emailing [email protected]

Getting Started –
Workflow Design
Getting Started – Workflow Design | 14

Getting Started – Workflow Design
Set yourself up for success
Make yourself comfortable to design your workflows by changing default settings
to match your style. The User Settings option will allow you to do just that. It can be
found at Options > User Settings > Edit User Settings.
Personalize your Alteryx canvas

Personalize the layout direction, zoom levels, container colors, canvas/ grid colors,
and annotation settings by changing the defaults at Options > User Settings > Edit
User Settings > Canvas or on a workflow by workflow basis as explained below.
Workflow Layout
Build out your workflows vertically or horizontally. To change a single workflow, click
anywhere on your canvas, and in your Workflow – Configuration window, under
Canvas options, select your Layout Direction as horizontal or vertical.
Connection Progress:
The Canvas tab under Workflow –
Configuration provides three options for
the Connection Progress. If you prefer
an uncluttered look, you can “Hide” the
connection progress. If you’d like to see
it as your workflow is processing, you
can select “Show Only When Running”.
If you’d like to be able to take a closer
look at the number of records process, e.g. if you are troubleshooting a workflow,
you have the option to keep them visible, “Show”, even after the workflow has
finished processing.
15 | Getting Started – Workflow Design

Arrows:
Does your tool connector arrows get a
little confusing? You can change your
loopy connectors to perpendicular or
straight lines under Options > User
Settings > Edit User Settings > Canvas.
You can even make your connections
Wireless! Right-click on any tool to select wireless Incoming or Outgoing connectors
or select the wireless checkbox under the navigation for the tool.
Turn back time with Autosave Workflows

The Autosave feature allows you to save the workflow you are working on at the
time intervals of your choosing.
Find the Autosave settings at Options > User Settings > Edit User
Settings > Advanced.

Access your autosaved files by navigating to File > Open Autosaved files, a list of
available files will appear for you to select.
Collect and display data profile Information NEW to 11

By default, Data profiling is
selected, you can turn this off
by unchecking the Collect and
display data profile
information on Options >
User Settings > Edit User
Settings > Default tab.
The Browse tool was enhanced for 11

with Data Profiling, this information
will give you insights on the quality of
the data. The Browse Configuration
window displays different charts and
metadata depending on the type of
data in the column selected in the
Results window.

By default, the first column of data in the Results window displays in the Configuration
window. Click a different column to view its data in the Configuration window.
FROM THE TIP MEISTERS:

Data Quality color code by your Customer Support team.
Quickly look at the Data Quality section in the Profile tab of the Browse tool when
selecting that field you want to check. Red is for Not OK (maybe white spaces), Yellow is
for Null because there are no values, Gray for Empty and Green for Good to go.
Bringing your data in

Different ways to bring-in data to match your style
We’ve seen our users bringing in their data using different techniques. Here are the
ones we’ve seen the most that are the most fascinating. Try one of these or come up
with one that matches your own style.
Standard Drag and Drop

This is the one you will see on Alteryx training videos. Find the tool you need on the
tool palette, click on it to select and hold it, then drag and drop it into your canvas.
Insert tool in canvas

One of our Grand Prix winners used this one
during competition and under lots of pressure!!
Right-click on the desired place on the canvas then
choose Insert. This will present you with all the tool
categories- navigate to your tool from there.

From Windows Explorer to Canvas by SeanAdams
Another fast way to add your data sources to your

canvas is by dragging the data file from Windows
Explorer and dropping it to the canvas.

Saving time at Opening by Barnesk
A fast way to open workflows when Alteryx is already open, drag the workflow file
(YXMD) from Windows Explorer and drop it on the canvas; the workflow will open in
the same window but on a new tab. This saves lots of time because you don’t have to
wait for a new instance of Alteryx to open each time.
Explorer Box
This handy dandy tool
allows you to point to
a directory to show
all the files contained.
From there (as explained
above), drag one or more
files from the list and
drop them to the canvas.

Create fast test Inputs by chris_love.
Copy and Paste from a Browse tool back to the canvas to create a Text Input containing
the data. Great way to fast “test” inputs or to create fast lookups / data cleans.
Set New Record Limits

The Record Limit setting in the Input Data tool can be very helpful at workflow
design time.
Limiting the number of records coming in while building your workflow will speed up
testing. This will return the top records.

Record Limit to All Inputs by Alberto Guisande
Record Limit all the Input tools in the workflow at once: Workflow Configuration >
Runtime tab > Record Limit for All Inputs. When Record Limit is set on the file and to
All Inputs, the smaller number takes precedent.
When in need of just the

metadata, Record Limit to -1
Record Limit set to 0 returns

the maximum size of an Int64.
No Data File type… No Problem!

Want to open a non-data file type? Bring it on! One common use case is an Alteryx
workflow (.YXMD).
In the Open a Data File dialog

box, make sure to select All
Files (*.*) for Files of type:

For the Resolve File Type dialog box,
use \0 as the delimiter and uncheck
the First Row Contains Field Names
box. All your data will be placed in one
field, therefore, make sure to set the
Field Length (in the Input Data
Configuration) to a much bigger size to
accommodate all the data.

Delimiter \0 is for no delimiters by your Customer Support Team
This can be useful whenever running into delimiter issues such as a CSV file with extra
commas. Bring your data with \0 and it will ignore delimiters, placing all your data in one
field. Increase the Field Length and use the Text to Columns to split your data up.
No need to Reconnect
Connecting and Reconnecting tools on
our canvas is how we build our
masterpieces a.k.a. workflows.
We’ve all been there, the light bulb

goes off: ”I’d be better if I add this one
tool right after this other one, but it
has multiple outgoing connections”. No
need to reconnect, Right Click on the
tool then select Insert After and select
the tool to Insert. All the connections
will go out of the inserted tool.

When the tool has multiple outputs we can later decide which output is better to switch
to without the need to reconnect, Right Click on the connection > Switch origin to

Delete and Connect Around by your Customer Support team.
When deleting a tool that is connected, Right Click on the tool and select Delete and
connect around. This won’t be enabled for tools that have multiple inputs and/or outputs.
Refresh with F5 and other shortcuts

Remember when you were younger and the old people told you that you had to do
everything the long and hard way? Well now that we’re the adults, we can do whatever we
want – like take shortcuts without receiving any of those disapproving looks. We’ve got
you covered when it comes to cheating the system, with some of our favorite Shortcuts.
F5 is for Refresh tool configurations, two common use cases:
Your incoming data source has been updated or is just different- Press F5 to refresh
all the tools with the new metadata.
By design, tool configurations are not being refreshed If the Disable Auto
Configure option has been selected in the User Settings—press F5 to manually
refresh tool configurations.

Disable Auto Configure by your Customer Support team.
Editing your complex workflow, your big data source is located on the network drive or
Allocate tools are present, check this box (Options > User Settings > Edit User Settings)
and you may find resources are better allocated and optimized.
More shortcuts at https://help.alteryx.com/11.0/index.htm#HotKeys_Shortcuts.htm?

Just Browsing
Our humble yet insightful Browse tool is one of the most used tools in the tool
palette and the Results window allows for fast development. It’s like discussing social
drama- we shouldn’t, but we just have to take a look.
Cell Viewer
Available on the Browse tool and Results
window, Click on the Cell Viewer to view
metadata for each column (when clicking on
the column name) or the content of a selected
cell (when clicking on the data).
Easiest way to see white space or hidden

characters in your data. Click on the cell and
make sure to have the Show Whitespace icon
selected. Notice the red corner, if you hover
over it will give you additional information:

New Window for the selected few by JoeM.
Easily compare two or more records in the Browse tool with two different
methods below:
Highlight the desired records with Ctrl + Click/Drag, then go to the ‘Open results
in a new window icon’ on the upper-right corner and select: New Window
(Selected Records)
Highlight the desired records with Ctrl + Click/Drag, go the up and down arrows
on the top bar of the results window and use them to toggle between all of your
selected records
Rapid Results
Accidentally closed the results window? No need to go back into the View menu
to enable it. Simply click on the anchor for any tool on your canvas and the Results
window will reappear…magic!

We got your Metadata covered
The Results window has your data’s metadata, no need to run the workflow to see it.

Metadata on the connection by your Customer Support team.
Designing on your canvas and need to quickly see the metadata, wanting to save precious
seconds? Click on the connection to see the metadata moving through that connection.
Anchor Limits
By design, the Results window displays up to 1 MB or data or up to 1,000 bytes of

string data, for each tool anchor, to make the viewing of your data quickly available
without the Browse tool. A message of (partial results) will show if your data size
exceeds this limit.

Adjust Memory Limit per Anchor by your Customer Support team
Adjust the memory limit per anchor in the User Settings (Options > User
Settings > Edit User Settings > Advanced tab > Tool Result Settings). It can also
be adjusted in the System Settings > Engine

Performance Profiling
The Results window will
display the percentage of time
spent processing each tool if
Performance Profiling is enabled
(Workflow Configuration >
Runtime tab)
Mad about organization?

We understand that in addition to functionality, everyone wants their workflows
to be the prettiest they can be. In 11, shortcuts have been added to increase your
efficiency and to keep tools lean and mean.
Slick enhancements to Comment and Tool Container NEW to 11
Add to New Container

A new option helps you quickly
group tools into a container by
selecting one or more tools on the
canvas, right-clicking, and clicking
“Add To New Container”.

Update Caption directly on tool
The Comment tool and the Tool
Container tool text can now be edited
by double-clicking them on the canvas
and typing directly in the box.

Auto-Expanding Tool Containers by JohnJPS
Put long/short comment along the top and tall/skinny comment along the left, stretch
these to size the tool container to your desired fixed size.
Got a workflow that’s trying to

do its own thing? Into formation!
It’s the align you’ve always
dreamed of…your tools in the
canvas. Align the, Horizontally or
Vertically. Your preference!

Shortcuts to align your workflows by TaraM
If you’re a bit OCD about perfectly aligned tools and connections in your workflow, then
you are going to love these shortcuts! Use Ctrl+Shift+- or + to align vertical or horizontal.

Aim and Paste by Garrett.
Right Click & Paste to control where copied tools get placed on the canvas, rather than Ctrl-V.

Document for your own good by jason_m_mack.
Use the tools in the ‘Documentation’ toolset to keep things clear and clean for others
to understand (or your future self when you get asked to update something you haven’t
touched in 6 months)

Comment your Expressions by tom_montpool
Tools with an Expression panel support block comments (/*Comment*/) and single line
comments (//Comment) allowing more documentation capabilities over and above the
Comment tool and the tool annotations.
Nimble Navigation
When the time comes when your little workflow is not so little anymore, you’ll need
these navigation tips & tricks handy.
If scrollbars are not your thing, press on the mouse wheel and move up/down or
left/right, or the combination of space bar + Right Click.
The Overview view (in the View menu bar) allows you to navigate through your
workflow while it is running.

Workflow Navigation by AdamR.
• Double click the scroll wheel on your mouse zooms to whole workflow.
(Ctrl + 0 for the keyboard shortcut lovers)
• Right click drag selects an area of your workflow to zoom in to.
• Right click on canvas > Zoom to specific tool container.
The Go-To Time Savers

Do you ever have the problem where you have to tell your kids the same thing over
and over again? Well, we fixed that issue, if your kids are workflows. Save time (and
breath) with these tips!
Quickly Forget those missing fields

Ever run into that situation where you
need to fix fields downstream and
the upstream tools are now cluttered
with obsolete fields? Quickly forget
those missing fields under the tool
configuration > Options tab.

Close All But This NEW to 11
Doing a bunch of tests on
separate workflows and finally
figured it out? Save clicks and go
to your main workflow tab, right-
click, and Close All But This.
Open Containing Folder NEW to 11

Need quick access to your folder that
contains your current workflow?
The folder where your workflow is saved can
now be opened by right-clicking the
Global Variables, the only Constant is Change

Have you ever needed to change a
value in multiple places within your
workflow a.k.a. global variables? Within
Alteryx, Global Variables are called
Constants. There are 4 default Engine
type constants at workflow level, User
constants can be added as needed.
To add a User Constant, Click on

the Plus sign on the top right hand
corner, give it a name, a value and
check the box if it is a number.

Any of the Engine constants or user constants that you create can be used
throughout the workflow. To reference it, select Custom Filter then expand the
Constants tree.
Another way to reference constants is by using %User.ConstantName%
Pinned Possibilities
Is there one or more tool categories you use on a regular basis and you find yourself
scrolling through the tool palette? Good news, You can pin those categories to the
front of the tool palette. Right click on any tool category and select
Pin [Category Name].

Getting Started
– Workflow
Optimization
Getting Started – Workflow Optimization | 32

Getting Started – Workflow
Optimization
Resource Optimization
Alteryx is designed to optimize its resources in the most efficient manner. To make
Alteryx run at the speeds we’ve grown accustomed to love, it tries to balance CPU
use, memory, and disk I/O.
The good news is that most of the resource utilization can be controlled. You can
limit the amount of memory that is used on a system, user, or workflow level.
The Engine Sort/Join memory setting defines the minimum amount of memory the
engine will consume while performing operations such as sorts and joins. Other tools
will use memory outside that sort/join block, some of which (e.g. drive times with a
long maximum time) can use a lot.
The default sort/join memory

set during the install works
for most users and usually
doesn’t need to be changed.
Things to consider when
changing it: A sort will run
faster if it is run entirely in
memory instead of using temp
files but if it must switch
to using virtual memory
performance will decrease
which is why the setting
should not be too high.
The global Default Dedicated Sort/Join Memory Usage at System level can be
found at Alteryx → Options → Advanced Options → System Settings → Engine →
Default sort/join memory usage (MB)
33 | Getting Started – Workflow Optimization

When setting up a machine as a worker for the gallery and/or scheduling, you have
the option to restrict the amount of memory Alteryx uses for sort/join operations.
This will only affect workflows that are running through the scheduler on the
machine. A general rule for an appropriate setting is to be ½ of the amount of system
memory available, divided by the number of simultaneous workflows allowed to run.
Limiting the number of workflows allowed to run simultaneously in combination with
setting maximum sort join usage for the worker is a good way limit conflicts if too
many jobs are scheduled to run concurrently and creates a more stable environment.
You can also edit sort/join memory under the user settings if the option “Allow users
to overwrite these settings” is checked with the engine settings.
To set a user level default dedicated Sort/Join Memory Usage, go to Options →

User Settings → Edit User Settings → Defaults tab

Lastly, you can edit sort/join
memory at the workflow level:
Configuration → Runtime tab
→ Dedicated Sort/Join Memory
Usage → Use Specific Amount
Lower it when doing memory

intensive non-sort actions (e.g. driver times), increase it for memory intensive sort-work.
Other considerations:
5. Run Alteryx at a lower priority: This will ensure that the Alteryx Engine runs at
a lower priority than all the other applications running on the same machine. By
doing so, even the Alteryx GUI will remain responsive when you are running a
large Workflow in the background. This is an especially good idea for a shared
server and recommend for a server hosting a Gallery. Alteryx → Options →
Advanced Options → System Settings → Engine
6. Shared Servers: For a shared server, the system owner/IT person should set the
memory to no more than (total memory-2GB)/(Number of Users). This way if
all the users are running workflows at the same time the system won’t go into
virtual memory, which significantly slows things down.
7. Web Servers: When running Alteryx on a web server, you want to set the
memory usage to the smallest possible without impacting the performance
too much. We recommend trying a system memory setting of 64MB and then
increasing the memory on a per workflow basis as needed. It is important to note
that the user setting for memory usually has no impact since the web service
typically runs as a separate system user. Make sure to use the system settings.
8. Background Processing: Any time you are planning to run a workflow in the
background while continuing to do other work, it is a good idea to run it with
less memory.
9. It is also a good idea to have the temporary directory point to a separate physical
hard drive from your boot drive. If your temp drive points to C:\temp and you run
a Workflow that consumes 100’s of GB of Temp space (it happens), your system
may become unstable.

Lean for Speed
Select Data to be processed with Select…
A best practice to optimize the performance of your workflows is to remove data
that won’t be needed for downstream processing as quickly as possible. The Select
tool removes columns from your data. Some other tools (e.g. Join, Join Multiple,
Spatial Match, Find Nearest) also include select functionality.
…and Filter Tool:

Another good way to optimize workflow
performance is using the Filter tool to remove
unnecessary rows. The filter tool lets you split your
data into two separate data streams that can then be
treated differently (or ignored if one data set is not
needed downstream).

Developing workflows with large databases from danielbrun:
If you are reading large DB inputs or bulk loading excel/csv files, it is in most cases
worth to write it to a .yxdb and continue to work with that .yxdb until the flow is
done. This is also the case when using the download tool. Save the data locally and
work on from there.

Assign most efficient data types with the AutoField Tool
Optimize your workflow for speed by setting the field type to the smallest possible
size and most efficient field type. String fields with a big size can be costly and
carrying them through your workflow will slow it down. Use the AutoField tool right
after your Input Data tool to assign the most efficient type and size to your fields.
Below is an example of data types before and after the AutoField tool:
Another benefit of using the AutoField tool is that it will reduce the size of your output file.

Disable All Browse Tools from danielbrun and tom_montpool
The Browse tool quickly becomes a data

artisan’s best friend; it allows to see/review the
entire data at any given step in the workflow
building process. However, each of these
browse tools creates a temporary yxdb and
writing these files does take some time and
slows down processing. When the workflow is
ready for production it is better to remove
them. There is an option to just disable them
so they can be easily enabled if needed. This
setting can be found at Workflow > Runtime
> Disable All Browse Tools

Performance Profiling
Performance profiling displays

all tools and their runtimes
(in descending order) in your
output log. Creating this output
takes resources and slows down
processing which is why it is
not enabled by default. It can
be enabled under Workflow
Configuration > Runtime
If it slows down processing, why

would you use it? Seeing which
tool takes the most time to process
can help you determine where
to start working on making your
workflow more efficient. It can
also help you determine where differences are if the same workflow takes longer to
process on one computer versus another.

Getting Started -
Data Preparation
& Blending
39 | Getting Started - Data Preparation & Blending

Getting Started - Data Preparation
& Blending
Multi Field and Multi Row Formula Tools
Multi Field Formula Tool
The Multi Field Formula tool makes it easy to execute a single

function on multiple fields.
It will present you with a list of fields to select. You can either select
numeric or text fields. These are the fields that the formula will
manipulate, all other fields will remain untouched. This does NOT
function as a select tool removing fields from the data stream.
You have the option to overwrite the existing fields or to create new fields. If you
decide to copy the fields, you will have the option to change the field names by
adding a prefix or suffix.
You also have the option to change the output type. This is convenient if you are
converting dates to strings, or numbers to strings to format them.
Selecting [_CurrentField_] under the variables will modify all of the selected fields.
You also have the option to use specific fields.
In this example, the fields Cost, Price, and

Extended Price are being changed to text
fields, with a “$” symbol and separating
commas added to the number. E.g. 463956
is changed to $463,956.
This tool is also convenient if you are working

with data that was manually entered by a user
as it lets you perform data cleaning actions
(e.g. TRIM()) on all of your fields.
See also the help section

for the Multi Field Formula.
Getting Started - Data Preparation & Blending | 40

Multi Row Formula Tool
The Multi-Row Formula tool takes the concept of the Formula Tool
a step further, allowing the user to utilize row data as part of the
formula creation. This tool is useful for parsing complex data, and
creating running totals, averages, percentages and other
mathematical calculations.
Assuming that the data is sorted correctly,

the below example will calculate Revenue
Growth by Store and create a new column
for the percentages.
See also the help section for the

Multi Row Formula.
Combined Multi Row and Multi Field Formula Tool Example

Have you ever seen data like this and wanted to bring the Store forward to fill
in the blanks?

The multi-row formula is your friend! But wait! The revenue and cost fields don’t
This function will populate the whole look too pretty either. Let’s use the Multi
store column for you. Field Formula to clean them up.
The results: Pretty Data!

Sometimes You Feel Like a Join, Sometimes You
Don’t: Joining and Blending Data
The Join tool and many other tools in the joining category have select functionality.
Don’t forget you can de-select and rename un-needed fields right in the join tools.
No need to use a separate select.

ACE Marquee Crew’s Recommendations for Join Vs Find and Replace:
Join is AMAZING if Left and Right inputs have the same record
count and order. Suppose that you’ve used a select tool and do
some functions to create new columns of data that you want to join
back to the original data. You can use the join and use the “Join by Record Position”
configuration (radio button). You can’t get any faster than that. Your data is NOT sorted.
If you are joining a Large set of data to a small set of data (Large is large and small is <
32,000 rows) the Find Replace offers you the ability to put the small data into memory
and avoid the expensive sort. Imagine with 138 million records using a TILE tool and
then looking up eight (8) length descriptors from a text input tool. The JOIN version runs
in 3:40 minutes and the FIND REPLACE version runs in 3:09 minutes.
FIND REPLACE also allows for case insensitive and partial matching. If you’re ever
applying descriptions or labels to values, this is the recommended approach.

ACE Jarrod’s Tip to Rename Fields Before Joining
If you are appending fields using the Join tool, rename the fields with a prefix
(or suffix) before joining to another data set that contains the same field names.
Then you can union all 3 outputs to complete a full outer join without any
issues with misaligned fields.
Consider a use case where you have stores and customers each with addresses.
Without adding prefixes the join would produce Right_ prefixes on the data, making
it hard to tell which address belongs to the customer and which belongs to the store
After adding prefixes, the join fields are neat and clearly labeled with the source they
came from.

Sean Adams Tip to use Deselect Duplicates in the Join Tool Options
A common issue when viewing joined data is that both streams can share certain fields
(in particular, this can be an issue with the join field). Use Options > Deselect Duplicate
Fields in order to remove duplicates in one quick and easy step.

Summarize
Sean Adams Trick to use summarize for concatenation
Did you know that you can use Summarize to create character-delimited fields? Use the
Text-to-columns to disassemble the string. Then use Summarize with a concatenate to
put it back together again.
From the Customer

Support Team:
Remember you can
specify the delimiter
in summarize when using ‘concat.’
The use case possibilities are

endless. This setting is commonly
used to create custom delimited
files (for example ||)

When You Got It, Select It: Tips and Tricks for the
Select Tool
When working with select don’t forget to utilize all of the tool’s
functionality. There are many features in this versatile tool aside from
de-selecting and renaming fields. Save time during development by
leveraging advanced options in the Select Tool.
Save Select Configuration

Adjusted your field names and types for a dataset and need to use the same
selection on a different workflow? Save the configuration
Then load it into another workflow

Other configurations within the Select Tool
To change field type of all highlighted rows choose Options > Change Field Type of
Highlighted Rows
To move highlighted fields to top or bottom choose Options > Move
To reorder multiple fields at once highlight them, then right-click and drag
Changed your mind? To revert to incoming field order choose Options > Sort

ACE JohnJPS’s Forget Missing Fields Trick
After changing your data set, choose options > forget all missing fields to remove the
missing fields from your select tool. This will make configuring the fields much easier and
give you a cleaner look.

ACE Hollingsworth’s Unknown Fields Trick
When you have a stable workflow that you want to use in a production environment,
put a Select tool directly after the input and uncheck the row labeled *Unknown at the
bottom of the list of fields. That way if your input data changes, then the workflow won’t
be able to add any new fields that your destination file or database is not expecting.
Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz, Oh, What a Formula It Is: Tips

and Tricks for the Formula Tool
Have a new expression to write? Remember to check https://help.
alteryx.com/11.0/index.htm#Reference/Functions.htm for a full list of
functions available in the formula tool.

ACE MarqueeCrew’s Optimized If Statement (Range Formula) Trick
When writing range expressions, a common method is to include a top and bottom
for each category.
When processing the IF statement, the amount of coding can be shortcut by

applying ceilings only
Once the first test is passed, you need not ask the lower range question again.
MarqueeCrew ran a test on the logics above and found timings for “Before” on
135,708,968 records are: 3:24 minutes versus 3:06 minutes. In addition to spending
less time coding the formula, there are performance benefits to be realized by the
second formula. By knowing where a skew is in a particular category, the formula
could be coded to ask that question first.

ACE Mbarone’s Trick to Quickly Remove Nulls in your Data with
the Formula Tool
If you have a numeric field that has nulls that you want to quickly change to zero, try
using the ToNumber function: ToNumber([Field1]). Also suggested by ACE danielbrun
Other tools in the palette that can help

with removing nulls include:
Data Cleansing
Imputation Tool

Tile Tool

ACE Mbarone’s Tile Tool Trick (Create a Record ID with Grouping)
Ever wanted to create a record ID with a group by? Consider using the Tile tool to create
a Record ID for each group in your data.
Simply use the Tile Method “Unique Value” and select the field(s) you would like to have
the record IDs “grouped” on. This will reset the record ID (renamed from the “Tile_
SequenceNum” field) counter for each unique value in your specified Unique Fields.
Filters, Filters, Everywhere: ACE MarqueeCrew’s

Trick to Optimize Filtering on Large Datasets
Suppose you are looking at a National file and want to find all households with
children that own their own home and live in a specific geography. This might look
like: Contains([CHILDREN: AGE 0-18 VERSION 3],”Y”) AND [HOMEOWNER:
COMBINED HOMEOWNER-RENTER] == “H” AND [FIPS ZIP CODE] == ‘49033’
Doing this as one statement in one filter tool, you would be testing more conditions
(400+MM conditions in the US) than if you first tested for Postal Code then filtered for
Residency and/or Presence of Children separately. The Postal Code would net you a few
thousand records. The subsequent filter/tests would get you down to the few records faster.
When working with large sets of data this is more apparent and the benefits can add
up. There are 169 households out of 139,709,868 records. With one filter the job
runs in 3:09 minutes. With three filters the job runs in only 2:08 minutes.

Get More from DateTime: New to 11
Custom date formats accepted
Consider the following data, in Alteryx 10 .6, this

could not be consumed with the DateTime tool:
In Alteryx 11, the data can be consumed

without error, and give the desired results .
Alteryx can handle the distinction between two
and four digit years without parsing .
Gone are the days of meticulously parsing custom

dates to bring them into the datetime tool. Starting in
V 11, Custom Date formats are accepted
Custom format preview:
Users may now type in custom formats and see an example of the output, providing
greater flexibility when working with DateTime data

Spatial Tips
and Tricks
53 | Spatial Tips and Tricks

Spatial Tips and Tricks
Spatial Processing
Spatial Relationship: Spatial Matching Tips
So you have two sets of spatial objects and want to find the spatial relationship
between them; the Spatial Match tool would do the job, but how could you
set up your inputs into this tool for a faster processing (Universe and Target)?
Understanding the following will help you:
1. The Spatial Match tool will put everything in the Universe (U) tab into a
temporary YXDB with a spatial index.
2. Then it has to look at every Target (T) object, but it can quickly ignore all
Universe-side objects whose bounding rectangles don’t intersect the bounding
rectangle of the Target object. [A Bounding Rectangle is the rectangle that
bounds the spatial object.]
3. As an example, for the common case of a smaller number of larger objects (e.g.
Store trade areas) being matched against a large, wide-spread set of smaller
objects (e.g. nationwide customer points); it’s better to put the large set of wide-
spread small objects on the universe side.
4. There are many multiple methods for spatially matching two sets of spatial
objects. A venn diagram of each of those methods can be found in the Spatial
Match Tool’s Help Menu.
5. The records that come from the Match (M) tab will be Target (T) records whose
object had a match from the Universe (U) stream. The Universe object and
selected fields are joined to the Target Record. The records from the Unmatched
(U) tab will be Target records whose object had no match from the Universe
stream.
6. The IMPORTANT Message is: The Spatial Match can ignore most Universe
records that won’t match the Target record without even looking at them.

Other Spatial Match Optimization Tips
Use File Input
When using spatial process with large datasets, consider using file input
within the tool for increased performance.
Lighten the Load: De-select Unnecessary Spatial Objects

For faster downstream processing, use the spatial match configuration to
de-select un-needed spatial fields.

Spatial Matching Point in Polygon intersections with Calgary Join
For large point in polygon spatial matches consider loading the point layer
to a Calgary layer, then using a Calgary join tool. Configure the join to
map spatial field to spatial field.
Map Input
Set default location
To make development faster, use a default location for the map input tool
so you don’t need to scope each time
Spatial Tips and Tricks | 56

Browsing Spatial Data
Control Which Spatial Objects Show in Browse Tool
Click on the top left of the

browse configuration where it
shows the number of fields in
order to expand a menu for layer
selection. Use this interface to
de-select unwanted layers in
order to give yourself a cleaner
view or to view features that
overlap each other.

Copy Spatial Features from Browse Tool
Right click on a point in a browse tool to copy the coordinates. Then right
click anywhere on the canvas to paste the copied point in as a new text
input with spatial object
Tom Tom Spatial Data Extraction

Looking for spatial data to use in Alteryx such as roads or schools? Did you know
you can extract the spatial data that powers the Tom Tom Base map when you have
a spatial license? Alteryx users who have
purchased the TomTom Alteryx Maps data set
can extract layers into various formats using
the Tom Tom Layer Extraction App.
Look for the App in the location where you

installed the Spatial Data. The default location
is listed below.
C:\Program Files (x86)\Alteryx\

DataProducts\AlteryxMap\TomTom_
US_2016_Q4\Analytic_Apps

Run the App to select layers by geography and extract them to a location on your
machine as yxdb layers.
Or, if you prefer, you can access the file for all geographies by locating the Data
folder in the install directory.
Default data location:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Alteryx\DataProducts\AlteryxMap\TomTom_US_2016_Q4\Data
Documentation for the layers can be found in the documentation folder under ‘spatial’

Database
Processing
Database Processing | 60
Database Processing
Database Connections Best Practices
Alteryx can access data that resides in a database and either bring that data into memory
in Alteryx for processing or conduct the processing within the database itself via the in-
database tool set. Here are a few tips to follow when connecting to databases.
A list of supported data sources can be found here:
https://help.alteryx.com/11.0/index.htm#DataSources/SupportedDataSources.
htm%3FTocPath%3D_____4
Connecting to Databases
Saved Data Connections
NEW AND IMPROVED TIP FOR 11:

Use saved data connections from jason_m_mack:
Make use of saved data connections (Options > Advanced Options > Manage Data
Connections) if you need to share and develop workflows among a team. Managing these
connections has been made easier with a new option to manage them through the gallery.
Save Data Connections Locally

Saved data connections are replacing the alias manager for Alteryx 11. They can be
found under Options > Advanced Options > Manage Data Connections for regular
connections and under Options > Advanced Options > Manage IN-DB Connections
for in-database connections. They are useful if you have many data connections you
would like to keep organized, if you find yourself switching between many databases
frequently, or if you are required to update your password regularly (no more editing
input tools - just edit the password once!). To add a new data connection, first
use an input tool to verify that the connection can be established. Then use the
data connection manager under options to save the connection string. For details
on how to set up saved data connections, please visit the community at https://
community.alteryx.com/t5/Alteryx-Knowledge-Base/Manage-Data-Connections-
Alteryx-11-0/ta-p/45228

Saved Data Connections on the Gallery – NEW for 11
New for 11 is a feature that will ease access to databases for your Alteryx users. The
feature also allows the Alteryx Gallery and Database Administrators more governance
over what connections are being made as well as who is making the connections. The
Admin of the Gallery can create and manage their users’ data connections. Simply create
the connection, find your user(s), and share the connection. The user will then be able to
see these “Gallery” connections on their desktop version of Alteryx and connect to the
database with the permissions granted by the Admin.
The user can see all

connections shared
with them in the new
Manage Data Connection
located in the Options >
Advanced Options menu
in their Alteryx Designer.
Full information can

be found at: https://
community.alteryx.com/t5/Alteryx-Knowledge-Base/Database-Connection-
Share-Through-Gallery-Admin-Alteryx-11-0/ta-p/46409
MS SQL Server
DSN-less connection to MS SQL Server – NEW for 11

Prior to 11, there were two options for connecting to SQL Server: OleDB and
ODBC. In order to use ODBC to connect, a DSN would first need to be configured
through the Windows ODBC Data Source Administrator. With Alteryx 11, we have
introduced an option based on ODBC that doesn’t require a DSN. This option can be
found under Connect a File or Database > Microsoft SQL Server.
The familiar ODBC and OleDB options can still be found under Other Databases.
Allow saving password when using OLE DB

When setting up an OleDB connection, check the Allow saving password box in the
Connection tab. Also this way the session will store the password and won’t discard it
once the test is successful. Also change the Persist Security info in the All tab to True.
63 | Database Processing
Oracle
Connection Options for Oracle – New for 11
For version 11, Alteryx has introduced an option to connect to Oracle without
having to set up a tnsnames.ora file or installing a driver first.
The Oracle option in the

input tool will search your
computer for an Oracle
driver, download the
appropriate driver if it
cannot find one, and set up
the connection without the
need to configure a tnsnames.ora file, or any Windows Environmental variables.
To use this connection, all you need from your Oracle DBA is the Oracle hostname,
Service Name, Username, and Password.
Please see the community for more detail on this option: https://community.
alteryx.com/t5/Alteryx-Knowledge-Base/Connecting-to-Oracle-Alteryx-11-0/
ta-p/46654
Other

Use an encrypted macro to protect credentials by aguisande
If you want to give users the option to read in certain data sets but you don’t want to
give them access to the dataset or have access to the credentials, set up an input tool
that reads in the data inside an encrypted macro. To encrypt the macro, go to Options >
Advanced Options > Encrypt Workflow
Use Native client
It is best to use the Native Client Driver provided by the database company. Make
sure you are selecting the version that matches your database. Native Driver names
would look like OraClient12c_home2 for Oracle and SQL Server Native Client 11 for
MS SQL Server.
ODBC/OLEDB/Oracle OCI/32 bit connections have been moved

Certain connection types have been moved in the input tool drop down to make
room for the new DSN-less MS SQL Server connection and the tnsnames-less
Oracle connection. They can now be found under Other Databases.
Teradata Bulk Connection:

Increases speed when reading and loading large volumes of data to an empty
table on a Teradata database. This option requires Teradata Tools and Utilities to
be installed (preferably v14), at minimum: Shared ICU Libraries, ODBC Driver for
Teradata, Teradata GSS Client, Teradata Parallel Transporter Base and Teradata Parallel
Transporter Stream. Ideally, running Alteryx 64-bit (using 64-bit ODBC driver)
Drivers distributed by Alteryx

Alteryx has been authorized to download the following drivers by Simba: Cassandra/
DataStax, Google BigQuery, Hive, Impala and Spark. To download them, please visit
http://pages.alteryx.com/Alteryx-Driver-Downloads-LP.html
Workflow Efficiency
Limit data being brought into Alteryx
Use the Visual Query Builder and/or SQL Editor to limit the number of columns and
rows being brought in.
Dynamic Input tool
Use the dynamic input tool to dynamically update SQL queries, speeding up your
processing time as it filters the data and only returns the user specified criteria.
Do not show % complete
When checked, Alteryx will not try to report the status of reading in the file, thus
speeding up the reading time.
Cache data during Workflow development

When cache data is checked, data is only read from the database the first time the
workflow is run. Subsequent runs read from a locally stored .yxdb file which can be
significantly faster than reading directly from the database. This setting is ignored in
the scheduler, the gallery, or when running the workflow via command line.
Messages in the output window will indicate whether cached data or live data is used.
Teradata: specify AMPS
Teradata allows the user to specify the Number of Sessions (AMPS) to
speed up processing.
Select your default view

You can select the default view to be displayed in the Choose Table or Specify
Query window as either the list of Tables, Visual Query Builder (VQB), Stored
Procedure, or SQL Editor. If you have a lot of tables, using the SQL Editor as the
default view can make the editor load much faster.
Test query
Once you have entered a query in the SQL Editor window, use the Test Query
button to verify its syntax.
Writing Out
Commit as you go
The transaction size option in the output tool determines how many records are
committed to the table at once. Be default, the option is set to 10000 records.
Increase or decrease the size to increase efficiency with your database.
Block Until Done Tool

The block until done tool halts all downstream processing until upstream processing
has been completed. If used right before an output tool, it will make sure that all
processing finishes before starting to write out. If used right after an input tool, it
will make sure all data is read in before processing starts. This can help with timeout
connection problems to the database and it will enable you to read in data from one
table, edit it, and then update the same table.
Faster Write to Hive
Hive ODBC can be slow when writing to
tables. If you are looking to create a new
table or overwrite an existing table, use
the IN-DB tools with the write option set
to HDFS(Avro) to improve speeds (NOTE:
IN-DB does not support updates). You can
use the Data Stream In tool instead of the
regular output tool:
IN-DB
The IN-DB tools help users build complex queries to be executed on the database
without needing to have a deep knowledge of the database query language. The
query components are put together using tools with a look and feel similar to the
regular tools used in Alteryx. Alteryx then compiles a query based on the tools on
the canvas and sends it to the database to be executed there instead of on your
local machine, thus taking advantage of the database server’s processing power.
Find more information about the IN-DB tools in our product documentation: https://
help.alteryx.com/11.0/index.htm#In-DatabaseOverview.htm%3FTocPath%3DIn-
Database%7C_____0
Supported Databases
For IN-DB we currently support the following databases:
•• Amazon Redshift •• MS Azure SQL Data Warehouse
•• Databricks New to 11 •• MS SQL Server
•• Hive •• Oracle
•• IBM Netezza New to 11 •• SAP Hana New to 11
•• Impala •• Spark
•• MS Analytics Platform System •• Teradata

New to 11
•• MS Azure SQL Database New to 11
Visualize the Query

Use the dynamic output tool to view the query Alteryx is building and to test it
outside of the Alteryx environment or in the regular input tool.
Copy the query out of the results window:
Do simple operations without knowledge of query language
While some SQL knowledge is required for more advanced operations (e.g.
when creating conditional statements), the IN-DB tools don’t need full SQL
statements to function.
Share your IN-DB Connection with a connection file

The In-DB Connection File type allows the sharing of database connections with
other users. A database connection is saved as an .INDBC file so it can be packaged
with a workflow. The password is encrypted in the INDBC file.
When creating the connection,

select the Data Source from the
dropdown (1), then select File for
the connection type (2), navigate
to a folder where the INDBC
file will be stored and provide a
name for this file (3).
For more details, check this Alteryx Community post at: http://community.alteryx.
com/t5/Alteryx-Knowledge-Base/Alteryx-In-DB-Connection-File/ta-p/17574
Connectors
73 | Connectors
Connectors
Community Resources for Connectors
Did you know that in addition to Alteryx Help Documentation, there is a wealth of
information for connectors at community.alteryx.com? Many Connectors have full
knowledge base articles with step by step instructions.
Publish to Power BI
https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Alteryx-Knowledge-Base/The-
How-to-Guide-to-Power-BI/ta-p/18952
Adobe Analytics
How-to-Guide-to-Adobe-Analytics/ta-p/21304
Azure ML Text Analytics Tool

How-to-Guide-to-Azure-ML-Text-Analytics-Macro/ta-p/17246
Cognitive Services Text Analytics Macro

https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Alteryx-Knowledge-Base/The-How-
to-Guide-to-Cognitive-Services-Text-Analytics-Macro/ta-p/45175
Download Tool
https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Alteryx-Knowledge-Base/Tool-
Mastery-Download/ta-p/29583
Google Analytics
How-to-Guide-to-Google-Analytics/ta-p/15137
Google Sheets
How-to-Guide-to-Google-Sheets/ta-p/20354
Salesforce
How-to-Guide-to-the-Salesforce-Connector/ta-p/18100
Tableau
How-to-Guide-to-Publishing-to-Tableau/tac-p/57951#M1704
75 | Connectors
Create Your Own Connector
Need a connector not included in Alteryx? Create your own! We’ve got a wealth of
resources posted online to help you build one.
Start at the link below:

https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Alteryx-Knowledge-Base/Guide-to-Creating-
Your-Own-Connector-Series/ta-p/23578
Then reference detailed information in step by step articles.

Guide to Creating Your Own Connector - Authentication
Guide to Creating Your Own Connector - Generating the Request
Guide to Creating Your Own Connector - Parsing API Response
Guide to Creating Your Own Connector - Handling Errors
Guide to Creating Your Own Connector - User Interface
Connectors | 76
Analytic Apps
and Macros
Analytic Apps and Macros | 77

Analytic Apps and Macros
Analytic Apps Best Practices
1. Analytic App and Macro building tutorials can be found under
Help > Sample Workflows!
Interface Designer
2. Dragging any Interface Tool to the canvas automatically changes your Workflow
Type to “Analytic App”.
3. You can connect a Question

Tool directly to another Tool
which will create an Action Tool
automatically.
Connectors | 78
4. You can move Analytic App questions around the UI using the Interface Designer.
Connections
5. To make the app look less cluttered, it is recommended to use wireless
connections for the action tools. To make your connections wireless, click on the
connection and check the Wireless box, or right click on a tool and select Make
Incoming/Outcoming connection wireless.
Apps and Macros Troubleshooting

Debug
When designing an analytics application or macro, you can use Debug Mode to simulate
how the app or macro would run with various selections in the Interface Designer
79 | Analytic Apps and Macros

Keep Your Values
When you are developing an Analytic App, you can save the values you have been
using for testing, then call those values back through the user interface. This is
especially helpful if you are developing an app with several inputs.
To save, click the Save

icon on the left of your
app UI then choose
your specific file name
(MyAppValues.yxwv).
To open, click the Open

File icon, then browse to
your App Values file.
Manageable Macros
Custom macros are a great way to make Alteryx more efficient for your use cases,
allowing for increased flexibility, customization, and shareability. To save yourself
some time, try creating a custom Macro tool category within the Designer. To do so,
follow the simple instructions below:
1. Create a macro (or many)!
2. Save your macro(s) in the same directory
3. In the Designer, go into Options – User Settings – Edit User Settings

4. Click on the Macros tab and click the plus sign:
5. Enter a name for your custom category, and enter the path where you have your
macro(s) stored:
6. Scroll to the end of your Tool Categories and you’ll see your custom folder with
any macros stored in that directory as Tool Icons you can now quickly drag and
drop into your workflow.
Macro Input Shortcut

In many cases a macro is built upon an existing
workflow that needs to be automated. When
that happens, most certainly the Input Data or
Text Input tool will have to be converted to a
Macro Input for the macro to accept incoming
connections. Often times, users will bring the
Macro Input tool from the Interface category and
browse to the data which can take a bit of time, the
shortcut is to right click on the Input or Text Input
tool and select Convert to Macro Input

Macro Building
Easy Macro Insert! NEW to 11
A macro can now be easily added to a workflow as soon as it is built and saved by
right-clicking in a workflow’s canvas and inserting the new macro.
Give a Letter to your anchor: Macro Connection Abbreviation
You can name the connectors for

macros to make them more
intuitive to the user. In this
example, the Iterative Supply and
Demand Macro has a connector
named “P” to indicate the output
that will produce the assigned
pairs. The other output should be
empty and can be ignored.
To create or change the Connector Abbreviation, go to the Configuration tab for the
Macro Input and Output tools

FROM THE TIP MEISTERS Easier App/Macro Debugging by
Patrick_Digan
When working with interface tools (drop down, list box, textbox etc.), you can use
the %Question.UniqueToolName% syntax to call the user input in any tool. During
debugging this allows you to run an app like a normal workflow by giving it test data
under the workflow tab of the designer configuration window, as well as cleaner look
due to no action tools.

Server and Gallery
84 | Server and Gallery

Server and Gallery
Workflow and Macro Sharing
You can publish and share your Workflows and Macros with other Alteryx Gallery
users. Like Alteryx Apps, Workflows can also be run in the Gallery. Macros can only
be downloaded and added to your own Workflows and Apps.
Workflows and Macros are uploaded the same way Alteryx Apps are. Simply open the
Workflow in the Alteryx Desktop Designer and click File -> Save As. Select the Gallery
you wish to save them to. If you need to make changes to what will be included with
your Workflow or Macro, like including sample data, click the Manage workflow assets
link to make changes. When you are ready, click the Save button. Once the Workflow
or Macro has been published, you can find it in your Private Studio.
Custom Workflow and District Tagging

With a Private Gallery comes the ability to add custom tags to Workflows, Analytic
Apps, and Macros. Your Gallery Curator can set up Tags for users to add to their
published processes to help when searching the Gallery, or to add to Districts within
the Gallery.
To set up a Tag, the Curator of your Gallery must log in and go into the Admin
section of the Gallery. From there, click on the Workflows option on the left, and at
the bottom you’ll see the Tags area. Admins can create custom tags for users to add,
and can also include the option for certain tags to be only usable by Curators, by
selecting the “Admin Only” option.
Once created, any Artisan who uploads a Workflow, App, or Macro to the Gallery can
go into their Private Studio, select a workflow, and click on the Workflow Properties
link. Here you’ll be able to select from the list of tags available within your Gallery.
To add a tag to a District, the Curator for your Gallery must first create a District,
and then in the setup for that District, can select tags to apply. Once the tags are
applied to the District, any Workflow that is added to your company’s public gallery
with the tags associated with that District will be available within the District itself.

Run As
The Alteryx Service runs as a local system account, by default. This can lead to
issues accessing data stored on network drives or databases that require specific
user permissions. In order to get around this, go to System Settings during your
Server configuration. On the Worker - Run As tab you can enter credentials for the
Service to use when running scheduled and/or Gallery jobs. You’ll need to enter the
Domain, Username, and Password:
Note that only one user account can be specified here and it applies to all jobs run
on the server either through the Scheduler or the Gallery. If you have multi-node
deployment with multiple workers, each Worker machine will need this setting
entered in order to ensure all workflows can run regardless of which Worker they
are sent to.
Workflow Execution Permissions

Users have the ability to pre-set credentials or require a user enter their credentials
at run time when uploading a workflow or an Analytic App to the Gallery.
To enable this functionality, the Gallery Curator must log in and go into the Admin
section of the Gallery. From there, click on the System option on the left. You’ll see
the option for “Default behavior for workflow credentials”.
Server and Gallery | 86

You can choose from:
1. Always run workflows with server or studio default credentials
2. Require users to enter their own credentails when running any workflow
3. Allow users to set options for credentials when saving a workflow
If option 3 is selected, when a user is

saving a workflow or app to the Gallery,
an additional option will be available
under “workflow options” in the saving
dialog box:
Clicking this link will take the user to the

options to specify any credential
requirements for their workflow:
User is not required to specify credentials: This option will set the workflow to run
as the default credentials for the studio or server.
User must specify their own

credentials: Users will be prompted
to enter their credentials when they
run the workflow
Always run this workflow with these

credentials: The workflow will always
run using the credentials specified.

Schedule from the Gallery: NEW to 11!
Scheduling in the Gallery is now available! A few clicks and your published
workflow will be running when you want it to.
After a Gallery Curator (Admin) has enabled the ability to schedule processes from
the Gallery, users have the option to schedule from gallery.
Once enabled, users will see an additional option when they select a workflow:
To view the results of the Schedules, click over to the Workflow Results page.
Users will be able to see only the results from their schedules and ad-hoc runs, with
a designation as to which runs were Manual and which were Scheduled. Gallery
Curators (Admin) can see run results for all users.
Gallery Admin Help Page: NEW to 11!

Now, find all your Gallery questions and answers in one place! The new Gallery
Admin Help Page has your Server Installation Guide, Configuration instructions, and
the much-requested Administer Gallery management features - Subscriptions and
Studios defined! Manage your user permissions! Edit user accounts!
Log into your Gallery, find your settings, and click on Admin (this will only appear if you
are your Gallery’s admin). Then, in the bottom left-hand corner, find the Help link.

Need to create a user? Change their profile? Move the user to another Studio? All
this and more under Administer Gallery. Questions about installing your Server?
Backing up your MongoDB? Check out the Install and Configure Server sections.
Still craving more information? Perhaps some training options? Quick Community access?

Alteryx Server Usage Report: Monitoring and
Reporting on Alteryx Across the Organization:
NEW to 11!
With many users from different parts of the organization accessing those analytics
from a centralized Alteryx Server, the ability to report on and understand Server
usage was essential – so we released the Alteryx Server Usage Report. This report
enabled administrators to understand how users are logging into the Server, what
workflows they’re running, and more.
Now, with Alteryx Analytics 11, we’ve expanded on these capabilities by enabling
administrators to understand not only how the Server is being utilized, but how
users of Alteryx Designer are leveraging their own desktop installations.
Administrators can now access usage insights such as:
·· Which Alteryx Designer users are most active in the organization
·· What are the most popular tools and categories being used
·· What types of data sources are being accessed
The new Alteryx Designer Usage data is available for customers with Alteryx Server
with the Gallery component enabled. By default, this feature is disabled, and the
Alteryx Designers will need to be configured to begin sending data to your Alteryx
Server. Please read the documentation available here for instructions on how to
configure Alteryx Designers to send data to your Alteryx Server.

Tool Overview
91 | Tool Overview
Tool Overview
In/Out
Input the current date and time
at module runtime, in a format
Review your data at any point
of the user’s choosing. (Useful
in the work flow.
for adding a date-time header
Date Time to a report.)
Browse
Now
Bring data into your module by

Input a list of file names and
selecting a file or connecting
attributes from a specified
to a database (optionally, using
directory.
a query).
Directory Input
Manually draw or select map

objects (points, lines, and Output the contents of a data
polygons) to be stored in the stream to a file or database.
module.
Map Input Output
This tool enables access to an

Manually add data which will be
XDF format file (the format
stored in the module.
used by Revolution R.
Text Input XDF Input
This tool reads an Alteryx data

stream into an XDF format
file, the file format used by
Revolution R.
XDF Output
Preparation
Automatically set the field Split the data stream into two
type for each string field to the or three random samples with a
smallest possible size and type specified percentage of records
that will accommodate the data in the estimation and validation
in each column. Create samples.
Auto Field
Samples
Automatically performs Easily filter data based on a

common data cleansing with a date criteria using a calendar
simple check of a box. based interface.
Data
Cleansing Date Filter
Query records based on an

Create or update fields using
expression to split data into
one or more expressions to
two streams, True (records
perform a broad variety of
that satisfy the expression) and
calculations and/or operations.
Filter False (those that do not). Formula

Create new rows of data. Update specific values in a
Useful for creating a sequence numeric data field with another
of numbers, transactions, or selected value. Useful for
Generate dates. replacing NULL() values.
Impute Values
Rows
Create or update multiple

Group multiple numeric fields
fields using a single expression
into tiles or bins, especially for
to perform a broad variety of
use in predictive analysis.
Multi-Field Multi-Field calculations and/or operations.
Binning Formula
Create or update a single field

using an expression that can
reference fields in subsequent Sample incoming data so that
and/or prior rows to perform there is equal representation of
a broad variety of calculations data values to enable effective
Multi-Row and/or operations. Useful Oversample use in a predictive model.
Formula for parsing complex data and Field
creating running totals.
Generate a random number or

Assign a unique identifier to
percentage of records passing
each record.
through the data stream.
Random %
Record ID
Sample
Select, deselect, reorder and

Limit the data stream to a
rename fields, change field
number, percentage, or random
type or size, and assign a
set of records.
description.
Sample Select
Select specific records and/
or ranges of records including
Sort records based on the
discontinuous ranges. Useful
values in one or more fields.
for troubleshooting and
Select Record sampling. Sort
Separate data into two streams,

Group data into sets (tiles) duplicate and unique records,
based on value ranges in a field. based on the fields of the user’s
choosing.
Tile Unique
Join
Append the fields from a

source input to every record
Match your customer or
of a target input. Each record
prospect file to the Dun &
of the target input will be Dun & Bradstreet business file.
duplicated for every record in Bradstreet
Append Field the source input. Business File
Matching
93 | Tool Overview
Search for data in one field
An updated version of the
from one data stream and
Household File Matching Tool
replace it with a specified field
with functionality and new
from a different stream. Similar
Consumer View matching criteria
Find Replace to an Excel VLOOKUP.
Matching
Combine two inputs based

on a common field or record
Identify non-identical
position. In the joined output,
duplicates in a data stream.
each row will contain the data
Fuzzy Match Join from both inputs.
Combine two or more inputs

Assemble pairs of matches
based on a common field or
into groups based on their
record position. In the joined
relationships. Generally used
output, each row will contain
with the Fuzzy Match tool.
Join Multiple the data from each input Make Group
Combine two or more data
streams with similar structures
based on field names or
positions. In the output, each
column will contain the data
Union from each input.
Parse
Transform date/time data to
and from a variety of formats,
Parse, match, or replace data
including both expression-
using regular expression syntax.
friendly and human readable
Date Time formats. RegEx
Split the text from one field Read in XML snippets and parse
into separate rows or columns. them into individual fields.
Text to
XML Parse
Columns
Transform
Count the records passing

Manually transpose
through the data stream. A
and rearrange fields for
count of zero is returned if no
presentation purposes.
records pass through.
Arrange Count Records
Pivot the orientation of the

data stream so that vertical Calculate a cumulative sum per
fields are on the horizontal axis, record in a data stream.
summarized where specified.
Cross Tab Running Total
Tool Overview | 94
Summarize data by grouping,
summing, counting,
Pivot the orientation of the
spatial processing, string
data stream so that horizontal
concatenation, and much more.
fields are on the vertical axis.
The output contains only the
Summarize results of the calculation(s). Transpose
Calculate the weighted average

of a set of values where some
records are configured to
Weighted contribute more than others.
Average
In-Database Tools
Review your data at any point

in an In-DB workflow. Note: Establish a database
Each In-DB Browse triggers a connection for an In-DB
database query and can impact workflow
Browse Data Connect
performance.
In-DB In-DB
Stream data from an In-

Bring data from a standard
DB workflow to a standard
workflow into an In-DB
workflow, with an option to
workflow.
Data Stream sort the records.
Data Stream In
Out
Take In-DB Connection

Name and Query fields from Output information about the
a standard data stream and In-DB workflow to a standard
input them into an In-DB data workflow for Predictive In-DB.
Dynamic Input stream. Dynamic
In-DB Output In-DB
Filter In-DB records with a Create or update fields in an

Basic filter or with a Custom In-DB data stream with an
expression using the database’s expression using the database’s
native language (e.g., SQL). native language (e.g., SQL).
Filter In-DB Formula In-DB
Combine two In-DB data Create an In-DB input

streams based on common connection on a macro and
fields by performing an inner or populate it with placeholder
outer join. Macro Input values.
Join In-DB
In-DB
95 | Tool Overview
Limit the In-DB data stream
Create an In-DB output
to a number or percentage of
connection on a macro.
records.
Macro Output
Sample In-DB
In-DB
Summarize In-DB data by

Select, deselect, reorder, and grouping, summing, counting,
rename fields in an In-DB counting distinct fields, and
workflow. more. The output contains only
Summarize the result of the calculation(s).
Select In-DB
In-DB
Combine two or more In-DB

data streams with similar
Use an In-DB data stream to
structures based on field names
create or update a table directly
or positions. In the output,
in the database.
each column will contain the
Union In-DB data from each input. Write In-DB
Reporting
Create a chart (Area, Column, Send emails for each record

Bar, Line, Pie, etc.) for output with attachments or e-mail
via the Render tool. generated reports if desired.
Charting Email
Arrange two or more reporting

Add an image for output via the snippets horizontally or
Render tool. vertically for output via the
Render tool.
Image Layout
Split the legend from
Recombine the component
the Report Map tool into
parts of a map legend (created
its component parts for
using the Map Legend Splitter)
customization by other tools.
into a single legend table, after
Map Legend Map Legend (Generally recombined by the
customization by other tools.
Builder Splitter Map Legend Builder.)
Output report snippets into

Arrange reporting snippets on
presentation-quality reports in
top of one another for output
a variety of formats, including
via the Render tool.
PDF, HTML, XLSX and DOCX.
Overlay Render
Add a footer to a report for Add a header to a report for

output via the Render tool. output via the Render tool.
Report Footer Report Header
Tool Overview | 96
Create a map for output via the Add and customize text for
Render tool. output via the Render tool.
Report Map Report Text
Create a data table for output

via the Render tool.
Table
Documentation
Add annotation or images to
Add a web page or Windows
the module canvas to capture
Explorer window to your
notes or explain processes for
canvas.
later reference.
Comment Explorer Box
Organize tools into a single

box which can be collapsed or
disabled.
Tool Container
Spatial
Expand or contract the extents Create spatial points in the

of a spatial object (typically a data stream using numeric
polygon). coordinate fields.
Buffer Create Points
Calculate the distance or drive Identify the closest points

time between a point and or polygons in one file to the
another point, line, or polygon. points in a second file.
Distance Find Nearest
Generate polygons
Simplify a polygon or polyline representing different levels
object by decreasing the of “heat” (e.g. demand) in a
number of nodes. given area, based on individual
Generalize Heat Map records (e.g. customers)
Create drive time trade areas

Create a grid within spatial
that do not overlap for a point
objects in the data stream.
file.
Non Overlap
Make Grid
Drivetime
Split a polygon or polyline into

Create a polygon or polyline
its component polygons, lines,
from sets of points.
or points.
Poly-Build Poly-Split
97 | Tool Overview
Extract information about a
Round off sharp angles of a
spatial object, such as area,
polygon or polyline by adding
centroid, bounding rectangle,
nodes along its lines.
etc.
Smooth Spatial Info
Combine two data streams
based on the relationship Create a new spatial object
between two sets of spatial from the combination or
objects to determine if the intersection of two spatial
objects intersect, contain or Spatial objects.
Spatial Match touch one another. Process
Define radii (including non-

overlapping) or drive-time
polygons around specified
points.
Trade Area
Interface
Updates the configuration of a

Display a check box option
module with values provided by
to the end user in an app or
interface questions, when run
macro.
as an app or macro.
Action Check Box
Tests for the presence of user Control Parameter tool is the

selections. The state is either input for each iteration in the
true or false. Batch Macro.
Control
Condition
Parameter
Allows users to make a single

Allows users to select a date.
selection from a drop down list.
Date Drop Down
Allow users to select a file to

Display an error message and
use as an input or output via a
halt processing.
traditional file browse window.
Error Message File Browse
Allow users to browse to a

Allow users to make multiple
folder via a traditional file
selections from a list box.
browse window.
Folder Browse List Box
Create an input connection on Create an output connection

a macro. on a macro.
Macro Input Macro Output
Tool Overview | 98
Display an interactive map to
Allow users to choose a number
allow the user to draw or select
from a predefined range.
location objects
Numeric Up/
Map
Down
Allow users to select an option

from a mutually exclusive list Allow users to enter characters
when used with other radio in a free form text box.
button tools.
Radio Button Text Box
Allow users to make one

or more selections from an
organized, hierarchical data
structure.
Tree
Data Investigation
Determine which fields in Outputs basic metadata such

a database have a bivariate as data type, min, max, average,
association with one another. number of missing values, etc.
Association Basic Data
Analysis Profile
Create a contingency table Allows you to fit one or more

based on selected fields, to list distributions to the input data
all combinations of the field and compare them based on
values with frequency and a number of Goodness-of-Fit
Contingency percent columns. Distributed statistics.
Table Analysis
Produce a frequency analysis
for selected fields - output
Produce a concise summary
includes a summary of the
report of descriptive statistics
selected field(s) with frequency
for the selected data fields.
Frequency counts and percentages for
Field Summary each value in a field.
Table
Provides a histogram plot for
This tools plots the empirical
a numeric field. Optionally, it
bivariate density of two
provides a smoothed empirical
numeric fields using colors
density plot. Frequencies are
to indicate variations in the
displayed when a density plot is
density of the data for different
Heat Plot Histogram not selected, and probabilities
levels of the two fields
when this option is selected.
Take a numeric or binary
Correlation (often measured categorical (converted into a
as a correlation coefficient, set of zero and one values) field
p), indicates the strength and as a response field along with
direction of a linear relationship a categorical field and plot the
Pearson between two or more random mean of the response field for
variables. Plot of Means each of the categories (levels)
Correlation
of the categorical field.
99 | Tool Overview
Produce enhanced scatterplots, Assesses how well an arbitrary
with options to include monotonic function could
boxplots in the margins, a linear describe the relationship
regression line, a smooth curve between two variables without
via non-parametric regression, making any other assumptions
a smoothed conditional spread, Spearman about the particular nature of
Scatterplot outlier identification, and a the relationship between the
Correlation
regression line. variables.
Shows the distribution of a
single numeric variable, and
conveys the density of the
distribution based on a kernel
smoother that indicates the
Violin Plot density of values (via width) of
the numeric field.
Predictive
Create generalized boosted
regression models based on the Estimate regression models for
gradient boosting methods of count data (e.g., the number
Friedman.* It works by serially of store visits a customer
adding simple decision tree makes in a year), using Poisson
models to a model ensemble so regression, quasi-Poisson
Boosted as to minimize an appropriate Count regression, or negative binomial
Model loss function. Regression regression.
Predict a target variable using

Predict a target variable using
one or more predictor variables
one or more predictor variables
that are expected to have an
influence on the target variable,
influence on the target variable
by constructing and combining
by constructing a set of if-
a set of decision tree models
Decision Tree then split rules that optimize a Forest Model (an “ensemble” of decision tree
criteria.
models).
Compare the improvement
(or lift) that various models
Relate a Gamma distributed,
provide to each other as well
strictly positive variable of
as a ‘random guess’ to help
interest (target variable) to one
determine which model is
or more variables (predictor
‘best.’ Produce a cumulative
variables) that are expected to
Gamma captured response chart (also
have an influence on the target Lift Chart
Regression called a gains chart) or an
variable.
incremental response rate
chart.
Relate a variable of interest
Relate a binary (yes/no) variable
(target variable) to one or more
of interest (target variable)
variables (predictor variables)
to one or more variables
(predictor variables) that are
influence on the target variable.
Linear Logistic expected to have an influence
(Also known as a linear model
Regression Regression on the target variable.
or a least-squares regression.)
Tool Overview | 100

Creates a binomial or Examine whether two models,
multinomial probabilistic one of which contains a subset
classification model of the of the variables contained
relationship between a set in the other, are statistically
of predictor variables and a equivalent in terms of their
Naive Bayes categorical target variable. Nested Test predictive capability.
Creates an interactive
visualization of a network along Create feedforward perceptron
with summary statistics and neural network model with a
distribution of node centrality single hidden layer.
Network Neural
measures.
Analysis Network
Predict a variable of interest
(target variable) based on one
or more predictor variables
Calculate a predicted value for
using the two-step approach
the target variable in the model.
of Friedman’s multivariate
Score Spline Model adaptive regression (MARS)
algorithm.
Support Vector Machines
(SVM), or Support Vector
Determine the “best” predictor Networks (SVN), are popular
variables to include in a model supervised learning algorithms
out of a larger set of potential used for classification
predictor variables for linear, problems, and are meant to
logistic, and other traditional Support accommodate instances where
Stepwise regression models. Vector the data (i.e., observations)
Machine are considered linearly non-
separable.
Compare the difference in
the mean values for a numeric
response field between a
control group and one or more
Test of Means treatment groups
AB Testing
Match one to ten control units
(e.g., stores, customers, etc.)
to each member of a set of
Compare the percentage
previously selected test units
change in a performance
on the criteria such as seasonal
measure to the same measure
patterns and growth trends for
one year prior.
AB Analysis AB Controls a key performance indicator,
along with other user provided
criteria.
101 | Tool Overview

Create measures of trend and
seasonal patterns that can
be used in helping to match
treatment to control units
(e.g., stores or customers)
for A/B testing. The trend
measure is based on period
to period percentage changes
Determine which group is the
in the rolling average (taken
best fit for AB testing.
over a one year period) in
AB Treatments AB Trend a performance measure of
interest. The same measure is
used to assess seasonal effects.
In particular, the percentage of
the total level of the measure in
each reporting period is used to
assess seasonal patterns.
Time Series
Estimate a univariate time
Estimate a univariate time
series forecasting model using
series forecasting model using
an autoregressive integrated
an exponential smoothing
moving average (or ARIMA)
method.
TS ARIMA method. TS ETS
Provide forecasts from an
ARIMA model that uses
Compare one or more covariates. The number
univariate time series models of periods to forecast is
created with either the ETS or determined by the number
ARIMA tools. of periods of covariate data
TS Covariant
TS Compare provided.
Forecast
This tool allows a user to take

a data stream of time series Provide forecasts from either
data and “fill in” any gaps in the an ARIMA or ETS model for
series a specific number of future
periods.
TS Filler TS Forecast
Create a number of different
univariate time series plots, to
aid in the understanding the
time series data and determine
how to develop a forecasting
TS Plot model.
Predictive Grouping
Appends the cluster
assignments from a K-Centroids Find the selected number of
Cluster Analysis tool to a data nearest neighbors in the “data”
stream containing the set of stream that corresponds to
fields (with the same names, each record in the “query”
Append but not necessarily the same Find Nearest stream based on their
Cluster values) used to create the Neighbor Euclidean distance.
original cluster solution.
Tool Overview | 102

Assess the appropriate number
Partition records into “K
of clusters to specify, given
groups” around centroids by
the data and the selected
assigning cluster memberships,
Predictive Grouping algorithm
using K-Means, K-Medians, or
K-Centroids (K-Means, K-Medians, or
Neural Gas clustering. K-Centroids
Analysis Neural Gas).
Diagnostics
Step 2 of a Market Basket
Analysis: Take the output
Used to construct a matrix of of the MB Rules tool, and
affinity measures between provide a listing and analysis
different items with respect to of those rules that can be
their likelihood off being part of Market Basket filtered on several criteria in
Market Basket the same action or transaction. Inspect order to reduce the number or
Affinity returned rules or item sets to a
manageable number.
Step 1 of a Market Basket
Analysis: Take transaction Reduce the dimensions
oriented data and create either (number of numeric fields) in
a set of association rules or a database by transforming
frequent item sets. A summary the original set of fields into
report of both the transaction a smaller set that accounts
data and the rules/item sets is for most of the variance (i.e.,
Market Basket produced, along with a model Principal information) in the data. The
Rules object that can be further Components new fields are called factors, or
investigated in an MB Inspect principal components.
tool.
Prescriptive
Solve linear programming Samples data parametrically
(LP), mixed integer linear from a distribution, from input
programming (MILP), and data, or as a combination best
quadratic programming (QP) fitting to a distribution. Data
optimization problems using can also be “drawn” if you are
matrix, manual, and file input Simulation unsure of the parameters of a
Optimization
modes. Sampling distribution and lacking data.
samples from an approximation
of a model object error Visualizes simulated
distribution. Whereas standard distributions and results
scoring attempts to predict from operations on those
the mean predicted value, distributions. It also provides
Simulation Scoring also visual and quantitative
Simulation considers the error distribution Simulation analyses of input versus output
Scoring to provide a range of possible Summary variables.
values.
Connectors
Read CSV, DBF and YXDB files Write CSV, DBF and YXDB files
from Amazon S3. to Amazon S3.
Amazon S3 Amazon S3
Download Upload
103 | Tool Overview

Retrieve data from a specified Search Foursquare Venues by
URL, including an FTP site, for location with an option to filter
use in a data stream. by a search term.
Foursquare
Download
Search
Retrieves Lead and Activity

Bring in data from Google records from Marketo and
Analytics appends them to an incoming
Google Marketo datastream
Analytics Append
Read Lead and Change Marketo

Writes data to Marketo using
records for a specified date
an upsert function.
range
Marketo
Marketo Input
Output
Read and query data from a Write data to a MongoDB

MongoDB database. MongoDB database. MongoDB is a
is a scalable, high-performance, scalable, high-performance,
MongoDB open source NoSQL database. MongoDB open source NoSQL database.
Input Output
Read and query data from

Write data to Salesforce.com.
Salesforce.com.
Salesforce Salesforce
Input Output
Write data to a list in

Read a list from SharePoint.
SharePoint.
SharePoint SharePoint
List Input List Output
Address
Determine the coordinates
(Latitude and Longitude) Standardize address data to
of an address and attach a conform to the U.S. Postal
corresponding spatial object to Service CASS (Coding Accuracy
your data stream. Uses multiple Support System) or Canadian
Canada
tools to produce the most CASS SOA (Statement of Accuracy).
Geocoder
accurate answer.
Tool Overview | 104

Coordinates latitude and
longitude locations by querying
and downloading data from the
TomTom Reverse Geocoder
Parse a single address field API. Produces a record-for-
into different fields for each record reverse geocode result
component part such as: which includes formatted
number, street, city, ZIP. address fields and latitude/
Consider using the CASS tool Reverse longitude coordinates. In
Parse Address for better accuracy. Geocoder addition, a summary output
is produced that provides a
count of records that were
successfully and unsuccessfully
reverse geocoded.
(Latitude and Longitude)
(Latitude and Longitude)
of an address and attach a
of an address and attach a
corresponding spatial object
corresponding spatial object to
to your data stream. Consider
your data stream. Uses multiple
Street using the U.S. Geocoder or
US Geocoder tools to produce the most
Geocoder Canadian Geocoder macros for
accurate answer.
better accuracy.

(Latitude and Longitude) of a 5,
7, or 9 digit ZIP code.
US ZIP9 Coder
Demographic Analysis
Input geographies and

Append demographic variables
demographics into a data
to your data stream from the
stream from the installed
installed dataset(s).
Allocate dataset(s).
Allocate Input
Append
Input demographic descriptions

and unabbreviated variable Create pre-formatted reports
names (“popcy” is displayed as associated with Allocate data
“population current year”) from from the installed dataset(s).
Allocate the installed dataset(s). Allocate
Metainfo Report
Behavior Analysis
Input behavior cluster names, Append a behavior cluster code

IDs and other meta info from to each record in the incoming
an installed dataset. stream.
Behavior
Cluster Code
Metainfo
105 | Tool Overview

Compare two behavior profile
sets to output a variety of Create behavior profiles from
measures such as market cluster information in an
potential index, penetration, incoming data stream.
Compare etc. Create Profile
Behavior
Split a behavior profile set Input a behavior profile set

into its individual clusters and from an installed dataset or
details. external file.
Detail Fields Profile Input
Output a profile set (*.scd file)
from behavior profile sets
Generate a rank report from
in an incoming data stream.
a set of behavior profiles for
Generally only used when
output via the Render tool.
using the standalone Solocast
Profile Output desktop tool. Report: Rank
Generate a comparison report Generate a detailed report

from two behavior profile sets from a behavior profile set for
for output via the Render tool. output via the Render tool.
Report:
Report: Detail
Comparison
Calgary
Query a Calgary database

Input data from the Calgary
dynamically based on values
database file with a query
from an incoming data stream.
Calgary Input Calgary Join
Create a highly indexed and

Find the counts of predefined
compressed Calgary database
sets of values that occur in a
which allows for extremely fast
Calgary database file.
Calgary queries. Calgary Cross
Loader Count
Find the counts of sets of

values (from the incoming data
stream) that occur in a Calgary
Calgary Cross database file.
Count Append
Developer
Return the results of a data
stream directly to an API
The Base 64 Encoder macro
callback function. For use
issues a base 64 encode string
with custom application
development. Base64
API Output
Encoder
Tool Overview | 106

The Blob Convert tool will take
The Blob input tool will read
different data types and either
a Binary Large Object such
converts them to a Binary
as an image or media file, by
Large Object (Blob) or takes
browsing directly to a file or
a Blob and converts it to a
BlobConvert BlobInput passing a list of files to read.
different data type.
Stop downstream
processing until the very
last record has arrived,
to ensure that only a
The Blob Output tool single output stream
writes out each record processes records at
into its own file Block Until one time. Or, ensure
BlobOutput Done that the reading of
a file will be closed
before overwriting is
attempted.
Bypass a set of tools. Must
Ends a section of tools
end in an Output or Detour
bypassed by a Detour.
End tool. Generally used for
Generally used for authoring an
authoring an Analytic App or
Analytic App or Macro.
Detour Macro. Detour End
Read from input files or
databases at runtime using Dynamically (using data from an
an incoming data stream incoming stream) rename fields.
to dynamically choose the Useful when applying custom
data. Allows for dynamically Dynamic parsing to text files.
Dynamic Input generated queries.
Rename
Replace data values in a series

of fields (using a dynamically
Select or de-select fields by
specified condition) with
field type or an expression.
expressions or values from an
Dynamic incoming stream. Dynamic
Replace Select
The JSON Parse tool separates
Output the schema (field types Java Script Object Notation
and names, etc.) of a data text into a table schema for
stream. the purpose of downstream
Field Info JSON Parse processing.
Execute an R language script
and link incoming and outgoing
Write log messages to the
data from Alteryx to R, an
Output Window. Generally
open-source tool used for
used in authoring macros.
statistical and predictive
Message R analysis.
Run external programs as part Test assumptions in a data

of an Alteryx process stream.
Run Command Test
107 | Tool Overview

The Throttle tool slows down
the speed of the downstream
tool by limiting the number of
records that are passed through
Throttle the Throttle tool.
Social Media
Bring in data from Datasift-
twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Search Foursquare Venues by
YouTube, Wikipedia, and much a location with an option of
more- http://datasift.com/ filtering by a search term.
DataSift platform/datasources/ Foursquare
Search tweets of the last 7

Bring in data collected from
days by given search terms with
twitter, YouTube, Facebook in
location and user relationship
Grip and analyze it in Alteryx
as optional properties.
GNIP Input Twitter Search
Laboratory
The JSON Build tool takes
the table schema of the JSON
Produces simple line and bar Parse tool and builds it back
charts for use with Alteryx into properly formatted Java
reports. Script Object Notation.
Charting JSON Build
The Make Columns tool takes

rows of data and arranges
Pivot the orientation of a data
them by wrapping records into
table in an In-DB workflow. It
multiple columns. The user can
transforms the data so you may
specify how many columns to
view horizontal data fields on a
create and whether they want Transpose
Make Columns records to layout horizontally vertical axis.
In-DB
or vertically.
Tool Overview | 108

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What are some of the resources mentioned for learning and using Alteryx?

What are some of the resources mentioned for learning and using Alteryx?

What are some tips provided for organizing workflows?

What are some tips provided for organizing workflows?

Tips & Tricks

Getting Started – Alteryx Resources | 4

5 | Getting Started – Alteryx Resources

Data Cleansing Tool Browse Tool

Multi-Field Formula Input Data Tool

Multi-Row Formula Output Data Tool

Field Summary Tool Formula Tool

Test Tool DateTime Tool

Getting Started – Alteryx Resources | 6

The Macro District includes macros sourced

Do you have a macro to share? To add your

7 | Getting Started – Alteryx Resources

Getting Started – Alteryx Resources | 8

1. Click on any tool on your canvas and press the F1 key.

4. Type the name of any tool in the global search bar

9 | Getting Started – Alteryx Resources

Getting Started – Alteryx Resources | 10

11 | Getting Started – Alteryx Resources

Getting Started – Alteryx Resources | 12

Information on license errors:

13 | Getting Started – Alteryx Resources

Getting Started – Workflow Design | 14

Personalize your Alteryx canvas

15 | Getting Started – Workflow Design

Turn back time with Autosave Workflows

Getting Started – Workflow Design | 16

Collect and display data profile Information NEW to 11

The Browse tool was enhanced for 11

17 | Getting Started – Workflow Design

FROM THE TIP MEISTERS:

Bringing your data in

Standard Drag and Drop

Insert tool in canvas

FROM THE TIP MEISTERS:

Another fast way to add your data sources to your

Getting Started – Workflow Design | 18

FROM THE TIP MEISTERS:

Set New Record Limits

19 | Getting Started – Workflow Design

When in need of just the

Record Limit set to 0 returns

No Data File type… No Problem!

In the Open a Data File dialog

Getting Started – Workflow Design | 20

FROM THE TIP MEISTERS:

We’ve all been there, the light bulb

21 | Getting Started – Workflow Design

FROM THE TIP MEISTERS:

Refresh with F5 and other shortcuts

F5 is for Refresh tool configurations, two common use cases:

FROM THE TIP MEISTERS:

More shortcuts at https://help.alteryx.com/11.0/index.htm#HotKeys_Shortcuts.htm?

Getting Started – Workflow Design | 22

Easiest way to see white space or hidden

23 | Getting Started – Workflow Design