Engine Works

MikeA · ‎09-27-2023

Hello, fellow data enthusiasts! Are you a Designer Desktop user who wants to also leverage the features of our new Alteryx Analytics Cloud Platform (AACP) products? Are you wanting to use data created in your Desktop workflows? Then you are in luck! With AACP deployed in an AWS environment, you can use tools that are included with all supported Designer Desktop installations. Using the Amazon S3 Upload and Download tools, you can now interact with the same data from either Designer Desktop or within cloud apps in your AACP workspace, giving you some exciting new possibilities in developing processes that can leverage both on-prem and cloud Alteryx products! This article will walk you through the process of being able to utilize your workflow data in Designer Desktop and Alteryx Analytics Cloud!

Requirements

Designer 2023.1.1.200 (patch 1) or newer
Member of an AACP workspace
Access to an AWS S3 bucket

Step 1: Connecting to an S3 Bucket From Designer Desktop

Before any data can be uploaded to Amazon S3 and used in your AACP workspace, a connection to an S3 bucket must be established. Using your S3 credentials, you can set up this connection in the Data Connection Manager (DCM makes reusing credentials a breeze!) or in the Amazon S3 Upload tool’s configuration window. DCM is a centralized, secure vault where data source credentials can be stored. I’ll be using DCM for this walk-through for that reason. Additionally, if I wanted to save my workflow to my AACP workspace in order to use Cloud Execution for Desktop, DCM is a requirement.

Step 2: Preparing to Save From Designer Desktop

With the S3 connection set up in DCM, you can now place either the Amazon S3 Upload or Amazon S3 Download tool on the canvas. I’ll be using the S3 Upload tool first to save data from my Designer Desktop workflow to my AACP workspace, where I will then import it as a dataset.

With my workflow finished and ready to send data to my AACP workspace, I have added an Amazon S3 Upload tool to my workflow and selected the S3 connections I previously set up in DCM (1). Now I’ll select my Default Bucket (2) where I want my data to save and populate the Object Name (3) with the name of the file I’m saving.

Next, select a file format (4) and make sure that the extension for that file format is added to the Object name (3). Note that the selected format has to be supported by AACP and any Cloud Applications this data is intended to be used in - .csv files are generally a safe bet!

Now, run your workflow!

Step 3: Viewing and Importing Data as a Dataset in AACP

Now navigate to your AACP workspace to make the connections to this newly saved file in your Amazon S3 bucket. If you haven't already done so, you will have to create a connection to your S3 bucket from within AACP. Once a Connection has been established, go to the Data tab and select the Import Data button (1), select your S3 bucket (2) where your file is saved, browse or search (3) for the file, select the '+' (4) to start importing your file as a dataset, and finish by selecting Continue (5).

Step 4: Using Your New Dataset in AACP

This is a quick one! Select your favorite Alteryx Analytics Cloud app and Import your data! I’ve selected Designer Cloud, and using an Input Data tool, I can see all available datasets in my workspace and select the appropriate dataset to start building my workflow!

Step 5: Updating a Dataset From Designer Desktop

You might be asking yourself, “can I bring these datasets into Designer Desktop?”. And, the answer is Yes! Using the Amazon S3 Download tool, you can access datasets saved in an AACP workspace. If you used DCM (1) to set up the S3 Upload tool, you can easily access the same credentials previously set up from Step 1 and apply it to the S3 Download tool. Next, select the the S3 bucket (2) and object/file (3) that your dataset is based on. Lastly, update the File Format (4) to match the selected object/file.

You can now run the workflow and bring the data that is being used in AACP into Designer Desktop. This data can be transformed and written back to the S3 bucket using the S3 Upload tool either as a new file or a new version of the same file. Keep in mind that the latter acts as a remove and overwrite action rather than an append or update.

Some Cool Use Cases for Datasets

Simple data prep for use with a cloud app. Use an existing desktop workflow or build a new workflow to do your data prep, then use the S3 output as a dataset in a Cloud app in your AACP workspace.
Additional on-prem analysis using Cloud datasets. For example, you could access datasets created in your AACP workspace, combine them with on-prem data in a desktop workflow, do further prep and analysis, and then either update or save a new dataset back to your AACP workspace.
Cloud Execution for Desktop! With Cloud Execution for Desktop, you can schedule and run your Desktop built workflows in the cloud. One of the ways to run Cloud Execution for Desktop workflows is via file event triggers. Using that scheduling method, a desktop-built workflow can be triggered to run in AACP using Cloud Execution based on an update to a specific file saved in an S3 bucket, even using that file as an input in the workflow. (You could create some pretty cool chained processes with this functionality!)
Collaborate on prepping and analyzing data between both Designer Desktop and Designer Cloud users. With both user groups being able to access the same data source, you don’t have to worry about someone using outdated or incorrect data sources as you collaborate!