Is it possible to have alteryx read the latest dated file from a folder?

Question

I currently have a schedule that drops a report with a date in the name.

The sample file name is transactions_20240311_0 and transactions_20240311_1

I need both files.

I know I can put a * on the input tool but then alteryx will be reading every single file in that folder when I only need the latest two files.

Any suggestions on how to get this to work?

JosephSerpis · Accepted Answer

Hi @Analyst323 you can see the other methods outlined in this article to search a directory to find the latest file. You may need to use a sample tool to limit the file to the two latest files.

apathetichell · Accepted Answer

Hey - so to clarify - a directory tool reads metadata about the files - the input data tool would read the file. You would use the directory tool to parse the filename (using something like  datetimeparse(regex_replace([FullPath],"^.*transactions_(\d{8})_.*$","$1"),"%Y%m%d") to create a date field. you can then sort on that datefield - use the sample tool to extract the top two values - and then feed those into an input data tool in a batch macro.

Analyst323 · Accepted Answer

Thanks for the suggestion! This is how I did it (without a batch macro):