Saving Output To A File With Changing Name

Hi All,

Would really appreciate some input to a problem that I am having.

What my workflow is attempting to do is:

1. By using the directory tool, taking the location of an xlsm file and saving the file to a new location( pretty much copying and pasting the file from location A to location . I am doing this using the blob input/output tool, for the only reason other than I dont know any other way. To this file, the current date/time is appended to the file name for audit purposes.

2. Later in the workflow, the above file is to have a sheet overwritten with data from another process. This is where I am stumbling. As the name of the file will change after each run, I am unable to enter in a location which file should be overwritten when prompted to "Write to File or Database". From my use, I am unable to add a wildcard to the output location as this gives a repeated fail.

Is there anything that i can do so that the file created in 1. with a dynamic date in the file name, is able to have a sheet updated?

Thank you for your input!

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Accepted answers

ChrisTX

From your number 1, when you append the current date/time to the file name, retain that one field (final file name) for use later in the workflow (simply use something like a Select tool)

For the "final file name", ensure you have a format that includes the Sheet name, like "My file.xlsx|||Sheet1"

From your number 2, just before the Output tool, use the Append tool to add the "final file name" to every record in the output data stream.

In your Output tool:

you can use a File Location like "DUMMY.xlsx|||Sheet1"
use the option at the bottom of the configuration for Take file/table name from field
you can un-check the box for Keep Field in Output to remove the field for the [output file name] from the final output file

Chris

All comments

Garrett_Stoker

Is this workflow running on a fixed schedule, or are you able to convert it to an analytic app with a Date prompt?

ChrisTX

From your number 1, when you append the current date/time to the file name, retain that one field (final file name) for use later in the workflow (simply use something like a Select tool)

For the "final file name", ensure you have a format that includes the Sheet name, like "My file.xlsx|||Sheet1"

From your number 2, just before the Output tool, use the Append tool to add the "final file name" to every record in the output data stream.

In your Output tool:

you can use a File Location like "DUMMY.xlsx|||Sheet1"
use the option at the bottom of the configuration for Take file/table name from field
you can un-check the box for Keep Field in Output to remove the field for the [output file name] from the final output file

Chris

MarkMoranAlteryx

worked a treat! thank you very much

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