Field names lost when "Dynamic input" is used within a custom macro.

Hello Community!

So I am having a challenge with field names. Inside a custom macro, I have dynamic input. This dynamic input holds a "dummy" excel file. This file path is then updated based on user input.

But what happens when I run the workflow? Well, If i do no changes to my workflow, then tools display the correct fields anywhere in the stream.

But If i make a changes to the workflow, the "metadata" coming from the macro is "resett" to the vales of the dummy excel file.

The video below shows what happens.

Basically, after the first run, I have 2 fields, "Sold to Country" and "Sold to Continent". This shows in the output of the macro as well as in the select tool.

Then I delete the select tool and insert a new select tool. Now, the select tool finds 2 other fields "F1" and "F2". These are the two fields inside the dynamic input tool, inside the macro, as a dummy file that is replaced by user input.

Any way I can overwrite the raw xml or something like that to force through the correct field names?

Workflow.yxzp

Macros

Accepted answers

jensroy

The solution was only one checkbox away.

Now the "metadata" is updates and kept after each run.

All comments

mceleavey

Hi @jensroy ,

is it possible to share the macro so I can run it and have a look?

jensroy

Sure, I have added a simplifyed version of the macro to the workflow.

If you add one select tool, it works fine, but if you add a second select tool, the meta data becomes the metadata of the dummy file.

In the attached workflow, there are 2 files you can choose from in the dropdown. CC.xlsx and C_Dummy.xlsx.

The dummy file is the CC.xlsx

rafalolbert

Hi @jensroy,

Have you considered any of the below:

1) in the select tool, after you run your data (provided this is expected to be the same later) - go into Options -> Save/Load -> Save Field Configuration (when you drop a new select, load metadata including field names and types from the file created in previous step)

2) use Ensure Fields from CReW Macro pack: http://www.chaosreignswithin.com/p/macros.html (all credit goes to the amazing team behind this!) - this tool allows you to force a list of field names (along with uniform type, which you may need to alter with a Select tool to follow and address different types for different fields/ alternatively add multiple Ensure Fields)

Hope one of these methods may help with your problem?

Thanks,

Rafal

#Excuse me, do you speak Alteryx?

jensroy

Hello and thanks for great suggestions!

1. Definitly a nice idea. Unfortunatly, even with saving the data, the workflow loses the metadata downstream after I add a few select tools.

2. CreW macros have amazing quality. But in this case we have 100+ users on different levels, so we try to reduce the amount of tools and installs they need to go through. Personally I use them a lots though ^^

Anyways, thanks for very good suggestions!

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