Wild Card

What kind of files can I import if I am importing multiple .csv files from a folder into one input data tool? I have different kinds of files. Some of them have different numbers of rows/columns from the template file while the field names are also different from the template in some of these files.

Input

Accepted answers

AbhilashR

Hi @mishail_iqbal, using the *.csv approach within the Input tool will bring-in multiple csv files as long as they have the same column names (there is no restriction to the number of rows that can be brought in). If you are looking to read multiple csv files which have different number of columns or the column names change across multiple files, you will need to create a macro to bring-in the data. The key element within the macro is to setup the following config:

I hope this helps and answers your question.

sample.yxzp

All comments

AbhilashR

I hope this helps and answers your question.

sample.yxzp

mishail_iqbal

Thank you so much for helping me out! Just to clarify, if I import using the wild card and don't apply the macro, then only the files where the number of rows is different will be imported, while the files with different column names and different number of columns will not be imported. Is that correct?

jarrod

Hi @mishail_iqbal ,

As a leader in the Alteryx Community, I have the ability to identify & mark accepted solutions on behalf of community members - and recently did so on this thread. If you have any questions or concerns with the solution(s) I selected please let me know by replying to this post.

To answer your follow up question - yes, different schemas will error when using wildcards. the field names and types need to be the exact same with wildcard. the macro will union by name (or position - depending on your setup).

As the original author, you also have the ability to mark replies as solutions! Going forward, I’d encourage you to identify the solution or solutions that helped you solve your problem, as it's a big help to other community members. Learn more about Accepted Solutions here.

Thank you!

hi2019

Can this be done w the excel files?

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