Is it possible to create a macro that outputs a report?

Question

Is it possible to create a macro that outputs a report? Our team generates data quality reports on almost every dataset they get and they would be really happy if it could be done with just one tool.

The report is quite repetitive (checking nulls, empty rows, etc). I think we could easily build the logic to turn it into a macro. But I have never built a macro that outputs a report and I can't find much information on the topic.

My concrete questions for all of you:

1) Is it possible?

2) Do you have any examples?

3) Are you familiar with some data quality macros?

DanielG · Accepted Answer

Hi,

I have a batch macro that I use to create a series of about 70 Excel reports with each file having about 30 tabs of data.

I dont have a sample that I can share as it is highly specific to our company.

However it can be done.  There is just no Macro Output tool.

I did this macro set up, because when I ran this as a regular workflow on the server the data was being held in memory as each report was created so by the time it got to about the 15th report the process was so bogged down it would crash on the server.  It would run fine on my laptop though.  It was a headscratcher for a while, as I was pretty new to Alteryx at the time.

So we turned it into a macro and feed a single ID into the batch and it runs fine on the server, because each run of the macro the memory gets dumped and it doesnt build up on the server.

I use the term memory loosely, as I dont have a real understanding of that stuff, but hopefully you understand the basics of what I meant.  🙂

echuong1 · Accepted Answer

Yes, you can turn essentially anything into a macro. The macro would just need to contain a macro input and the output would just be a Render. You can take your existing workflow and convert the input to a macro input by right clicking and saying "convert to macro input."

There are a couple of data quality macros available on the public gallery/community.