Choose specific columns in one workbook and join them with another workbook

Question

I am trying to create a workflow that chooses the first file in a folder and takes certain columns from that spreadsheet and puts them into another spreadsheet based off of a unique identifier.

Here is what I have so far. The first part works, but I do not know how to choose specific columns from the left join and paste them into the right file. I am basically trying to do a Vlookup (lookup this ID in file 2 and return these columns from file 1 into 2).

(*file names covered for confidentiality)

casey893 · Answer

Thank you for your reply. My goal is a little different than the above. Both files have a unique identifier. I want to take 4 columns from the first file and have those pasted into the second file based off of that unique identifier.

dsandmann · Answer

It sounds like what you're trying to do is only select columns that match the first file that are in the second file?

This may help you - https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Alteryx-Designer-Discussions/Select-columns-based-on-a-list/td-p/807048

Instead of a list, you would use a field info tool to get the column names from your first input.