Cna you make the default setting for Record ID String and Not Int32

Curious,

Would people prefer the default settings of the Record ID tool to be String rather than Int32?

No doubt opinions vary. I find myself using Record ID a lot with the Join tools and I often forget to manually switch Record ID to string with the inevitable error message. Too bad it can't automatically change configuration (or have a global setting that allows it) when it detects a Join tool next in the workflow.

Help

Accepted answers

IraWatt

Hey @hellyars,

There are no global settings for Tools but It would be a great suggestion for the Ideas board. A work around could be for you to have you own Record ID tool in the form of a Macro and have that use your standard setup for the tool:

Any questions or issues please ask

Ira Watt
Technical Consultant
Watt@Bulien.com

Example Macro.yxmc

All comments

chinu267

Good idea.

IraWatt

Hey @hellyars,

Any questions or issues please ask

Ira Watt
Technical Consultant
Watt@Bulien.com

Example Macro.yxmc

Emmanuel_G

Hi @hellyars ,

I don't know if my answer suits your question but it is possible to change the type of the ID column in the tool options.

And it is possible to choose the String type.

If you have join errors because of the type mismatch, I think it's just a convention to use a single type for all your RecordIDs.

Otherwise use a select tool to change the type just before the join to avoid errors.

DataNath

Was also going to suggest a macro like @IraWatt, as I don't really have the same issue - normally happy to keep them numeric. The option to change default settings for single tools overall would be absolutely fantastic though! Only thing I had different is a formula tool within the macro to trim the leading 0's you'll get if you use a string RecordID.

Standard:

TrimLeft():

String RecordID.yxmc

Maskell_Rascal

@hellyars - This is absolutely possible, but is extremely complicated to do.

Check out this post where @patrick_digan lays out how he modified the Formula and Filter tools.

https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Inspire-Buzz/Which-Alteryx-tools-have-you-hacked/td-p/761611

Cheers!

Phil

IraWatt

@Maskell_Rascal Great suggestion 😆 Although changing the program files is not recommended by Alteryx, do so at your own risk 😅. If you change this file @hellyars:

C:\Program Files\Alteryx\bin\HtmlPlugins\AlteryxBasePluginsGui.RecordID.RecordID\RecordIdGui.html

Line 33 lets you set the default to what you want, just tried it.

Maskell_Rascal

If you're going to do it, just make sure you save a backup of whatever file you're messing with and document where/how you did it. That way if you royally mess it up, you can revert the changes back.

Good luck! 😁

hellyars

LOL

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