Conditional Input (Control Container ? )

[MKAR]

Hi all,

i would like to use different input files (Excel files that differ a bit and require a little different processing, some files might be .xlsx some might be .xlsm) for a workflow, which after data preparation is the same. 

my idea would be to identify which kind of input format im getting (4 different versions are possible) and depending on the identified input variant the corresponding data preparation and input tools shall be selected.

i tried to use control containers but that doesnt seem to work, since it gives "anchor problems" (says, the anchor was no closed). Idea was, that the controls container should be selected depending on the identified Excel File format. 

Is there a way to get around the "anchor not closed" issue, or are the better ways to implement this ?

right now i have to activate/deactive the containers manually depending on the input file format that i identified. 

[Gaurav_Dhama_]

Check this out. Using containers to control the type of data that will flow out.

[MKAR]

hmmm could you elaborate ?

[Gaurav_Dhama_]

Ok, so once you download the workflow you can see that, i have one single file browse that is controlling three file inputs and the containers they are hosted in.

So if file type is, say .xlsx it will keep that container for .xlsx configuration open while closing the others. And same goes for .xlsm and csv. I joined these data using detour end as this tool does not care about the schema and we will always have only one source of data flowing it.

[MKAR]

ahh i see :) 

Thank you, will your workflow work if the "identifier" is not the file type but a cell value in the excel file ? (in my case, there are 3 possible formats that use the .xlsx format and one that uses the .xlsm fileformat)

is there a way to use control containers in my use case ? 

[Gaurav_Dhama_]

Where is the Identifier? the file you want to read or another file that controls the flow?

[MKAR]

i put the file i would like to process in an "input" folder, the workflow should then recognize which of the 4 possible flavours the file is and use the corresponding preparation tools whilst ignoring the other preparation tools which would be used if it was one of the other variants.

the identifier would be a cell Value on the "cover sheet" of the file that was put in the input folder. 

hope that makes sense

[Gaurav_Dhama_]

Ok then convert it into a batch macro and use a directory tool to read the format of file, then pass the full path (one file only) to the batch macro and it will pick up the file based on the format.

However, important thing to consider here is the sheet name, while constructing the file names you will have to add the sheet names in the path for xlsx, xlsm etc. If you have a fixed sheet name, it will work perfectly.

[Gaurav_Dhama_]

If your sheet names are not fixed and need manual judgement, then I don't think there will be anyway to automate it.

[MKAR]

unfortunately they are not fixed :(

hmm was hoping that the control containers would work. Basically the container should just be activated if a file of a certain type is put in the input folder. Thought that would be possible