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Hi there,
I'm a newbie with Alteryx, currently attempting to build a workflow app that complete the following activities:
1) User upload a file (*.xlsx file)
2) User to select a column within that file
3) For the selected column, the workflow dynamically applies a formula on that column. (In this use case, the formula would change the last 4 digits/letters of the selected column into "XXXX", thus creating a masking element)
4) File output.
So far, I am able to complete 1) and 2), and currently stuck in 3). Does anyone know how we can configure the workflow to allow the formula input tool to be updated based on the column selected by the user?
Thanks for all your help!
Solved! Go to Solution.
Hi @OscarM,
it was actually a bit trickier than expected, but I got closer to your solution:
The Text Box allows you to pick the column that should be masked. I had to use the 'Update Raw XML with Formula' option in the Action tool. The Interface looks like this:
I also tried a Multi-Field-Formula, but you can't use your Input List for it because it is set to "Select Tool Mode" instead of Custom Generated List.
I'll try to switch the Select tool with a Dynamic select and tell you if I got some improvements. Current version attached.
Best
Alex
Okay, that worked actually quicker than expected and looks like this:
Workflow attached. Let me know if this solved your problem!
Best
Alex
Hi @OscarM,
would you mind accepting the 1st Workflow as a solution if it solved your problem?
I'll also try to explain what I do in the second:
Example:
Let's just say your List in the List Box Contains the following:
- F1
- F2
- F3
Setting - Listbox
This generates:
"F1","F2","F3"
Setting - Dynamic Select:
The IN Operator works like this:
[Name] IN ('F1', 'F2', 'F3')
If [Name] is F1, F2 or F3 three, the condition applies and the Select tool will Select the column. All other columns are deselected.
I used 'Liste' (German word for list) as a Placeholder in our Dynamic Select. We will update the Placeholder with the Action-Tool above.
Setting - Action Tool 1:
This replaces only the 'Liste' in our Dynamic Select with the List we created in our List Box. The final condition looks basically like this:
[Name] IN ("F1","F2","F3")
We do something very similar with the Multi-Field Formula in a second.
Setting - Multi-Field-Formula
Let's look at the full formula first:
IF [_CurrentFieldName_] IN ('Liste')
THEN left([_CurrentField_], length([_CurrentField_])-4)+"XXXX"
ELSE ""
ENDIF
The Multi-Field-Formula works for all columns you selected, therefore we can grab the Field-Name of the currently processed column with [_CurrentFieldName_] and check again if it's in ('Liste') (we also update Liste here with the Action).
If the Field-Name of the currently selected column is in our List (that come from the List-Box and only lists that checked Fields), then we want to apply our Formula. We can't say a specific column name again, because we work with multiple columns, therefore we need to use [_CurrentField_] which holds the value of our currently processed column.
The Else-Parts just cleans up all other columns with a blank.
If you create it from scratch, you should uncheck the "Copy Output Fields and Add" -> this creates new columns for all processed columns. You also need to make sure, that the data type is right:
This tells the Multi-Field we want to process only Text-Columns.
I hope this helped to understand it better. Feel free to ask if something isn't clear and I'll try my best to explain it even better 😃
Best
Alex
