Email Tool: Not Sending Until Workflow Completion

Question

Hello Community!

We are looking to send status emails for a long-running workflow using the Email Tool. We found that the Email tool is not sending any emails until the entire workflow is complete.

I have provided a simple example to illustrate this behavior - I created a workflow with a few tools:

I had the workflow wait two minutes between each email:

But, the results were that the emails all sent after the workflow completed (in four minutes). I would expect to see these be two minutes apart:

Any advice, tips, or workarounds?

elsastark · Answer

@apathetichell This workflow will be running on Alteryx Gallery - where the messages tools don't appear until after completion. We are wanting real-time status updates mid-run of the workflow. We are exploring using Python to achieve but wanted to see if there is something simpler.

apathetichell · Answer

"The Email tool runs as the last tool in your workflow."

https://help.alteryx.com/20221/designer/email-tool

You can use a message tool earlier in the workflow for notifications.