Excel Output to Named Range

I read the following post, but for some reason I am unable duplicate the creation of a named range. Nor am I able to use the Append Field Map feature (it's greyed out once the pop up box opens).

Link: https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Data-Preparation-Blending/Excel-Output-to-Named-Range/m-p/9644#M1598

Goal:

I'm pulling data in from 5 sources and want to write to a single Excel file (.xlsx) and either create a named range or table (I do not think I can crate a table, but a named range will work). I need to do this so that the 5 pivot table I create are always reading from the latest data set (which can increase or decrease week to week.

I'm open to other solutions if they exist. Maybe there's a better way to do this than create pivot tables off a named range?

Thanks!

Output

Accepted answers

JoeM

@rw9122, to output to a named range, you'll have to be sure to 1) Create a named range inside the excel workbook before outputting to it from Alteryx 2) When prompted for a sheet name by Alteryx, name it exactly as you did in Excel 3) Select Output options > Overwrite sheet.

In terms of a solution, would it be better to just write out to a dedicated sheet in your excel workbook and point your pivot tables at that sheet as a source?

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JoeM

In terms of a solution, would it be better to just write out to a dedicated sheet in your excel workbook and point your pivot tables at that sheet as a source?

rw9122

I was able to get your recommendation working. However, creating a named range in Excel defines a "specific" range (Ex: A1:Z:700). The output of my routine is variable and unknown (week to week). So, a named range isn't practical unless I create a super huge range (my data is ~90K rows and 36 columns). I know Excel sheets have a format in which they can be created on the fly. I use another parsing tool and it is able to create any size range based on the current output.

Again, the reason this is important, and maybe there's a better way to handle this, is because I have 15+ pivot tables (reports) that are updated from the output. Pivot tables use a defined range (typically a table) to capture the data. If my data set goes beyond the Pivot Tables defined range, I lose information.

Thanks again for your assistance.

mat_ste_cb

Thanks @JoeM for sharing knowledge,

Is any way to create named range in Excel from Alteryx?

I ask, because I have plenty of XLS files in folder and they are new in every quarter. It would be great if I can automate creating named range (use then as Alteryx desired output).

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