ExcelHoover Error - Row Follows Row.Unmerge cells for input file?

[sowjanyayinti]

I am using excelhoover macro that gives me consolidated data from a hundreds of excel files stored in a directory. I haven't had an issue with this so far till today when one of the input files in the directory has "Merge&Center" cells. Sample below. The Merged cell1 and merged cell2 in the below image of the file is causing an error. Is there a way for me to use Alteryx to unmerge these cells across all the files instead of manually unmerging them one at a time?

[jrlindem]

So, Alteryx can handle merge&center cells without issue (see illustration below).  So that leads me to believe the macro isn't handling the differences in schema well.  If you are reliant on that macro, this may be a limitation.  Otherwise, you could consider building your own batch macro to ingest the files such that you can control the data on your own with more? flexibility.  Of course, those merged cells may require you to do more data manipulation and prep to get it to conform, but that'll be dictate by your approach, success, and the data itself.

Hope that helps, -Jay

[sowjanyayinti]

@jrlindem - the error occurs in the macro input tool itself. And I tried my own macro with not much success but let me try one more time to see if i can do a bulk file data manipulation.

[jrlindem]

Might be worth pursing upstream to whatever process is generating all those excel files and working with them to adhere to the schema / format that your part depends on.  Situations like this are tough, because we aspire for true automation, but sometimes a little manual intervention is quicker than overhauling an otherwise stable process.

Hope you're able to figure it out.  Cheers, -Jay

[ChrisTX]

Can you post a few sample input files, maybe with dummy data?  and your workflow.

Also try the batch macro attached at the bottom of this blog post. ("what happens if your field schema is different from one file to another?")

The Ultimate Input Data Flowchart
Community > Designer > Designer Knowledge > The Ultimate Input Data Flowchart
https://knowledge.alteryx.com/index/s/article/The-Ultimate-Input-Data-Flowchart-1583459854309

Chris