FIND/REPLACE: Cannot select a field

[CDON]

Hi, I am a bit puzzled with this tool because I cannot see a field which I am suppose to select.

In my workflow, I have the ZIPCODE column which I want to link to another file to replace this zipcode by the Region. But in the linked file, there are the 7 columns available down below but not in the selected field.

What am i doing wrong ?

What this "code postal" column does not appear in the selection ?

Thanks for your feed-back

[Thableaus]

Hi,

You need to change your field to a String type so It can show up on the selection menu. It's probably an INT type now


Cheers,

[CDON]

Hi Thableaus,

Do you mean that I have to change the Code postal field setting ? If so, where can I do that ? Do I need to add the Tool Select after my Input Tool so I have access to the type of field for this external file ?

[Thableaus · Accepted solution]

Yes, the Find and Replace Tool only analyzes string Fields. So you need to change your data types before using it, and the select tool is the most appropriate for this task.

Cheers

[CDON]

Ok thanks

It works !!

Great

Happy to be able to carry on my workflow 😉

Cheers

[munchkin100]

@Thableaus  great solution, thank you!

[DataMeister]

CDON: Your problem was resolved and the remedy helped me too. But that doesn't mean the tool is working right. It's absurd to obligate users to remember endless details like "this tool can't handle numbers, unless we change them to strings using another tool!" Obviously, Find & Replace should do all that in the background so we don't have to bother. Excel's similar, in that some handy functions are flummoxed by numbers. Tableau is another one with allergies to common sense. Some of this bad behavior is rooted in the excesses of 1970's database principles, but that's another story.

Let's get consensus going at Alteryx, to automate what needs automating! That would be truly intuitive.