Field Data Truncated

[Drvt6713]

Hi All,

I have read many of the posts concerning data being truncated but none seem to work, so your help is needed.

I have a .csv file that has (among other data) a field that contains up to 1817 characters of text.

• When I open this .csv file in Excel, it contains all of the characters in the field. 
• When I open the .csv file in Alteryx, it truncates the field to what appears to be 255 characters, regardless of the value I set in the Field Length on the Input Config. 
• When I convert it to .xlsx file in Excel (where I can see all of the characters), and open this .xlsx file in Alteryx, the field is truncated to 255.

This issue is requiring me to do my parsing of this field in Excel and then save the results and then use the results file as an input in Alteryx.

I have attached a sample record in .csv format and one in .xlsx format (with a couple of fields deleted as it was from a work file, but the large field is included).

The goal is to be able to open the .csv file in Alteryx with all characters present in the field.

Your help is appreciated!

[Laurap1228]

You can change the default field length in the input tool. Just type in your desired field length.

[Drvt6713]

Hi @Laurap1228,

Unfortunately, regardless of the value entered in the Field Length, it does not change the text imported.

Thanks,

[Laurap1228 · Accepted solution]

You will need to add a browse tool if you want all of the characters in the field displayed in the Results pane.

The default results pane (highlighted in yellow) will always truncate the results displayed.

I increased the field length to 4000 and added a Browse tool. When I look a the results window in the browse tool, all the characters are showing.

[Laurap1228]

To clarify,  all of the data is available to you to manipulate it just isn't all displayed in the default results window.

See attached example.

[Drvt6713]

Hi @Laurap1228 ,

Thanks for the clarification.

As you can see from my screen shot below, (using your solution flow) even in the Browse tool, the expanded field does not display all of the data in the field.  It just truncates the data at 256 characters and displays the error message "This cell has > 256 characters".  It is not until you added the Parse tool that all of the options in this field show up.

Is this correct or am I missing something?

This would mean that I have to DO something with the data before I can view/inspect it to make sure all variables in the values in this field are accommodated?

Thanks for your help.

[Ben_H]

Hi @Drvt6713,

The data is all there - if you double click in the cell you will see the full contents.

The warning "This cell has > 256 characters" is telling you that there is more data than is visible in the preview grid.

Regards,

Ben

[Drvt6713]

Yes, I can see it now.

I am used to being able to just see the smaller values in fields in the results window, so was getting frustrated when I couldn't see the whole results in the same way.

Thanks to @Laurap1228 and @Ben_H for the help!