Formatting and Layout

[tiverson]

I have the following file that I want to improve the final layout

I would like to move the total columns to the end of the grouping instead of the front, and add some formatting to dress up the report.

What is the best way to do this? 

Sample output

Desired output

Thanks for your help!

[binuacs · Accepted solution]

@tiverson are you looking for something like the below result or need to calculate totals and move to end?

[DawnDuong]

hi @tiverson 

To change the positions of the columns, you can use the Select tool. To change the formatting, there are many formatting options in the Table tool to change the font, border etc... according to the Row rules. The Reporting tools generally reward "mileage" i.e. the more you use it, the more it feels easier, simply because there are really many options there.

If you have not already done that already, I highly recommend that you check out the live training for Reporting. There is a live index, where you can search for the most appropriate content, but this one is a good start:

https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Videos/Reporting-for-Intermediate-Users/td-p/135708

However, unless you have a specific use case, e.g. email this table update everyday at a fixed time, Alteryx may not be the best option to do that. For one-off tasks, you are better off doing the formatting in Excel.

Dawn.

[tiverson]

Thanks for the formatting help.  I knew that I could move the column order in the select tool, but this file will change every month with additional columns added and I didn't want to change the order each time I added a new month.

[DawnDuong]

hi @tiverson 

Once you use the Select tool, then when the input file changes in the next month, as long as it is still connected to the same Select tool, the order of the existing columns is preserved.

But if you are referring to a case where each month the metadata changes completely (i.e. different sets of columns), then I do not know of a known solutions to fix that.

Dawn.