How to Use a Textbox Input as Field Name Instead of Criteria when Using Filter Tool?

[RAC_2020]

I have seen many examples where a textbox -> action -> filter: [Field Name] = "[Textbox Input]" meaning the Textbox data is acting as the criteria. However, how would this look if I wanted the textbox data to provide the field name instead of the criteria? How would this look? Would someone mind posting a small example? Or a link to an example?

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[apathetichell]

do you mean in a filter tool? have your action tool update Field Name - so in the case of:

 [Field Name] = "Textbox Input" - your action tool is replace a specific string - and the string is Field Name

to be clear - this is for a drop down or text box. a drop down means one selection. a List box means multiple selections. You should not use a listbox to update a single value.  Using a text box would allow someone to choose a field which does not exist - and break your workflow. using a dropdown would be the more correct way to do this. 

[RAC_2020]

yeah, I'm using a text box because I do not know how to configure a list box. I am unable to upload the workflow. I am am just not able to get the action tool pass on the textbox values. I'm trying to pass it to a dynamic select tool and a filter tool. I added some pictures of my configurations. Can you see what corrections I need to make? I can't upload the entire workflow, sensitive input.

[RAC_2020]

one more screen shot of the filter configuration.

[apathetichell]

Ok. - so I don't know what your dynamic select is trying to do. I use that tool all of the time - and it's not really configured correctly here - at least with the action tool. your action tool needs to be changing the value - not any other components (at least not here). you want to also hook your select tool (or record id) into your drop down (and then you can replace the text box with a drop down and limit yourself to the columns in the datastream) - you will need to run your workflow once to get the metadata synched. After you reset up your action tools to the values - you will then use the replace string part to defiine the exact string you want to replace (like FieldName in the second action tool) - for action tool 1- you can replace a specific optional field so if your dynamic select is set up with  [Name]="Test" or [Name]="RecordID" - I would configure my action tool to replace the specific string Test -  does that make help? I always keep [RecordID] with my dynamic select because fields not selected are dropped entirely from the datastream and there is no false anchor.

[RAC_2020]

Thank you both for the responses. I'm dealing with a spreadsheet where new data is added by month horizontally so each month the column data I need is further across as the year progresses. I stripped my data to create a version I could post here. This should give a clearer picture, sorry about that. I attempted to make the changes you advised to my best understanding of what you provided.  I'm using a textbox only temporarily because I have tried and failed to configure a dropdown box and wanted to move on a bit to come back to try again, so I total understand the advice regarding that. Please take a look, I removed the action from the dynamic select, but I am not understanding the replace specific string piece. I am using the same phrase is both places so it should replace it, right? It doesn't matter what word I choose? In the action tool, I could choose to put the word Coffee in the replace a specific string box and wherever Coffee is in my dynamic select formula it should be replaced with the text that is pulled from the text box, right? same for the filter?

[apathetichell · Accepted solution]

two ways to do this - one with text box - one with drop down. Going on record here - the interface tool -> tool without action tool declaring it as #1 is not something you should do unless you know what you are doing. Use an action tool. Things changed:

added action tools. reconfgiured dynamic selects. set a dynamic rename to create a month field.

in number two - added dynamic rename in lieu of select tool renaming. used a drop down (and created logic for it, modified dynamic select/action tools). 

added your browse tools in interface designer. Run once to set data. Run as wand to test.

[RAC_2020]

Thank you so much. The 2nd workflow is the route I am going to take. Looking at your logic, I understand it better. The first workflow returns column named "1" only regardless of what month number I type in the textbox. But I understand the reasoning to dynamically rename the selected column to month, else I would be dealing with naming issues thru out the rest of the workflow as I proceeded. Thanks again!

[apathetichell]

Great - can you mark my solution as an answer.