Joining two fields of slightly different datatypes

[cdfrost]

Hello,

I'm new to Alteryx Designer and I'm trying to reproduce an ETL process I've built in SQL. The process involves the joining of two fields -- a date field and a datetime field. In order to do this in SQL, I I cast the datetime field as a date and the join is straightforward. How can I accomplish this in Designer? When I bring in a join block, Alteryx requires the two data fields to be of the same type.

Thanks for any help you guys can provide!

[Claje]

Hi,

I'm assuming that your data source in this case is a file or something along those lines?

If you put a Select tool into your flow before the Join tool, you should be able to modify the field type there, which will let the Join tool work without issue.

[cdfrost]

Hi Claje, I'm aware of this technique, but I'm needing to keep the time element in the datetime field. Will doing this retain the time, or would I be able to pull it back in with additional Alteryx blocks?

[Claje · Accepted solution]

In that case, I would recommend creating a new field using the Formula tool.  You can select its type as a Date, and the formula can simply reference the initial field.

Then you can join using the new field you created, and deselect your Formula-created field within the Join tool to remove it from the downstream.

[cdfrost]

Thank you - I will give that a shot!