Optional Prompt Question

[Bren312]

Hi all, sorry if this is in the wrong section of the forum but I'm hoping someone can help me out.  In a workflow with information for multiple vendors and departments, I'm trying to find out if there's a way to either prompt for one certain vendor number (even if that vendor might have products in multiple departments), prompt for that same vendor in one specific department, or look for any vendors who are in one a certain department...hopefully my attached workflow explains this better.

The end result will be an App where potentially the Vendor Number could be filled in or left blank; as could the Department Number (or neither, if all vendors for all departments is desired). Please let me know what you think, and thank you!

[patrick_digan · Accepted solution]

@Bren312 Attached is what I would do. There is a lot of detail packed in there. Here are some key points:

1) I've connected your input data to the listboxes so that it will be populated with data. Note that I had to crosstab the data so the the field headers were the vendor/dept numbers. This will only update when you use the green run arrow (it uses the latest metadata, not the latest file data). 

2) On the listbox tool, I've basically put my expression into the generate custom list boxes.

3) I added check boxes so you can select whether or not you want to filter for dept/vendor.

4) I connected the listbox to an action tool, and the checkboxes to a condition tool and then the action tool. The condition tool will prevent the expression from being written  if it's not checked. 

5) The filter tool just has dummy 1=1 and 2=2 placeholders that will return true if nothing is selected. If a dept/vendor is specified, then the action tool will update the expression in the filter tool.

6) I went into the interface designer in order to show the browse tool on output.

Hope that gets you started!

[Bren312]

Aces; thanks Patrick!  I'll check it out and hopefully it'll work for me.  I have a feeling that my group is going to start seeing a lot of requests for things like this, so the sooner we can get a handle on it the better.  Thanks again and all the best!

[Bren312]

*Sorry, double posted - correct response is below

[Bren312]

This looks pretty slick, Patrick!  Thank you very much for your time and help.  I must admit to being really green to Alteryx; I followed a lot of your key points but got lost in the weeds a bit.  I'm guessing that a text box to enter Vendor Number could be applied to this as well?

Without trying to be too much of a PITA, could I ask you to save and upload this as a workflow instead of an app just so I can see all of the steps you applied?  If not no worries; I'll keep playing with it and try to figure it all out.  Looks awesome and thanks again!

[patrick_digan]

You could certainly do a text box.

If you right click on the app, you can choose edit and it will open in designer so you can see what's going on and make changes. I think this is what you're looking for. Once you add interface tools like a list box or action, it automatically becomes a yxwz file. Alteryx default behavior is to open these files in "app mode". Editing the file will take you to the designer.

No one learning alteryx is a pita on the community. It'd be a shame if people didn't ask questions for fear of not knowing enough already. The people who know the least alteryx have the most to gain from asking questions!

[Bren312]

I absolutely was trying to open the app in designer to see the process; you got it in one.  Can't wait to play around with this, and thanks again for everything!  

[morningstar17]

Hi Bren,

I think you'll find this to be a clean and simple solution (just two non-interface tools). Let me know if this helps you out.

Best,

Michael Morningstar

[confused_ryan]

Hey @patrick_digan, I am a little unsure of how you converted the "1 = 1" string to [dept] IN (list). I cannot see in the action tool where that conversion takes place. Also thanks for the help in 2019 haha!

[confused_ryan]

Never mind I got it. I was looking in the wrong place.