Outlook 365 Input Tool Not Switching to User’s Mailbox on Other Machines

Question

Hi Alteryx Community,

I'm facing an issue with the Outlook 365 Input Tool in a shared workflow.

We have a workflow that uses the Outlook 365 Input Tool to download email attachments from a specific mailbox. I configured it on my machine using “Sign in via Internet Browser”, and it works fine — it connects to my inbox and pulls the correct folders.

However, when a colleague opens the same workflow on their own machine, the tool still seems tied to my mailbox or fails to show their own folders.

Is there a best practice for setting up the Outlook 365 Input Tool in shared workflows so that each user can sign in once and automatically connect to their own Outlook account, without reconfiguring everything each time?

Any help or workaround is appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

LAPONNEKANTI · Answer

Thanks for the information.

jrgo · Answer

Hi @LAPONNEKANTI

That behavior is by design to prevent unauthorized access should the workflow get in the hands of someone who should not have access to it. The access tokens generated when you sign in are encrypted to only your user profile (and machine i think). This is the case with most of Alteryx newer "Connectors" that have a sign-in option.

I believe the only way around this is if you have Alteryx Server and connect using Data Connection Manager (DCM). Reason for Server is because it allows you to share a connection with other users.

I know it can be inconvenient, but Alteryx has opted to err on the side of caution, which is hard to be upset about 🙂.