Performance issues

[JoeMolinaro]

I am using Alteryx Designer x64 version 2018 3.4.51585 and experiencing long delays when maneuvering around the canvas and opening and closing tool containers.  Sometimes it will take 45 minutes to open a single tool container.  Is there away to improve this issue by turning off the workflow's processing somehow until I get the canvas the way I want it with the appropriate tool containers open and then turn the workflow's processing back on?  I am not talking about the performance to actually run the workflow, just maneuvering around the canvas itself has become unmanageable and I was wondering if there were any tricks or settings that may help

[MichalM]

@JoeMolinaro 

I assume these containers contain modules connecting to databases which try to refresh the metadata whenever you make a change in the workflow. To stop thisyou can navigate to Options > User Settings > Edit User Settings > Advanced and check the Disable Auto Configure box.

[BrandonB]

As a followup, also check to see if you are crosstabbing into a very large number of columns at some point in your workflow. The metadata is created for each column in a crosstab and if you for example were attempting to create a large number columns, you would notice that the size of the actual Alteryx workflow file would be larger as well as it accommodates the new field metadata. 

This may not be your issue, but is worth looking into. 

[JoeMolinaro]

Thanks, changing this setting seemed to help some when navigating around the canvas.  I just need to change the setting before a workflow is opened because if I try changing the setting with the workflow that is giving me trouble opened, it just spins and spins.  So I change the setting and then open the workflow and the performance improves.  However I am still having a performance issue with the first few actions I perform when the workflow is opened even with that setting selected.  For instance the workflow opens, and then I simple zoom out and on the fourth selection of the magnifying glass the workflow will spin for approximately twenty minutes before I can perform another action.  The workflow itself is quite large, 45 meg, so maybe it is just something that is what it is.  Thanks for your tip though because it helps some

[BrandonB]

Most simple workflows are well under 1MB, so a workflow that is 45MB does make me think you have a ton of column metadata being stored. If you want to see what takes up the bulk of the workflow, try right clicking on the workflow file and opening in notepad. Do a quick scroll through the XML and see if any parts seem to be a lot longer than others. More than likely you have a step in your process that is making a very large number of columns. If you see a section of the XML that seems to have a lot of column names row after row after row, this is likely the area that is causing the problem. 

[MichalM]

@JoeMolinaro 

As @BrandonB suggested, a 45MB workflow is not very common and the most likely reason why you're seeing the performance issues you described. Another thing I'd check for is Text Input modules with loads of records / columns.

If you can share the workflow I'd be happy to have a look.