Union into alternating rows

Question

I'm interested in taking the output of a Fuzzy Match and looking at the records one under the other.

The data to be matched can create many columns so comparing matches next to each other horizontally doesn't work very well.

Say my unique identifier is "DL_NUM" and  "Name" is my fuzzy match field. The results of the tool look like the following -

DL_NUM1        DL_NUM2

123                 456

789                 0AB

CDE                FGH

457                 1AC

What I want to see is a dataset that looks like

DL_NUM        Name

123                Bob Smith

456                Rob Smith

789                Joe Ruth

0AB               Jose Rutj

CDE              Beethoven

FGH              Beetoven

457               Charly

1AC              Chaly

My first thought was to split the sets, use the RECORD ID tool on each with alternating identifiers (so one has odds, one has evens), union them together, and then sort on those. I don't see an option in the RECORD ID tool to skip a number, though.

I thought maybe one of the tools in the "Transform" family might help. Didn't find any options or functionality there either.

How would I set up something like what I want?

Prometheus · Answer

@TH This thread addresses a facet of your issue: https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Alteryx-Designer-Desktop-Discussions/Assign-odd-number-as-a-record-ID/m-p/1126918#M280033. Here's my solution.

Evens and Odds.yxmd

TH · Answer

@Prometheus

I appreciate your trying to help.

I see that my example may not have been clear enough.

The order is important here and was the main point of the post. While it is true that I could simply union the two data streams back together it is the case that that would not accomplish the goal. I do not merely want all the data back in one pile.

I specifically want the data in the order I noted in my original post. I want to see each set of matches in adjacent rows. I want the first match to be in rows 1 and 2, the second to be in rows 3 and 4, the third to be in rows 5 and 6, und so weiter.

How can I accomplish *THAT*?

Prometheus · Answer

@TH Could you upload some dummy data? With the example you used above, you could split the data out into two streams and with a Select tool each, then deselect DL_NUM1 in one Select tool and deselect DL_NUM2 in the other and rename both to DL_NUM. Then you could Union them and Auto Config by Name to get a single column of DL_NUM.