Why does my batch macro only run once with no downstream tool after macro?

[jt_edin]

I'm having a hard time figuring out why my simple batch macro only runs once when it's configured correctly:

For example, this should run 10 times but only runs once:

However, when I stick a downstream tool after the macro (any tool seems to work as far as I can see...), in spite of the fact that no macro output is required, then the macro now runs properly, and runs 10 times as intended:

I'm having a hard time explaining this to colleagues. It seems buggy and inconsistent. Does anyone know what's going on? Thanks

[echuong1 · Accepted solution]

In previous version of Alteryx, you weren't able to click on the anchors of the tools to see the results and you actually needed to use Browse tools to do this. This was solved for the most part with the Browse Everywhere feature, but this did not take into effect for all scenarios, batch macros being one of them.

Essentially, the issue is that your macro has an output that isn't going anywhere. As a result, it stops running because it doesn't think the data is needed anywhere else. If you don't have any tools connected to your macro output, it doesn't know how many iterations to run or where to stop. Instead, it just runs a single iteration and returns a single row as a test. If you connect a single tool to the macro output, this is resolved. It can be any tool, it just needs somewhere for the metadata to go.

Hope this helps!

[jt_edin]

Thanks @echuong1 for your speedy and helpful reply.

I have a feeling this only impacts batch macros with an output. I have other batch macros with no macro output, which run multiple times just fine.