Clear Input Data Cache

[mcarrico]

Pretty simple one here - I would like to have an option in the UI to clear all Input Data caches or even a right click/properties option to clear an individual Input Data cache.  Often when developing, I use the Cache Input Data option to speed up development iterations.  However, if I modify the source data during the development, I am unable to easily clear the cache and often turn caching off to avoid stale data.  The "easiest" way I have found to do this is to pull the temp yxdb file paths out of the log after a recent run, clean them up using notepad++, put a del statement before each file, and paste them into a Command Line.  This inefficiency often offsets the development speed realized by caching.

[AmeliaG]

Hi @mcarrico,

Thanks for submitting this idea! One option you have, which might be slightly easier than what you are doing now, would be to use the 'Cache Dataset' macro. This will give you more control over when the cached file is overwritten and would not require you to leave Alteryx. 

Hope this helps!

[mcarrico]

Hey Amelia - thanks for the reply.  I have used the cache dataset macro in the past when I have a resource intensive data cleaning solution that I want to pick up from a point.  While it is helpful for this, I have run into some finnicky behavior with incremental fetch and file pathing of the temporary yxdb.  Also, the enabling/disabling containers can be a bit of a pain if I have a number of inputs hitting a database and the data cleaning step is quick.  In these cases, the cache dataset option in the Data Input tool works perfectly, except for the cache clearing piece.  Definitely appreciate the response and not trying to be negative, but just wanted to explain my rationale behind using the caching option versus the Cache Dataset macro.  Thanks again!

[RachelW]

Thanks for sharing this idea. I'd like to learn a little more about how you use the cache dataset option. I'll reach out to you to discuss. 

[danielkresina]

I totally agree on this request. When loading data from a database I often use the cache feature but like you say, there's no way to "clear it out" whenever I want to load fresh data. If you uncheck the box then it obviously goes out to the server and gets new data, but then if you re-check the "use cache" box it actually resorts to using the OLD cached data that was created prior to you unchecking and running it. This is counter-intuitive. I would expect that if you uncheck the box and run it, then it essentially deletes the cache and leaves you with a blank slate as if you had just created the connection but apparently it leaves the old cache sitting there. It should delete any old caches when you run it with the box unchecked such that if you eventually decide to re-check it, it has to create a new cache with new data.

[LordNeilLord]

I was just having issues with a workflow and thought to myself..."wouldn't it be great to have a 'clear all cache' option?" rather than having to save, close down Alteryx and re-open it. 

I totally support this idea

[danrh]

Completely agree.  A quick, easy way to clear/refresh all my cached data for a workflow or a single input would be extremely nice to have.

[Voska]

100% agree.  Unchecking cache and running the workflow should remove the cache.  This would allow to recache basically.  Would be very helpful.

[byarsmc79]

 Completely agree that there needs to be a simple way to clear/overwrite the cache when the source data has changed, especially if the structure of the source data has changed.  I was chasing my tail for about a half hour trying to figure out why a change I made to a DB table was not taking affect in the workflow after I had reran the workflow with cache un-checked then checked again.  A simple "Clear Cache" would be great.

[mlittletn]

i would still love to see this feature! I take advantage of the cache macro as well; but being able to clear input caches from designer would be fantastic.