Read an Open Excel file through Input/Dynamic Input Tools to avoid Workflow failures

[TUSHAR050392]

Hello,

Here is the proposal about an issue that I face frequently at work.

Problem Statement -

Frequent failure of workflows that have either been scheduled or run manually on server because the excel input file is sometimes open by another user or someone forgot to close the file before going out of office or some other reason. 

Proposed Solution - 

The Input/Dynamic Input tools to have the ability to read excel files even when it is open so that the workflows do not fail which will have a huge impact in terms of time savings and will avoid regular monitoring of the scheduled workflows.

[haraldharders]

A colleague of mine has written a macro which first copies the file to a temporary location (using Run Command tool) which is also possible when the file is open. Then it opens the copy of the file. This implies some complexity if you want to open different sheets of the same excel file or files with the same filename from different directories. It works well. 

But I agree, a built-in function would be very helpful.

[TUSHAR050392]

@haraldharders Yes I also made a macro to tackle this issue but to build a macro you need to have a decent understanding of the tools. It becomes really difficult for people who are new to Alteryx and have to deal with such issues. Using a macro is another function that your workflow is performing and it affects the performance as well. This is a very common issue so hoping this can be sorted as input tool and excel is the most used combination.