Replace/Change Macro instead of Insert only

[terry10]

In Powerpoint, you can right-click on a picture and replace it with a different picture without losing formatting.

Similar functionality would be useful for replacing custom macros.

• I would like to be able to switch an old version of a custom macro with a new version in situ, without losing the connections to other tools, interface tools, or location in a container. 

Currently, the only option is to insert the new custom macro and then reset all incoming and outgoing connections. Some downstream tools (e.g., crosstab) lose their existing settings and that has to be reset too. On complicated workflows, this can introduce silent errors.

This capability would be especially helpful for team coding, where different team members are revising different modules for a parent workflow.

Currently:

Right-clicking on the canvas shows Insert > Macro > (choose from list of open macros)

Right-clicking on an existing macro shows Open Macro

New functionality:

Right-clicking on an existing macro shows Replace/Change Macro > (choose from list of open macros)

[patrick_digan]

@terry10 I wonder if the functionality currently built in (but hidden!) would work for you. You can use the same "Root Tool Name" for 2+ macros with different version numbers in the meta data of the macro:

Then when you click on your old macro in a workflow, you would have an option to change to the new version (or vice-versa):

I didn't find this feature out until recently, but it was super helpful. It allowed me to have the old and new versions of the macro both function, I could manually change workflows to the new version with one click (and go back if need be), and only the new version was available in the tool pallete (ie the old version was hidden from the pallete because alteryx was smart enough to realize it's been replaced by the new version).

[terry10]

@patrick_digan Thanks! I will try to figure out how to do that.

[terry10]

@patrick_digan  It worked. You saved me a ton of work! THANK YOU!!

[terry10]

@patrick_digan

I am seeing that when swapping versions on batch macros using this trick, the connectors get messed up (all connectors end up connected to the control parameter). Have you seen that too?

[patrick_digan]

@terry10 Yikes, that's not good. I've only used it for standard macros before. Thanks for the heads up!

[NicoleJ]

This functionality should already (at least partially) exist. If you go to Options > Advanced Options > Workflow Dependencies, you can Edit a macro to point to a new location and it should keep your connections when replaced with the new macro. So while it isn't a one-click option like requested, it should accomplish the trick? (Highly recommend using Workflow Dependencies for other reasons as well - great for updating filepaths on inputs, outputs, macros, data connections... also helpful for quickly converting to UNC filepaths, viewing macros, quickly documenting which connections are used in workflows, etc.!)

Hope that helps - and thank you for the idea!!

[terry10]

Nice to know that it can be done with existing functionality. It seems clunky though; not a good UX. My workflows may have dozens of macros and each has several versions. Using the workflow dependency dialog box to get to a file browser and navigating to the macro version would take my head out of the designing process.

I’ve been successful using the “Root Tool Name” method @patrick_digan shared, except for batch macros, for which input connectors all end up connected to the control parameter anchor (see attached image). If this behavior (bug??) were fixed, it would be smooth and seamless to update macro versions.

 @NicoleJ 

I don't feel this idea should have a status of "implemented". Having a long way around to achieve macro versioning doesn't mean the original idea is implemented or meritless.

@AnnaELawrence 

 

[terry10]

@NicoleJ   My idea seems to have been lost because you set the status to Implemented when it really hasn't been implemented, as I noted above. Could we open it up for others to vote on?