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Alteryx Designer Desktop Ideas

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When building an analytic app which uses a Map Input, please enable Interface tool functionality which would allow the app user to change the base map (roads, imagery, etc.) within the app map interface.  Currently I believe the only way to accommodate different base maps in an app is to configure multiple Map Inputs – one for each base map.  The resulting map interface duplication clutters up the app and opens the door for configuration errors.

 

Enable app user control of base mapEnable app user control of base map

 

The Input Data tool has a "Field Length" option for CSV files. The default is 254 characters. In most cases, this is woefully inadequate. I tend to add several zeroes to the end to prevent truncation. When I don't remember to do this, I get flooded with conversion errors:

"Input Data (2) The field "hours" was truncated in record #38"

 

I want to set a global default, that I can override per tool, for length so I don't have to do this every time.

At present, Alteryx allows for users to run 2 versions of Alteryx at once - one installed using the "Admin Installer" and one via the "non-admin installer"

 

However, in corporate environments, only the Admin Installer can be used (all installers are repackaged for corporate environment / endpoint management)

 

This leads to a situation were we cannot run two or more different versions of Alteryx on one machine (like you can with Visual Studio or other platforms).   This also prevents us from participating in the BETA program because the BETA version would overwrite the users's current version.    Finally - this also makes version upgrades more risky since we cannot run the new version in parallel for a period to evaluate and identify any issues.

 

Request: Please can you change the installer for Alteryx to default to parallel install per version - so that a user can run 2019.1; 2019.2; and 2019.2 BETA on one machine in a way that is fully isolated (i.e. no shared components - have to be able to uninstall one instance cleanly and leave the others in a fully functional state).

 

Many thanks

Sean

 

 

Many of the errors displayed in the 'results/messages' section in designer when a workflow fails are vague and unhelpful. For example, I had a workflow recently fail because my data source table had duplicate rows. The error reported was "the pipe has ended". This is a frequent problem when debugging workflow issues, and a lot of extra time is needed due to lack of useful error messages. Please enhance this error logging function to attach to underlying data source systems, etc. so that better error messages can be displayed when a workflow fails.

 

Note: Depending on database platform/function/application where an error occurs, some errors are better than others. However, we work with the Snowflake database platform frequently, and many of the errors we've seen while testing workflows are unusable. If different teams support the error logging functionality depending on source system, etc. where the error occurred, we would request the Snowflake logging to be enhanced first if possible. 

  • General

Do you often present your workflows to others within Alteryx, as opposed to just printing a PDF? Wouldn't be nice to have a formatted heading that describes your workflow?

 

I'm sure you may already be adding and formatting nice headers, like many of our Alteryx tools. For example, the Filter tool:

 

Filter_Header.PNG

 

However, once you begin to scroll down the headers disappear. I recommend we add the ability to freeze the canvas. In this scenario, I would want to view this Header no matter how far I scroll down or right. This would be extremely beneficial when presenting to stakeholders. Additionally, it would be nice to have this repeat on each page, when printed!

 

Thanks,

Mark

In the output window, numbers should always be displayed right aligned by default. Also the font should be fixed width type so an 8 and 1 both take equal width and we dont see numbers as below.

11111111

88888888

 

1. It instantly tells the user that its data type is numeric without having to check metadata.

2. Readability of the values is greatly increased.

  • General

It has become clear that the Jupyter Notebook integration caches code and does not appropriately clear when there are changes made - resulting in "saved" workflows that do not contain updated code. This happens when two people are using a "shared" workflow (emailed back and forth or from a shared drive) if one person does not completely shut down out of Designer Desktop if they had previously had the workflow open at any point. This has been confirmed by Alteryx Support and is not just my hunch. 

 

This also happens sometimes with a single user - where the Jupyter Notebook save button has been pressed multiple times and the workflow has been saved, but the changes do not make it to the file. 

 

The integration is a step in the right direction for sure and is great to use - but my idea is that the cache should be attached to the workflows, not the entire session of Designer. Not knowing if changes were actually saved, and discovering that some were not is extremely frustrating. 

  • General

As a developer I want to Cache & Run all/selected inputs in a Workflow with one command. Maybe even with a keyboard shortcut?

 

clipboard_image_1.jpeg

It would be great if we could create more customization of the email output in the Events in the Workflow Configurations.  Currently we can output the number of error, warnings, etc. and the entire output log.  It would be great if we could only send the error messages in an email instead of sending the whole output log (similar to the output of a workflow run with errors in the Alteryx Gallery).  The customization in the Email Tool is great, but this isn't helpful when a scheduled workflow fails. I found this related thread on the discussion forum: https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Alteryx-Designer-Discussions/Customize-Events-Error-Message/td-p/42... Thanks!

Hello,

Well, the title is pretty simple : it appears that the tendancy right now is to  have web version of any software on a server.

A few notes about that :
-a lot of Alteryx competitors are already in this mode and it's hard to sell you're still with a desktop-only mode for design, even if the product is far better.
-a good idea is the one used by Qlik with Qlik Sense : they still have a desktop and a web version of Sense but the desktop works mainly as an hidden browser plus an engine. The web version is cool too because you can make your own application, or your own data connection etc..
-the main interest of a web implementation of Alteryx would be to reduce installation on client computers (and that means packaging the installer, managing the data connection, the paths, the access to macros... etc) and to have a better control of the users.

PS : this idea is soooo simple and so obvious I'm surprised I didn't find it. It may be a duplicate.

When tools are closely aligned 

Rownum and data size cross with other tools.

 

I would suggest dynamically locating the information sometimes on top or under the tool instead...

 

 

Picture2.png

 

  • General

There has been the idea of running tools in a workflow in parrallel...

It's a tough job becuse there are a lot of complex dependencies I get that...

 

but how about a lazy parallelization so that 

until the independent parts of a workflow merge, with a join or a union or an append, 

these clusters can be run in parallel I believe...

 

Picture1.png

 

  

  • General
0 Likes

Hello Altyerx Community, 

 

I wish there was a 1 page PDF that would list all the Alteryx Keyboard Shortcuts.  Save time and effort.  Anyone else agree? 

 

Keyboard Shortcuts @PaulT posted:

https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Alteryx-Knowledge-Base/Keyboard-Shortcuts-in-Alteryx/ta-p/1188

 

 

I wish it would be similar to the document that @ianwi posted: 

https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Getting-Started-Resources/Designer-Cheat-Sheet/ta-p/371793#bottom

 

 

IanWi, would you be interested in creating this? If so, thank you in advance! 

 

Regards, 

Ryan Loshin 

  • General

When you have a huge workflow with a lot of connections, it turns confusing to identify each one of them. So, i think it would be helpful to include an option that allows users to keep the predetermined connections color or assign, for example, different shades of blue for each one of the outgoing connections of tool.

  • General
0 Likes

I have been working in some large files where I end up wanting to highlight several tools that are connected together, copy them, paste them and what to insert all at the same time in the same order into another section of my workflow and still have the tools around it connect the way things work when you are dragging in one tool at a time. This would save a lot of time of having to delete connections, drag tools out to make room for the ones I want to add and then reconnect everything back together again. I perform this sort of  thing on a regular basis and it adds time when I am trying to save time by connecting the same series of tools I was just using.

I hope that there will be a radio button or a check box where Auto Save on Run can be disabled.  Auto Save on Run is a bad idea.  I often go into workflows and only need one report - so I break a bunch of connections to other reports, maybe I make some other small adhoc or one-off type changes and then Run the workflow.  I get my one, maybe modified, report and close without saving.  So the next time I open the workflow it's as it should be. 

 

With Auto Save on Run - I'd have to undo everything I changed.  What if it's not my workflow to be changing?  If there is no option to turn it off:  I'd have to make a copy of the workflow, open and make changes, then run, then close, then delete the workflow.

 

In general, you should never be saving unless it is a deliberate act performed by the user.

When opening an App in Designer - you are generally opening it to work on.  It should not open as an App but rather it should open as a Workflow.  Maybe make it so if you hold down the Ctrl or Shift key and opens the App - it opens as an App and you can test it out.

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Spoiler
 

It would be great if the Drivetime could be increased to an hour - or even more.

  • General
0 Likes

Hello Team,

 

If we have the flexibility to add new formula any where in the formula tool not just at the bottom of the existing formula's that would be great.

 

Right now after development if there is change and an additional formula is required which will be input for existing formulas in Formula tool then effort to change is high, if we have the flexibility to add formula at any place in formula tool then the effort will be less.

 

Alternate Solution : Add one more formula tool before the existing formula tool and include the new formula but i

think if the formula tool has the flexibility to add formula anyplace possible that would be great.

 

Thank You,

Visali

  • General

The ability to create multiple fields in the Multi-Field Formula and Multi-Row Formula tools. Currently I have to drag 3 tools to the canvas which can become cluttered. We should be able to create multiple formulas in one tool, similar to how the formula tool works.

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