Alteryx Designer Desktop Ideas

I find it very difficult to read Warnings in the Messages palette because the text is a light yellow against a white backgroud.

I'd love to be able to change either the text color, the background color of the palette, or both.

I think it would be great to add metadata to a yxdb. For example, I was back tracking and trying to figure out which module/app I used to create an old yxdb. Now I use Notepad++ and do a "Find In Files" Search. Wouldn't it be great it the module path would be available when you look at the properties of a yxdb in Alteryx?

In v10, I am using the summarize tool a lot and getting tired of selecting one or more fields and doing a sum function and having to revisit each summary tool when you add a numeric field upstream... I was hoping there would be a more dynamic method, e.g. select all numeric fields and then doing a SUM on _currentfield_.

Then I remembered the Field Info tool. (on a side note, I'd bet this tool is overlooked a lot). This tool is great because for each numeric field you get Min, Max, Median, Std Dev, Percent Missing, Unique Values, Mean, etc.

The one thing that's missing is SUM. Can you add it?

Also, can you give the user option to turn off layouts and reports so it runs faster? I only care out the data side.

or is there another way to do sum on dynamically selected numeric fields? (include Sum on Unknown field)

It would be great to have a spatial function that could be used to evaluate whether two spatial objects are equal/identical. I see this being available in at least three places:

1. An "ST_Equal" Formula function
2. A SpatialMatch "Where Target Equals Universe"
3. An "Equals" Action in the Spatial Process tool

Would be nice if could use something like $Field rather than repeating the field name in the Condition and Loop expression within the Generate Rows tool

Currently there is no option to edit an existing macro search path from Options-> User Settings -> Macros. Only options are Add / Delete. Ideally we need the Edit option as well.

Existing Category needs to be deleted and created again with the correct path, if search path is changed from one location to another.

Tools within a workflow needs to be able to run in parallel whereever applicable.

For example: Extracting 10 million rows from one source, 12 million rows from a different source to perform blending.

currently the order of execution is the order in which tools are dragged into the canvas. Hence Source1 first, Source2 second and then the JOIN.

Here Source1 & Source2 are completely independent, hence can be run in parallel. Thus saving the workflow execution time.

Execution time is quite crucial when you have tight data loading window.

Hopefully alteryx considers this in the next release!

Idea:

A tool for encryption/decription of a column with multiple encrypiton options is the idea.

Both one way and two way encription should be possible.

Rationale:

Clients are in need of encrypting customers' personal identification data

before sharing it with a third party like consultants and analytics service providers etc.

When insights are provided back the data owner needs to quickly decrypt the ID field and get results or decide actions.

Clients:

This is especially an important case for banks, non bank financial institutions and telecom companies in EU countries and similar (Turkey has similar strict rules)

Best

The sum function is probably the one I use most in the summarize tool. It is a silly thing, but it would be nice for "Sum" to be in the single-click list, rather than in the "Numeric" category...

Move sum function

It would be cool if a connector line would turn red when you select it, making it easier to trace the path (similar to how the lines turn red when you click on a join tool).

This setting is currently in the Options menu under user settings, but I think it would be more intuitive and more consistent with the norm for most software if the check box were directly on the splash screen.

Idea:

As a method of deploying preprocessing and ML models it would be awesome to be able to convert a workflow to java... 

Rationale:

models are needed to be deployed into Complex event processes or decision systems. Even for SAS there is a need to implement the datastep algorithms and procs to run in JVM.

Quickwin:

It is possible to convert a workflow into a PMML file and then use JMML package to convert that to Java. Yet the full workflow with all preprocessing alternatives and a series of ML methods may not be captured fully.

Competitor example:

For SAS case here is a similar solution: http://www.dullesresearch.com/carolina-features/

When you do a search for a tool, don't zoom to a blank area of the canvas (because that's where the tool would have been with an enabled container). So when a container is disabled, zoom to the actual container instead containing the tool you're looking for or temporarily enable the container so we can see the tool?

Idea:

In forecasting and in commercial/sme risk scoring there is a need for trying vast number of algebraic equations which is a very cumbersome prosess. Let's add symbolic regression as a new competitive capability.

Rationale:

Summations, ratios, power transforms and all combinations of a like are needed to be tested as new variables for a forecasting or prediction model. Doing this by hand manually is a though and long business... And there is always a possibility for one to skip a valuable combination.

Symbolic regression is a novel techinique for automatically generating algebraic equations with use of genetic programming, 
In every evolution a variable is selected checked if the equation is discriminatitive of the target variable at hand. In every next step frequently observed variables will be selected more likely.

SR comparison with linear regression neural nets and random forests

Benefit for clients:

This method produces variables mainly with nonlinear relationships. It is a technique that will help in corporate/commercial/sme risk modelling, such that powerful risk models are generated from a hort list of B/S and P/L based algebraic equations.
There is potential use cases in algorithmic trading as well...

There are 3 very interesting world problems solved with symbolic regression here.

A very relevant thesis by sean Wouter is attached as a pdf document for your reading pleasure...

R side of things:

I've found Rgp package for genetic programming, here is a link.

Competition:

I haven't seen something similar in SAS, SPSS but there is this; http://www.nutonian.com/products/eureqa/

Also there is Bruce Ratner's page

Is it possible to add some color coding to the InDB tool.  I am building out models InDB and I end up with a sea of navy blue icons.  Maybe they could generally correspond to the other tools.   For example the summary would be orange.  Etc  Formula Lime Green.

I have several .yxdb files that I’ve been appending to daily from a SQL Server table in order to extend the length of time that data is retained.

They’re massive tables, but I may only need one or two rows. 

I had hoped to decrease the time it takes to get data from them by running a query on them (or a dynamic query/input) as opposed to using a filter or joining on an existing data set which would have equal values that would produce the same result as a filter.

Essentially, the input of .yxdb would have the option of inputting the full table or a SQL query just like a data connection.

I would love to see the option to publish the description information from an alteryx workflow into Tableau tde files as the default comment field

As with Output Data tool, it would be very helpful to have this option within the Calgary Loader tool.  I have a series of ordered analytic apps and if I could name the Calgary database using the "Take File/Table Name from Field" option I would be able to chain the apps and be much more efficient.

Thanks.