How to add an example link in the custom tool

[clarab]

How to add an example link in the custom tool

This article shows the steps to include an "Open Example" link at the bottom of the custom tool. Here is an example of the link in the "Auto Field" tool.

Prerequisites

• Alteryx Designer

Procedure

1. Place the sample workflow in the %ALTERYX_INSTALL%\Alteryx\Samples\%LANG%. A separate folder can be created to store the workflow. An example of a directory: C:\Program Files\Alteryx\Samples\en\MyTest
2. Add in the "Example" tag with "Description" and "File" child tag in the tool configuration file of the custom/user tool.

Example:
 
    <metainfo>

 ...
        
            Open Example
            Path to the workflow
        

... 

   
 

Here is an example of the tool configuration file:

NOTE: The %ALTERYX_INSTALL% is the folder where Alteryx Designer is installed in. For example, c:\Program Files.
The %LANG% is the language that is used in the Designer. The possible values are:
de, es, en, fr, ja, pt, zh.

Limitations

• The sample workflow can only exist in %ALTERYX_INSTALL%\Alteryx\Samples\%LANG%. The link will fail  if the file is located in a different path.
• The sample workflow needs to be distributed separately from the custom tool installation since it has to be stored in %ALTERYX_INSTALL%\Alteryx\Samples\%LANG%.
   

Additional Resources

• Build Custom Tool

 

[Sooriya]

Hi Clarab,

- I had this exact use-case to work with, I need to export my package(.yxi file) which has 4 macros within it and they also needed sample workflows to be embedded with them.

- In community everyone suggested the only way to do so is send samples separately and configure the paths and files in client system. But that doesn't seem to be a much user-friendly approach.

SOLUTION:

- So, I worked on that in depth and came up with a solution of sharing a setup file embedded within the package, which the user has to run only once post installation.

- The setup file contains a python tool, which has code to dynamically configure the files and paths in necessary way. So post running that setup, user needs to restart the Designer and BOOM! the sample workflows will be present under each tools.

    - By following this approach we can overcome the process of manually sharing the sample workflows and configuring the files in client systems.

https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Public-Community-Gallery/Automating-Macros-yxi-installation-with-em... --> Refer this for detailed explanation, solution and demo.