Alteryx will not read in xls files

[LoganJ]

It is very strange. It will only read in the first cell. The input tool will not read in any of the headers or the data. If I open the xls (97-2003 excel) file in Excel, it opens and reads just fine. If I have the file open in Excel and then I run the input tool and the browse tool in Alteryx, it does work! But only if the file is already open in Excel. This is not a valid solution. What am I missing?

[MarqueeCrew]

@LoganJ ,

I don't have a .xls file to test with, but feel confident that the problem is solvable for you.  Do please make sure that you are using the legacy driver for reading your .xls file.

Cheers,

Mark

[LoganJ]

I do have xls selected in the file format line in the input tool. There is some further issue.

[CharlieS]

Hi @LoganJ 

Could you share the file (or a sample) here for us to test? Also, no thread about reading .xls would be complete without a mention of the Access driver download:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=13255

[LoganJ]

I do not understand what is happening. Once I open them up in Excel and save them to a new location then the Input tool works for reading the file in. The input tool does not work when I try to read the original file from the original location.

[danespoors]

Could you share your workflow please? That way we might be able to see what is going on as I've loaded xls files with no bother. Having a look at the issue will help to diagnose it.

Thanks,

Dane.

[sean_bolte_dup_544 · Accepted solution]

@LoganJ 

As @MarqueeCrew  indicated, as long as you're using the correct driver, shouldn't be an issue. It used to be that when opening an xls/xlsx file in Alteryx when it was already open in Excel- it would fail! In creating a test file (running 2019.4.4.20206) that did not occur for me. What version of Excel are you running - is it O365 or a local version? I am utilizing an O365 instance.

[LoganJ]

There is no workflow necessary to update. See below. I have Alteryx version 2019.1.4.57073 and I have Microsoft O365

[steeer]

Did this ever get resolved? Running into exact same problem. (Yes I am using legacy drivers)

[nicolecostello]

This appears to still be an issue. I am using the legacy driver and Alteryx 2020.4. In my case, some headers are being read in but other are coming in as F7,F8, etc., rather than bringing in the actual value.

Workaround: In the input tool, set "First Row Contains Data" to TRUE. Then use a Dynamic Rename tool, and set "Rename Mode" to "Take Field Names from First Row of Data".