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SOLVED

Excluding a few columns

suraj_ford
7 - Meteor

Hello Guys, I have a table with around 1200 Columns, I would like to exclude 60 odd columns from that, can you please help me with some sample data to build a workflow which would work for such large data as well. So the output should show only 1140 columns only. Thanks in advance.

5 REPLIES 5
echuong1
Alteryx Alumni (Retired)

You have two options that are fairly easy, and the method you choose will depend on if you want something more manual, or automated.

 

First option: Select tool - you can uncheck the columns you don't want.

 

echuong1_0-1617803707320.png

 

Second option: Dynamic select tool - you can write an expression or choose a data type that will filter out the columns you don't want.

 

echuong1_1-1617803770224.png

 

suraj_ford
7 - Meteor

@echuong1, actually first method i am aware of but very cumbersome and the second method you mentioned has limitation as there is no particular logic to exclude those columns. i have the list of columns that need to be excluded (60 columns names), but how to go about next is something i want to know

echuong1
Alteryx Alumni (Retired)

You can use the dynamic select, but will need to input the list of columns you don't want.

 

You can generate this list with a summarize tool, and then input it into the dynamic select. 

 

echuong1_0-1617806484076.png

 

echuong1
Alteryx Alumni (Retired)

Thinking about it further, you can actually use a join as well.

 

I suggest adding a record ID so you can identify which values came from which row. Next, use a transpose to pivot the data. You'll get a column with Name and Value. From there, you can do a join against your list that you'd like to exclude. Any information from a column that was not listed will come out of the L output. You can then use a cross-tab to pivot back.

 

echuong1_0-1617825777411.png

 

suraj_ford
7 - Meteor

Thank you for your time and solution.

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