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Multiple users accessing app

MCDR929
8 - Asteroid

Hello,

 

I currently have a couple of apps published, meant to be used across our distribution network or by our customer service team (respectively).

 

One is a single-step app that appends an Excel file.  All records need to be retained. A team of about 40 will have access to this, and while it won't be used with intense frequency, there is the chance of users being in the app at the same time.

 

The other is a 4-step chained app, which alters the aforementioned Excel file.  Only about 10 people would have access to this one, but again, there is a chance more than one user would attempt to access at the same time.

 

To compound this, our server is insanely slow, and jobs are queued up for way too much time (I'm trying desperately to push for improvements there).

 

So, a couple of questions:

1: If more than one user is using the app, and another tries to access it, will it allow them?

1a: If yes, will one of them be prevented from appending the Excel file? 

1b: If yes, will the app error out for them, or will some data just be lost without a trace?

 

2: If the default is to allow multiple users to access the app, and if the results would potentially lead to lost data, then is there a way to block user access if someone else is accessing the app?

 

3: Since both apps read from and write to the same Excel file, is it very likely I could lose data if both apps are being used simultaneously?

 

I haven't been able to find much online regarding the back-end behavior, so I'm hoping the community can help.

 

Thank you,

Molly

2 REPLIES 2
rafalolbert
ACE Emeritus
ACE Emeritus

Hi @MCDR929,

 

As far as i know Excel file can be opened only by one workflow at a time, this is also valid if the file is opened by a user, meaning when the file is opened in Excel no workflow will be able to access it - see below for reference.

 

Excel is not meant for multi-user access, even the build in features for sharing (not sure how they affect Alteryx connectivity) was never advised to be used and considered one of the worse features of Excel - Excel Online works quite well with this regard, but behind the scenes there is a database engine.

 

What you need is a database, which by definition is meant for multi user access and has mechanisms to handle concurrent access, record locks and additional build in mechanisms that manage the complexity of this situation.

 

Have you considered any database solutions for this?

 

There are many options for this, but this is more about what is available in your data ecosystem, one nice solution that i use frequently is SharePoint, but we also use Teradata, SQL Server etc.

 

You could consider file based open source solution like SQLite: https://www.sqlite.org/onefile.html.

 

img1.JPG

 

Thanks,

Rafal

 

#Excuse me, do you speak Alteryx?

MCDR929
8 - Asteroid

@rafalolbert  - thank you.  I'll explore these options with the people around here who know more about it than I do 😉 

 

 

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