Question on how to retain blank headers?

[klfmccoy]

I have a data set that has a very particular format because of how it needs to be uploaded into the system. There are ~5 column headers that are defined with text, but a number of others that are "blank" and must remain so. Alteryx automagically (ha) created header titles (F10, F11, F12...) which is great for selecting and creating formulas etc, but is there a final step I can impliment before I output the file to revert (or set) those headers to blanks? I tried using Dynamic Rename, which worked... except that it identified the blanks as "duplicate headers" and ultimately renamed them with text as a result. 

[PeterA · Accepted solution]

You can certainly keep those blank headers in your final output back to excel.  Take a look at the TABLE tool with the Reporting category.

There you can do an easy rename each header (see below) and make them a blank space.  After that you just add a Render tool and choose Msft Excel as your output format.

 

Now if a SPACE is still too much for your output header format... then you have to use a bit of RegEx (and specifically the RegEx tool and not regex in the Formula tool) and replace all of your Fieldn or Fn with something like the following:

Field\d+

[klfmccoy]

Thank you! I think the table tool will work for my purposes. Appreciate your help very much. 

Cheers!

[gavin_chin]

hi

@PeterA 

i am facing the same challenge as the @klfmccoy and came across your solution. 

In my case, the file is a fairly large data set  (18 columns wide 12,000 rows of data).  I have 5 header fields that need to be renamed, and the rest (13) need to be blank  to ensure it is in an appropriate format for upload into a 3rd party system. 

I encountered a few challenges that i was hoping i could get assistance with: 

1. Render tool appears to create a warning with the page layout causing some data to be truncated when i choose the 'excel' output file option.  I've set paper size to "A3 portrait'  but the output file cuts out alot of information and the excel file opens with a recovery issue

2. Is there a way to extract the data into a csv format rather than the set excel table format?  

many thanks