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Alteryx Designer Knowledge Base
Definitive answers from Designer experts.The Ultimate Input Data Flowchart
on - edited on by
LisaL
"I have a bajillion files that I need to bring into my workflow... wayyyyyy too many for me to use individual Input Data tools! What's the best way to do this?"
- every Alteryx user ever
Bringing in multiple files at once can sometimes seem like a daunting task, but is often a necessary piece in developing those wonderful time-saving workflows. Here's a handy flowchart to help you get those tricky files in without a hitch!
1. Input Data with wildcard
Most of the time you just need an Input Data tool to get your data in, which is great, because it's by far the easiest and fastest method here.
Requirements:
- You need all of your files to be in the same directory.
- All files must be the same type (e.g. csv, xlsx, yxdb)
- All files must have the same schema. (The same field names must be in the same order and have the same data types.)
How to do it:
- Configure an Input Data tool to bring in one of the files in your directory.
- In the connection string, replace the filename (or a portion of the filename) with an asterisk (*). The asterisk is a wildcard that essentially takes the place of anything.
So in our flowchart above, this connection string will look in the directory C:\Users\akoszycki\Desktop\Input Data\Data to Input and then pick up every file that starts with "CO Store File - " and ends with ".xlsx".
Results:
- All of the data from these files is stacked on top of each other.
- If you want to see which file the data comes from, use the "Output File Name as Field" option in your Input Data tool configuration.
2. Dynamic Input with file paths
Sometimes the universe conspires against you and you can't use a wildcard. Why? Well maybe it's impossible to have all of your files located in the same directory, or maybe there are a ton of files in the directory that you don't want a wildcard to pick up. In this case you'll need to use a list of filepaths to feed a Dynamic Input.
Requirements:
- All files must have the same schema. (The same field names must be in the same order and have the same data types.)
- A list of filepaths to import.
- A file to populate the "Input Data Source Template" configuration of the Dynamic Input tool. This file will always have to be available for the tool to base its field schema on, and can be any of the files you wish to input. It *will not* be input if it is missing from the aforementioned file list.
How to do it:
- Configure the Input Data Source Template in the Dynamic Input just as if it were a regular Input Data tool.
- This tool includes an option to "Read a List of Data Sources" that will update the connection string based on your list of filenames.
Some file types require a table or sheet specification, such as Microsoft Excel or Access database files. If the sheet or table name is always going to be the same, you won't have a problem with the Dynamic Input tool. However, if your files have different tables or sheets that you're pulling from, you may get an error like...
If this happens, you'll have to add the table/sheet to the end of the file path in the form ‹file path›|||‹sheet/table›. For example, in the flowchart above I'm specifying "Sheet1" as the worksheet to import from the Excel files by using a simple formula:[FullPath]+"|||Sheet1$".
3. Batch Macro with file paths
No matter what you do, it seems you always get these pesky messages that keep your files from coming in. This is when we bring out the big guns - Batch Macros. Though this last method is the most work-intensive initially, let's remember to keep in mind what my good buddy Confucius always says...
The batch macro will run a workflow one time for each file, updating the Input Data tool each time. It would generally look like this:
The Batch Macro will automatically read in files which have the same field schema without errors. But what happens if your field schema is different from one file to another?
This is where the batch macro really comes into its own! Navigate to the Interface Designer (View > Interface Designer) output mode 
Once you have configured the Interface Designer you can save the macro and insert it into your workflow (Right click on the canvas Insert > Macro...). There is an example workflow attached which includes dummy files and the Batch Macro to see how the process works.
That should do it for inputting your data! Comment below or reach out to Customer Support with any questions!
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@sriniprad08
That you didn't understand the question implies that you are not taking that important step. Follow the link in my post above to learn more, but in a nutshell, use Options > Export Workflow then make sure the macro is checked. Specify the location you want to save to, and click Save. Then send your colleague the .yxzp. The macro (ending with .yxmc) will be packaged with the rest of the workflow, and when your colleague gets it, opening the package will prompt import of the workflow.
Hi y'all,
I am trying to import data from three multiple macro enabled Excel files. My settings are on par with the first use case (the files are into the same directory, and the structure - column's names and position - is the same across all of them).
But I am facing an issue when using wildcard to bring in data from my files at once. It outputs only data from the first file.
Below are my Workflow, the Input tool configuration and the files name.
Need help please. Thank you in advance.
