Troubleshooting Asset Selection when Packaging Workflows

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In some versions of Designer, the asset selection checkboxes are ineffective

If you're having a problem getting the paths to files correct when you export a package or when you publish a workflow to a gallery, please read on. You might encounter some error message or you may not see any errors but the workflow doesn't do what you told it to.

There was an error loading a macro: Can't find the macro "..."

• Product - Alteryx Designer
  • Versions2019.3.2 - 2019.4.6 (This is improved as of 2019.4.8.)  If you have 2020.2 or later, please refer to this article instead.
• Windows 10

Diagnosis

If you think this problem might be affecting you, but you're not sure, you can save a workflow with some assets and without others and then either open the resulting .yxzp or inspect the .yxzp with 7-zip or a similar archive program. If you didn't get what you configured, then you will want to follow the steps for the workaround below.

Cause

This is a known issue in versions 2019.3.2 through 2019.4.6 and was corrected in 2019.4.8.

Solution

You can specify the packaging of assets on a tool-by-tool basis in the workflow itself. First you have to add an icon to the list of options for tool configuration.

1. Go to Options > User Settings > Edit User Settings, and then to the Advanced tab. Check the box beside Display Asset Management in Properties Window, then click on Save. That will add a box-shaped icon to the column of icons that's part of the tool configuration panel.
2. With any tool that uses files or with macros, particularly those that have not been set up on the server, you'll need to decide whether to include or exclude those assets when you package a workflow. This procedure allows you to do that independently of the user interface that comes up when you export or publish your workflows. (Normally, that UI supersedes the specification at the tool level, but if you look, you'll see the information is normally stored with the tools themselves.) Here are some examples of how you might use this feature.
   1. Files that you want to always be the same every time the workflow is run--make sure the asset box is checked
      1. A file that specifies the information in a Drop Down tool
      2. Custom Macros
         
      3. Outputs that you don't want saved, but just want to show the user when the workflow runs from the gallery
   2. Files on external source so that the data are current at runtime--make sure the path is correct, but that the asset box is unchecked
      1. Input Data from a specific location
      2. Output Data to a specific location
   3. This also works with relative paths. (They're not used when publishing a workflow to the gallery, but they can be very helpful for workflows run from the Designer canvas and for workflows scheduled with Desktop Automation to run "On disk".)
3. When you get everything the way you want proceed as usual.

 Additional Resources

• Help: Workflow Management
• Help: Schedule Workflows
• Export Workflows with Attachments (Assets)
• Attaching additional files to a workflow package (yxzp file)
• Assets and Packaging Workflows
• Sharing Macros in Designer and Server
• Adding Files to the Gallery
• Asset Management Intermittent