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Alteryx Designer Desktop Knowledge Base

Definitive answers from Designer Desktop experts.
Troubleshooting the Parse Error at char (n): Unknown variable "[variable_name]" Expression (#n)
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Users can experience this error message upon opening Alteryx Designer or upon select the File menu option.
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Whether for mathematical or formatting purposes, you may want to round your numeric data.  Depending on the type of rounding you're looking to do, Alteryx has a solution for you!
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visualize and analyze data in multi-ring trade areas
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As of the release of version 11.0, the Alteryx Designer supports reading in single and multiple input files in a zipped archive file (.zip).  Now, multiple files of the same file type in a zipped archive can be read into the Designer in a standard Input Data Tool.
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UPDATE 11/20/2017: Microsoft released a fix for the XLS issue described below, this fix is included in their November 14, 2017 Monthly rollup. For your convenience, this is the link to the fix for Windows 10 https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4048954/windows-10-update-kb4048954 And this is for Windows 7 and other OS https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4048957/windows-7-update-kb4048957 We’ve been made aware of an issue connecting to .xls files with the File Format: Microsoft Excel 97-2003 (*.xls). The behavior manifestsin two ways. As an error pop-up box: 'InvalidArgument=Value of '0' is not valid for 'itemIndex'. Parameter name: itemIndex' Within the Results - Messages pane of the Designer or on the Annotation associated with the impacted tool: ‘Error: Input Data (2): Error opening connect string: Microsoft JET Database Engine: Unexpected error from external database driver (1).\3275 = -535434136’ The error box appearswhen an Input Data tool is configured to open an .xls file for the first time ever (if there are cached tables, then the error box will not appear). TheAnnotation and Results pane errormessage occurswhen an .xls file is dragged directly onto an Alteryx designer canvas or when a workflow containing an Input or Output tool that connects to an .xls file using the above format is run (within the designer, a server, or on a schedule), respectively. The error and experience are discussed in this Alteryx Community post, though you can also read about the issue on this external forum and here, documenting this is a widespread experience across many platforms. Towards the bottom of the external forum post, you can see a comment from a Support Engineer on the Microsoft SQL BI team stating that Microsoftrecommends not using the Microsoft JET engine drivers as the current solution to the issue. We detail below how to follow that directive within Alteryx. Theroot cause of the errorcomes from Microsoft’s October Security Update (links below). If you have already had the update installed, must remain using the update, or choose to proceed with the update, you will experience this behavior. In those situations, here are a couple options available to you. For new or existing workflows: Within Excel, manually save the .xls file as a .xlsx file and within Alteryx update tools pointing to the old file to point to the new file or Browse to the new file within an Input Data tool For existing workflows: Within Alteryx, manually change the File format to ‘Microsoft Excel Legacy (*.xlsx)’ within the affected Input Data or Output Data tool (described below) For new workflows/new Input Data tools you will not be able to manually Browse out to the .xls file and read it in as you will receive the pop-up error message desribed above. Your options are: Drag and drop the desired .xls file from the Windows explorer box onto the Designer canvas and then manually change the File format to 'Microsoft Excel Legacy (*.xlsx)' Drag an Input Data tool onto the canvas and paste the full path of the desired .xls file into the Connect to a Database box within the Configuration pane and then manually change the File format to'Microsoft Excel Legacy (*.xlsx)' Option 2 and 3 Step-by-Step Determine if you have the “Microsoft Excel Legacy (*.xlsx)” option available within your Input Data tool. You can determine this by loading any file into an Input Data tool, and then clicking the “File Format” drop-down. If you have this option, you can skip to Step 7. Determine the “bitness” of your Office Installation. The file you download will depend on whether you are running a 32-bit or 64-bit version of Office. https://support.office.com/en-us/article/About-Office-What-version-of-Office-am-I-using-932788B8-A3CE-44BF-BB09-E334518B8B19?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US In this screenshot, I’m using a 32-bit copy of office. Browse to the Microsoft Access Database Engine 2010 Redistributable page and click “Download” https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=13255 Select the download that matches your Office “bitness” from before, then click “Next”. The file will begin to download. Save the file to a location that you can run it from. Run the previous installer you downloaded. You can simply click “Next” or “Install” through the installation utility, as options do not need to be changed. Once you receive the dialog that the setup has completed successfully, you can click “OK” and continue to the next step. If Alteryx Designer was open prior to the installation, you should close the program fully, saving your work, and then re-open Alteryx Designer. Otherwise, if Alteryx Designer was not already open, you can open it now. Within Alteryx Designer: Open the workflow with the issue in Alteryx Designer. b. Click on your Input Data or Output Data tool that is experiencing the issue. (Refer to Option 3 above if you are receiving the pop-up error box while connecting to an .xls file for the first time) c. Click the “File Format” drop-down and choose “Microsoft Excel Legacy (*.xlsx)” d. Data should now display in the preview window and the error should no longer appear if you click off the tool or run the workflow. We understand this is likely to be a frustrating experience for our users and we are investigating what can be done from the Alteryx side to produce a fix for the issue. We are also following the Microsoft posts to understand what their response will be and if they will take any action toward resolution. Please contact Customer Support to report your experience with this issue, as that will allow us to contact any impacted users directly if and when there is a fix made available. Updates associated with the error: Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 - https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4041681/windows-7-update-kb4041681 Windows Server 2012 - https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4041690/windows-server-2012-update-kb4041690 Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2 - https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4041693/windows-81-update-kb4041693 Windows 10 Original - https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4042895 Windows 10 1511 - https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4041689 Windows 10 1607, Windows Server 2016 - https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4041691
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Release version and corresponding support dates
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C# (.NET) SDK will be deprecated in December 2021
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An ETS model, otherwise known as exponential smoothing, estimates single variable forecasts using weighted averages of past observations. There is more weight given to recent observations with a gradual and constant rate of decrease for the observation weight over time. Depending on the method used, there is a smoothing equation for one or more of the following: level, trend, and seasonality.
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ARIMA stands for Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average. An ARIMA model produces time series forecasts using autoregressive integrated moving averages based on a single variable model or covariate model. Generally, either the AR or MA terms are used, models with both terms are less common.
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The BB Date tool allows you to parse any date or datetime field with ease - even if you have mixed formatting.
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Is it possible to change a Qlikview Dashboard to Tableau using Alteryx?
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Web Crawling in Designer
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How do you Input Excel files which may already be open?
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Where to find "Small Data Sets" on the Web
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Big data is data that is usually with sizes beyond the ability of commonly used software tools to manage and process within a tolerable elapsed time.
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Is there a way to avoid the Cross Tab Tool from transferring all the input information alphabetically? Simply add a RecordID to your records and add the RecordID field as a grouping field in your Cross Tab Tool to keep the order!
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How to capture values not recognized as dates with
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Set a location for your temporary Alteryx files for individual workflows or globally with your user settings!
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I have a need to take the distinct row values and convert them into a new column...
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