AutoNumber Input???

[wiggot]

Good Friday, all!

I've got an input data file that we receive on a monthly basis. The file is LOCKED, with the exception of one column. So, after running some automation against the data in the file, my output has to be in exactly the same order as the original file. I'm trying to do this as lazily as possible, so that nobody has to manually copy/paste/add numbers/etc. on a monthly basis. I just want to copy the file to a particular place and have it all work. The file is NOT already sorted in anything resembling common sense. If only it were that simple. Alphas are before numbers, just as a start.

I can't even work on the assumption that my join of this data against the database will result in the same order, so long as I don't tell it to sort otherwise... I have to MERGE the results from two different database sources, because some of the rows in the input file come from database A, while a small subset comes from database B.

Is there a way to put an ID# into the dataset from that file so that I can sort it back out in the same order on the backend? In the Access version of this, I just import the file with an ImportExportSpreadsheet and have a primary key field that does an AutoNumber.

Is there any way to do the same thing in Alteryx?

[BenMoss · Accepted solution]

Perhaps I'm missing something here, but can you not use a record ID just after the input, then perform your transformation, but always keeping the ID field, then just before you output the data sort it on the ID field, then use a select tool to remove it, then output?

Ben

[wiggot]

I've been searching through the tools the entire time I was writing that and just found the Record ID Tool after posting.