Alteryx Server Ideas

The current Alteryx user interface is displayed in a vertical orientation without the option for customization. To optimize space efficiency, it would be highly advantageous if the filters could be arranged horizontally, as depicted in the attached figure.

Additionally, there is a usability issue with the options list for interface tools like the list box. Currently, all options are displayed without utilizing a dropdown, requiring users to scroll extensively when multiple tools with numerous options are present within a single analytic app. Implementing a dropdown functionality for improved navigation would significantly enhance the overall user experience.

Option to Zip All Outputs

For workflows that produce various different output files, I think it would be nice if the Gallery had the functionality to create a single zip file containing all outputs. The user would opt in or out of this functionality using a checkbox in the Gallery workflow settings (for apps, this checkbox could also appear as an additional setting above "Questions"). After the workflow has been run, the user would only see the zip file in the output preview instead of each individual output file. 

This functionality would create a more user-friendly experience as it would eliminate the need for zip file creation workarounds, such as using the Run Command Tool or the "zipfile" Python library to create zip files (these options also do not generate a zip file in the Gallery output preview).

We have groups asking within our organization for ways to check the status of a running workflow in Gallery. They are wanting to understand which step in the process the workflow has completed for longer-running workflows.

They are looking for an experience similar to when running in Designer where they can see which tools have been completed. At the very least, they would like the log to be reported live and not shown at the end of the run.

Currently, the run feels like a black box where they do not know how close it is to completion or which steps it has made it through.

We have tried to build workarounds like the Email tool, but have been unsuccessful. For example, the Email tool does not send an Email until the workflow completes which defeats the purpose. The closest workaround is writing our own log along the way that can be reported on which is not a clean solution. 

Hello, Alteryx users,

My idea is simple but would make things way easier for the analytical app users on the Gallery.

Currently, the order is ascending and we can see all the files from all the applications we have run before.

It would help a million to see the most recent files first and only see the files related to this workflow.

Thank you,

Fernando Vizcaino

Hello all,

As of today, if you want to give the Alteryx Gallery user an Excel with your data out of your worfklow, you MUST design an Excel Report with Report tools.

However :
1/ It's highly time consuming to design the report
2/ It leads to many errors, especially on column size : a quick research on Alteryx community gives you several hundred topics
3/ the excel output works really fine

This is frustrating as hell for users !

Best regards,

Simon

Hi all,

I've found, i guess, a bug on the Gallery. It's not really an issue as we've found a workaround for it. 

Whenever you're in need to delete a workflow that is owned by your co-worker, the Gallery doesn't let you instantly delete it (yes, we're in the same private studio) (screenshot 1).

To work around this issue, you just have to replace the specific workflow by a random workflow you own (basically i just upload a workflow with a browse tool in it, screenshot 2). 

When replaced, you get the god power to delete the workflow and thus also deleting the workflow of your co-worker. 

It would be convenient if i could just delete the workflow without this workaround tough :-)!.

Screenshot 1 - Not being able to delete a workflow owned by a co-worker.

Screenshot 2 - After replacing the workflow by a random workflow....

Greetings,

Seb

When we upgrade a server - we often want to do this progressively so that we can move a few canvasses to the new version over time.
However - in order to do this we need to create an entirely new server URL and then users have to deal with the irritation and complexity of storing multiple addresses and knowing which one is where.

This would be substantially easier if we could put a load balancer / a consolidator in front of the alteryx server - so the user can go to the same gallery - but under the covers some of their stuff has been upgraded to the new version (on a new server) and some is still on the older server.    

Hi!

It would be very useful if Alteryx would allow users to create folders under their Private Gallery. My private gallery is now 3+ pages long & it would be super helpful to be able to organize the workflows into different folders (Archive/Retail/Linear/Fin/etc), allowing for easier housekeeping & tracking. I realize their is collections but I'm not trying to share anything here, just organize my content for easier viewing.

Thank you!

System Administrator should be able to configure portal pages be being able to choose the columns, columns widths, and sort order.  For Example  in the collections view,  there are columns Inight Count, User Count, Studio count which add no value to my user community.  Yet the name column is not wide enought to show the full names. The collect page is sorted by Create Date which does not add value and once you get above 20 collections  

The recommendation would be to allow System Admins to be able to change these settings.  If the definations are stored a json or xml file or some other file that can be edited, allowing for the customizations.  Admins would edit at their own risk working with in parameters and documentation provided. 

The Pop up window for Browser tool currently is working in the App environment but not working in the Gallery environment. It is essential when you want to show user the immediate results. there will be too much efforts for user to see the results if I use output/render tool.

I Would Like a new Email added under [ Admin -> Notifications -> Emails ] where it would send an Email when a Schedule reaches the status "Complete" 

This can serve a couple of use cases;

1. You have many things going on and this email can let you know "This schedule has now been completed"  
   1. From my experience we usually schedule things indefinitely, however if an end was put in place this can be a reminder of whether or not to continue scheduling the workflow
2. It can also notify when a schedule inadvertently reaches "Complete" status, in the backend this could be because it has status "Corrupt: AlteryxService_RetrieveSecureData Failed."
   1. This has caused issues multiple times of schedules that are supposed to be indefinite reach "Complete" Status without our knowing. With many workflows and schedules this is not something we can babysit.
   2. brief research suggests this error could be due to restarting the Alteryx Service during a schedule, which we do weekly for our backup. And trying to coordinate a time when no schedules are running is difficult when something runs every 10 minutes.

I remember when i started using Alteryx and the gallery i was able to display the results of a workflow run and then copy a value from the screen to complete checks on.

Now when i run a workflow and the .yxdb results and displayed ever if its one record i have to download a file and open it just to copy the value.

Can we not get the screen to allow highlight and control c of text as required?

It would be good to see when a workflow started running on the gallery when looking at Workflow Resuts. 
Currently it only tells you that the worklfow is running. Seeing when it started would be very helpful.

It would be useful there was the concept of a description for Alteryx content, which was displayed within Gallery, as even with logical folders, naming conventions & tags when there are several hundred items available this additional metadata would be highly beneficial to users to know what the content they can see actually does. The ability to search this description would also be highly useful.

Upon utilizing the Alteryx gallery to create and test an automation app in cooperation with other business areas, we found that the list of "recent modified files" that appears when selecting a file browse query has several issues, or areas in desperate need of improvement:

Not only does this list append new files to the bottom, resulting in a less than desirable experience when selecting files from this list across multiple occasions when testing, but the list eventually reaches a capacity where no new files can be shown. Furthermore, for processes that involve small modifications being made to a file or group of files that is fairly consistent in naming, a list of ambiguously named files will quickly cause confusion. If this type of small improvement is possible, please reach out to me about any avenues towards achieving it, or if there is a person or department to appropriately contact.

-John

HI All, 

In the Gallery Page under My Workspace-->Share With Me we could see the fields like Name, Type, Owner, Shared Source, Uploaded, Manual Runs. Among these we are not able to sort the fields "Type" and "Owner" alphabetically, whereas we are able to sort the other fields Name, Shared Source, Uploaded, Manual Runs accordingly. Kindly refer the attached snapshot. 

Regards, 

Ariharan R

On far too many occasions I have been working on a workflow in designer with either the outputs disabled via the configuration or using containers (preventing file creation/updating during testing) and I would save them back up to server without remembering to re-enable these outputs, which causes lots of issues down the line when users are trying to access these processes.

A simple warning on loading to the gallery that there are disabled tools and what tool id they are would mitigate this issue.

Perhaps a change in Designer too, but I want the output on the server and for workflows stored on the server.

There is an existing "tool" Auto Documentation to load a locally stored Alteryx flow and to provide a pdf file with an overview of the workflow, the used tools and their configuration.  Example: input file is sales.xlsx, filter on month: January, sum of sales amount.

I would love a functionality that would output this together with the other output on the server for the flow that ran.  This can then be used as a sort of proof in case of an audit on how we got to the numbers of the output.

2021.4 Server comes with a ton of new great features. 

The one that shouldn't be implemented is moving away from Alteryx initial intentions of being a place of data artisans, and turning the Gallery into a Spreadsheet.

A homepage should feel like home. It should have the flexibility to customize it for each Organization to move workflows, pictures, and notes around to guide the user to the application they need to run their workflow. 

Most people using the HomePage Gallery aren't major developers, but new users or even non-analysts who want to run an app to get the report they need. 

Please don't go backward by taking away flexibility, readability, and increasing difficulty to understand and get to an app. 

But give more freedom to Alteryx Admins to customize and make the user experience even better. 

Lean more into these ideas where we can showcase and feature apps and show descriptions of tools

Just like your homepage we should be able to show videos and use negative spacing to help guide users, and be able to scroll down the page

Instead, you took away all spaces and tried to turn everything into raw data. There were spaces and extra lines on the app, but it's all stripped away on the Gallery in 2021.4

Again, lean into your roots of canvases where each artisan can design and put tools and items that make sense to them and their Organization. 
Please add features... don't take them away