Engine Works
Under the hood of Alteryx: tips, tricks and how-tos.
Whenever you connect two tools, a connection is created between them so you can easily check how tools are connected and how your workflow is designed.
By default, those connection lines have rounded angles. This type of connection is called Auto Route Bezier.
But did you know that there are two other types of connections? Let’s check what they are and how to switch between them.
The big three
Let’s discover the three types of connections.
The first one, that we’ve discussed in the introduction, is Auto Route Bezier. It connects two tools by drawing a non-straight line between them using rounded angles.
The second one is called Auto Route Perpendicular. It connects two tools by drawing a non-straight line between them, but unlike the first type, it uses straight angles.
The third and last type is called Straight. It connect two tools using a straight line. That’s it, simple as that.
Changing your connection style
Now that we know the different types of connections, let’s learn how to switch between them. Which is pretty easy.
To do that, you need to go in the menu Options > User Settings > Edit user settings > Canvas.
In the resulting panel, under the section Connection Settings, there is the Type dropdown which allows you to pick the type of connection you want. Pick the type you want, click on Save and your change is already applied into your opened workflow.
And that’s it ! You’ve discovered the three types of connections and learned how to switch between them. Now, you can personalize your
workflows to suit your taste.
Have fun playing with it! 👍
Here is a quick video to show what this can look like in Designer:
You can find even more tips and tricks for designing your workspace here.
