General rule of thumb...anytime you find yourself having to replicate what seems to be the same process, there is an easier way to automate it.
Recently an interesting problem was posed where a user was trying to bring in hundreds of files that were formatted differently and was getting caught up with some of the strict rules Alteryx enforces on input. So this user was converting the files by hand to a more lenient format.
Even though it seems Alteryx may have limiting rules there are so many ways to work with those rules to get what you want. In this case we created a Wizard that would convert one file at a time, but then crafted a macro that created a batch file that ran the Wizard for each file in a directory and then even brought all the converted files into a single input for downstream data processing.
Remember, the 4.1 release included a handy little program for all users: AlteryxEngineCmd.exe. This guy enables users to run any Alteryx process via the command line, making batch execution a snap and handling what most people ask for when they want looping.
For me, anytime I find myself replicating a task, I try to break it down to its simplest component and ask myself how I might be able to replicate it. In the case described above, the solution consisted of two very simple modules, but the time savings is astronomical and the elimination of user error is just as great.
Tara
