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Build Your First Batch Macro!

JoeM
Alteryx Alumni (Retired)

 

Batch macros can be intimidating, but the intention of this course is to dispell your worries. Learn when to consider a batch macro, identify pre-existing processes that could be turned into batch macros,  and create your very first batch macro! 

Featured Tools:
Macro Input, Macro Output, Control Parameter

 

Date: 2018-04-18

Version: 11.0

Presented by@JoeM

 

VMC_Manos
5 - Atom

Very nice session Joe,

I think the use of: Control Parameters, Action Tools, as well as Dynamic Rename added to the value of this training session. Thanks so very much! 

Vincent

CamodCPA
8 - Asteroid

Hi Joe! 

 

Love this video (also learning alteryx)! 

 

Thanks for everything you do! Love watching and working through these videos along side of you!

 

rock on,

 

Cameron Odonnell

 

\\ edit: I had run into an issue, but it was a simple novice mistake!

AntonioGonzales
8 - Asteroid

Hello @JoeM,

 

Thank you so much for your brilliant explanation!

 

I am studying for the advanced certification and I am trying to understand why the macro "Count Records" was made in that way:

countrecords.png

Instead that way?

mycountrecord.png

 

Thank you so much for any help.

Best regards,

Antonio

JoeM
Alteryx Alumni (Retired)

@AntonioGonzales great question! The count records tool needed to accommodate two basic conditions:

1) Create a N count of records if records exist

2) Return 0 if no records exist

 

If you run a count via the summarize tool and no records are counted, it does not output 0 but rather nothing, since nothing was there to be counted.

Summarize counting no records = nothing!Summarize counting no records = nothing!

To circumnavigate this behavior, you'll see the text input tool setup as just 0 - so if no count returns from the summarize above it, it will become the output value. If something is returned from the summarize, you'll see that it is ordered so the 0 will always be sampled out.

 

AntonioGonzales
8 - Asteroid

Hi @JoeM,

 

As always, your explanation taught me a lot!

Now, everything makes sense.

 

 

Thank you and have a great day!

 

Cheers!

Antonio Alves

chickenlicken
8 - Asteroid

Very clearly explained, thank you!

nikitap
6 - Meteoroid

So well explained! This is by far the best session for batch macros. Thank you for sharing this. 

CristianaFerro
6 - Meteoroid

Very interesting lesson! I surly need to watch it couple time more, but i think i have a particular situation where i do not have a unique DB ready to be divided into batches.

I would like to be able to apply the same process to multiple DB and I think the batch macro is what I need.

But how i can make the macro understand that the batch should be let's say the name/source of the file and the length the entire file?

 

To give more context: i have 150+ different DB related to different entities. However in these file i do not have an entire column with the code/name of the entity, but this information can be found at the end of each file. I have built a standard macro to make the process. 

Now i wanted to go further and be able to apply it on all 150+ file I have in a directory without applying the macro 150+ times.