Dynamically assign column names based on mapping

[The1804]

Hi,

As the title says. I am trying to change column headers to a different value based on a mapping file. The issue is that the mapping constantly changes so my current solution of manual rename is not sufficient. Additionally the columns are not always 1:1 (ex. Change from column A to Column B) but sometimes they need to be repeated (Column A feeds to Column B and C) or display empty values (no mapping).

Is there an easy solution or an already existing tool which would help me with this problem?

Below I am attaching an example.

Mapping:
Input	Output
Colours	Column1
Animals	Column2
	Column3
Numbers
Names	Column4
Names	Column5

Colours and Animals should be renamed to Column1 and Column2 respectively.

Column3 should be displayed as empty as it has no corresponding value in Input

Numbers should be skipped as it does not exist in Output

Names should be displayed in both Column4 and Column5

n:1 will never happen

Input:
Colours	Animals	Numbers	Names
Black	Cat	One	Jack
Brown	Dog	Three	Anna
Blue	Pig	Two	Chris
Yellow	Chicken	Four	Tom

Output:
Column1	Column2	Column3	Column4	Column5
Black	Cat		Jack	Jack
Brown	Dog		Anna	Anna
Blue	Pig		Chris	Chris
Yellow	Chicken		Tom	Tom

Let me know if above info is sufficient.

Thanks in advance.

[fmvizcaino]

Hi @The1804 ,

For changing column header names, I would normally use the dynamic rename tool to do it.

https://help.alteryx.com/2020.1/DynamicRename.htm

But since your problem involves also the duplication of a column, I needed to use a cross-tab/transpose method along side a join tool to accomplish that.

Best,

Fernando Vizcaino

[The1804]

Hi,

Thank you for quick response.

Your solution is quite close to what I am looking for however I also need the "Template" to be generated based on values in Output column instead of having it fixed manually. Would that be possible to do?

Thanks in advance.