GCSE-544: Error: "The field "XXX" was renamed conflicting with an existing field name"

[JoshML]

Environment Details

Alteryx Designer

• Versions 2021.2–2022.1

Overview

Fields within the configuration window of the Select Tool functionality are duplicated and reported as (Missing). The following error is returned by the Select Tool, preventing downstream processing.
 

The field "XXX" was renamed conflicting with an existing field name

Additional tools that include the Select Tool Functionality:

• Append Fields
• Find Nearest
• Join
• Join Multiple
• Select In-DB
• Spatial Match

Cause

Updates to the case type of fields are not being processed appropriately within existing Select Tool functionality configurations.

Workarounds

 

Because the behavior is present in many tools, and each person's workflow is different, some of these workarounds may or may not work for you.

1. Within the tool configuration for the Select functionality, click Options > Forget All Missing Fields. This option should work if you have the *Unknown option checked.
2. Avoid clicking on the tool in question - only clicking on the tool will cause this issue. If you are using a Select tool, simply placing another Select tool upstream, and instead configuring that Select tool can help.
   
3. Add a Dynamic Rename tool after the tool that reads in data from the data source. In the Dynamic Rename tool, use a formula in the Expression editor to set the letter case of the field names.
   image.png

[nickbecks]

Is there a fix coming soon for this... extremely annoying and time consuming to fix this on a recurring basis.

[Ringo]

This just comes down to having to reconfigure the inserted select tool to be like the broken select tool. With 450 fields in my select tool and only a part needed of those fields, this is a massive waste of time. 

It's now half a year after the first reporting of this issue:

https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Alteryx-Designer-Discussions/Select-tool-issue-in-version-2021/td-p...

... and it still isn't fixed. Or will Alteryx only fix this in a new version? If that is the case, Alteryx will be giving us even more work, i.e. having to install a new version on our server and then a new version on our desktops. I'm seriously annoyed about this.

[DanielG]

@JoshML  -- this is occurring in our recently upgraded 2021.3 (from 2020.4)

Any actual fix in place for this?  

If I pull a workflow down from the server and run it, without touching any tools it works fine.  The minute I go in there to adjust/add/subtract tools, it throws these errors.

This can't be a long-term solution for people with hundreds of workflows that they are responsible for.

Is there any new information on this or a better/permanent fix in place?

[JoshML]

@nickbecks @Ringo @DanielG This particular behavior was addressed within the v2022.1 release of Designer; it won't be included within updates to prior versions. You can find this defect (DE33942), and others that were addressed, throughout the release notes.

Should you continue to experience any related, unexpected, behaviors after having updated to v2022.1, you can contact Alteryx Support.

[DanielG]

To anyone interested, I am also getting weird issue where a workflow will run when a Join Tool only has one incoming connection.  I get error further downstream but no error on the Join Tool itself. 

Assuming it is related to this defect, but wanted to put it out here in case anyone else has seen it.