Alteryx Tips & Tricks

by Elnisa Marques

I – Opening files:

Drag files from Windows Explorer directly onto your canvas: Workflow files (*.yxmd, *.yxwz, *.yxmc) opens directly in a new tab on the workflow canvas. Data files will be represented by an Input tool for each data file on the workflow.

II – Keyboard Shortcuts – The usual friends:  

Ctrl+ Z to undo

Ctrl + Y to redo

Ctrl + X to cut

Ctrl +C to copy

Ctrl + V to paste

Ctrl + F to find tools within the current workflow

Ctrl + Alt + T show toolbar

 

III – Adding A Custom Macro Folder to Your Tool Set

  • Click Tools > User Settings > Edit User Settings.
  • Click the Macros tab, then the Plus (+) sign.
  • Enter a Category Name, then navigate to your search path.

Where Can I find macros?

Use the Alteryx gallery https://gallery.alteryx.com/#! to download the latest macros developed by the Alteryx community. You will find great workflows!

 

IV – Dynamic / Unknown Fields

When using some tools in Alteryx, you will notice that some of the fields are called Unknown or Dynamic Fields are important.

Dynamic or Unknown Fields are important when we want to set our workflows, apps and macros to run automatically on a daily, weekly or monthly basis depending on when our data source is updated. This way, we can have updated outputs.

Tip:

Deselect Unknown or Dynamic Fields:

1 – to speed up macro and workflow processing

when building a macro or a module which other people may run and change the input data, then it may be useful to deselect the Unknown fields, as this could speed up processing by dropping any unnecessary information.

2 – For Consistent Outputs

if we know what fields we need for our module and we want a consistent output then we can control this by deselecting the Unknown field in a select tool.