This is the first week of my DS30 training and the first two days were focused on working with Alteryx. Completing tasks accurately and efficiently means adopting time-saving habits that automate parts of your work. That is why my first blog (the one you are reading right now) is about good Alteryx habits to get into. I asked my colleagues at the Information Lab, who are some of the most prolific Alteryx users in the world, for tips for beginners. Here they are:
Tip #1: PRESS RUN
The tools only work if you press “Run” after you drag it into your workflow. I forgot to press “Run” on several occasions already and spend significant time frustrated about the tool not working.
Tip #2: SELECT OUTPUT WINDOW
If you did press “Run” and the tool is still seemingly not working, it is possible that you are not looking at the output window. Output window shows the data to which the tool has already been applied.
Tip #3: CHANGE DATA TYPE IN THE FORMULA
When you select the “Formula” tool, before you even type in the command, make sure to change the data type first. This will save one “Select” tool and potentially some confusion down the line.
Tip #4: ANNOTATE AND ADD COMMENTS AS YOU GO
It is easy for you to understand what your workflow does, that might not be the case for others. In fact, you might find yourself cursing your past self for not adding good annotations when you revisit the workflow.
Tip #5: USE CONTAINERS FOR DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORKFLOW
Some workflows can get quite complex and you might not want to run ALL of it every time you add a new tool. Use containers to group different stages of work together. This also allows you to disable or enable the tools in the container. Just select the tools you want to group, right click and choose “Add To New Container”. Use the little toggle button at the top right corner to disable or enable the tools.
Tip #6: SHORTCUTS FOR COMMANDS
Knowing a few keyboard shortcuts to perform some basic tasks can save a lot of time that you do not spend looking for that one button to press. To me, there is also something very satisfying about executing the same command with keyboard shortcuts compared to moving your mouse and pressing a button. Here are a few essential shortcuts:
1. CRTL + ALT + r to show/hide the RESULTS section.
2. CRTL + ALT + c to show/hide the CONFIGURATION section.
3. Space + click/drag to move around workflow OR simply click middle scroll wheel and drag.
4. CTRL + scroll to zoom.
Tip #7: FILTER OUT COLUMNS THAT YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN
Working with big data sets can be difficult, especially when there are tens or hundreds of columns. You can select what columns you want to see in your output by pressing a drop down menu at the top right corner of your results window.
