Alteryx Designer Core cheat sheet

Input Data reads delimited text, Excel, JSON, XML, YXDB and database tables; the file format is auto-detected from the extension and can be overridden in the configuration.

"First Row Contains Field Names" is a text/Excel option; when unchecked, row 1 is treated as data and fields are auto-named Field1, Field2, and so on.

The Record Limit (Max Records) property caps how many rows are read from the source; leaving it blank or setting 0 reads all available records.

YXDB is Alteryx's native format: typed, compressed, fastest to read and write, and the preferred format for passing data between workflows.

The Directory tool returns one record per file with FileName, FullPath, Directory, Extension, Size, CreationTime and LastWriteTime.

Dynamic Input reads paths, sheet names or queries from a field and applies one Input Data configuration to every value, unioning the results.

Output Data options include Save Field Names (header row), Max Records per File (file splitting), and Append to Existing File for delimited and Excel outputs.

Wildcard characters * and ? in an Input Data file path read every matching file and union the records into a single stream.

Alteryx has distinct Date (yyyy-MM-dd), DateTime (yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss) and Time (HH:mm:ss) types; text must be converted with DateTimeParse before it behaves as a date.

Text to Columns requires a field to split, one or more delimiters, a root field name, and the number of output columns; remaining splits are handled by the extra-character setting.

The Text to Columns "Split to rows" option emits one record per delimited value instead of creating new columns, expanding list-style fields into rows.

The RegEx tool has four modes: Match (boolean test), Parse (one output field per parenthesized capture group), Replace (substitution), and Tokenize (split on each match).

Common RegEx tokens: \d digit, \w word character, \s whitespace, . any character, + one or more, * zero or more, ^ start of string, $ end of string, (?i) case-insensitive.

In RegEx Replace, $1 refers to the first capture group, $2 to the second, and $0 to the entire match.

Data Cleansing performs several fixes at once: remove null rows or columns, replace nulls, strip leading/trailing whitespace, tabs and line breaks, and modify case.

Auto Field resizes String/V_String fields to the longest value and shrinks numeric fields to the smallest type that fits, cutting memory use.

DateTimeParse(text, format) converts a string to a date or datetime, and DateTimeFormat(date, format) converts a date back to a string using tokens such as %Y, %m, %d.

Formula string functions include Trim, TrimLeft, TrimRight, Upper, Lower, Left, Right, Substring, FindString, ReplaceChar, PadLeft, ToNumber and ToString.

Transpose keeps Key Fields as passthrough columns and turns each selected Data Field into a record containing a generic Name and Value pair.

Cross Tab builds rows from Group By fields, new column names from the Headers field, and cell contents from the Values field using the chosen aggregation method.

Summarize actions include Sum, Count, Count Non Null, Count Distinct, Min, Max, Average, Median, First, Last and Concatenate, which uses a user-supplied separator.

Sort accepts multiple sort fields with individual Ascending/Descending settings and an optional dictionary-order option for non-English text.

Sample modes are First N, Last N, Skip N, Every N, and Random count or percentage; adding a group field applies the rule separately within each group.

Multi-Row Formula references Row-1, Row+1 and the current row; the value used for the first row is configurable, and Group By resets row boundaries.

Running Total creates a cumulative sum in record order and restarts the accumulation whenever a configured group field changes.

Filter routes each record to the True (T) or False (F) output based on a boolean expression; custom output labels can be assigned.

Record ID appends sequential integers starting from a configurable value, which preserves the original row order after sorting or joining.

Join outputs: J contains records matching on every selected join field, L contains unmatched left records, R contains unmatched right records; an inner join keeps only J.

Join fields must be the same data type; Alteryx will not match a numeric field against a string field, though V_String and String can both be selected.

Join by record position pairs the first record of each input, then the second, and so on, ignoring key fields entirely.

Union configuration modes are Auto Config by Name (fields match by name, order irrelevant), Auto Config by Position (field 1 to field 1, and so on), and Manual.

Append Fields produces a Cartesian product of every source record with every target record; the Cartesian Join option must be enabled to allow a source input above 16 records.

Join Multiple combines several inputs in one tool with multiple join expressions, join by name or position, and a selectable output join type.

Fuzzy Match scores similarity using a match style and threshold, can generate match keys, and outputs matched pairs on one anchor plus unmatched records on others.

File types: .yxmd is a standard workflow, .yxmc a macro, .yxzp a packaged workflow that embeds input data and dependencies, and .yxdb a native Alteryx data file.

Workflow Configuration tabs cover Canvas, Runtime (events, output disabling, engine selection) and Meta Info; Runtime settings apply to the whole workflow.

"Disable All Tools that Write Output" prevents Output Data and other writing tools from running, which is commonly used while testing.

A disabled tool container grays out its contents so they do not execute while still remaining on the canvas and in the workflow XML.

The Results window shows the data preview and column profile for each selected tool or anchor; the Browse tool writes its preview into Results.

A tool executes only after all of its upstream inputs are satisfied; independent branches of the canvas have no guaranteed relative run order.

Data types available in Select, Formula and the Select Fields options: String, V_String, WString, V_WString, Byte, Int16, Int32, Int64, Fixed Decimal, Float, Double, Bool, Date, DateTime, Time.

The AMP Engine is enabled or disabled on the Runtime tab; switching engines can change performance and the behavior of certain tools.