Connect Configuration

Work through the configuration screens to configure Connect.

Set a New Password for the superuser account 'admin'.

• Type a password.
• Type the password again to verify correct entry.
• Click Save.

Set a New Password for the H2 database.

• Type a password.
• Type the password again to verify correct entry.
• Click Save.

Set the values associated with your instance of Connect.

• Instance Name: Type or paste a name for the instance connection.
• Base URL: Type or paste the URL where the Connect instance will be hosted.
• Accepted upload file types: Type or paste a list of file types you want to add to your Connect instance. 
  • Uploaded file types are restricted by default.
  • Default values for upload file types: jpeg, jpg, gif, png, bmp, tex, xls, xlsx, doc, docx, ppt, pptx, pps, odt, txt, csv, rtf, pdf, tif, mov, mpg, mpeg, mp4, ogg, wmv, flv, f4v, mp3, mp4, wma, wav, aac, acc, 3gp, m4a, flac, htm, html, css, svg.
  • These restrictions can be changed anytime by an administrator. 
  • Leave blank to accept all file types.
• Trusted domains: Type or paste a list of domains that users can use to embedded external pages into asset descriptions. Leave blank to forbid all external pages. A wildcard character (*) is needed to indicate what part of the URL may change. For example: *public.tableau.com*
• Number of child objects in Nexus: Enter the maximum number of objects to display in the Nexus.
• Purge removed entries: Enter the number of days after which the inactive entries will be purged.
• Number of search results: Enter the number of results to display in search results.
• Appearance theme: Select to view the user interface in either the modern or legacy theme.
• Enforce password complexity: When selected, users will have to enter a password with the following requirements:
  • at least 8 characters
  • at least one number
  • at least one letter
  • upper and lower case letters
  • at least one special character
• Disable Sign up: Select to prevent users from signing up individually using a trusted domain. To set a list of trusted domains, select the link and add domains to the list.
• Show Community results in search: Select to show related results from Community when searching for content. This is selected by default.
• Enable asset recommendation: When enabled, enter a cron expression to schedule the Asset recommendation calculation. By default, the asset recommendation is calculated daily at 2am. Recommendations improve as you continue to use Connect.
• Use CDN for JS & CSS files: When enabled, libraries are downloaded from CDN. If disabled, files are downloaded from the Connect server.

• Help us improve Alteryx Connect by allowing the collection of anonymous usage data: Select to provide usage data to the Customer Experience Improvement program. This is selected by default.

Usage Data Collected

As part of the Customer Experience Improvement program, Connect can gather information on how users are interacting with the Connect platform in accordance with the Alteryx Privacy Policy. This includes any time a user interacts with a page or performs a search.

When a user begins a session, Connect gathers the following information:

• A hash value of the user's license number.
• The version of Connect in use.
• A hash value of the SeatGuid.
• The timestamp of when the datapack was prepared.

For each user interaction within a session, Connect gathers the following information:

• A hash value of the user ID.
• A hash value of the entry ID.
• The event type, such as search versus page selection.
• The timestamp of when the event occurred.
• An identifier related to the current session.

Click Save.

Add and manage single sign-on options for multiple IDPs.

To add a new SAML option:

• Click + ADD to open the New SAML window.
  Provide a Name, Icon, and Description of the new IDP. Then select the method you want to use to provide Identity provider details.
  You may need to visit the IDP site for the necessary information.
  • Add IDP endpoint: Enter the SSO URL endpoint and Entity ID, which is a globally unique name for a SAML entity. The ID and endpoint locations do not need to match, but both should contain the needed URL paths and ports to be reached by an external service.
  • Upload IDP metadata: Click Choose File to browse to a local XML file that contains the IDP metadata, then click Open to upload the file.
  • Get IDP metadata from URL: Provide the IDP Metadata URL. Connect can only access publicly-available URLs.
• Select Use Windows Authentication for Single Sign-On to link users' Connect logon with their Windows logon. See Windows Authentication.

Use the table to manage configured IDPs.

• In the Active field, click the black icon to enable an IDP for use. Confirm, and a confirmation message appears in the bottom left. The icon changes to a green check mark.
• In the Actions field:
  • Click the pencil icon to edit an existing IDP connection. Click Save to confirm.
  • Click the trash can icon to remove an existing IDP connection. Click Remove to confirm.

Use the information provided under Alteryx Connect Details when registering Connect as a service provider with an IDP. For more information on how to register a service provider with an IDP, see the IDP's documentation.

• Endpoint URL: The location an IDP points to when making a connection.
• Entity ID: The unique identifier for Connect as a service provider.
• Start URL: The URL available when first logging on to your Connect instance.
• Download Service Provider Metadata: This creates a service provider metadata file that can be used to configure the IDP when configuring SAML single sign-on.

Advanced settings: Advanced settings contains options for changing your default Connect certificate, certificate key, and certificate store. 

Set the SMTP, or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, settings to enable Connect's communication features. Click Skip to proceed with all communication features disabled.

• Host Name: Type or paste the name of your host server.
• SMTP Port: Type or paste the port number assigned to your protocol. Standard SMTP ports are 25, 465, and 587.
• From Email Address: Type or paste the email address associated with outgoing communication.

Set your Connection Security options.

• Use TLS: Select to use Transport Layer Security, or TLS, a cyptographic protocol. TLS is preferred in modern web systems.
• Use SSL: Select to use Secure Sockets Layer, or SSL, a cytographic protocol.

Click Save.

Establish connections between Connect and Alteryx Gallery.

To link Connect and Alteryx Gallery, you must have administrator access to an Alteryx Gallery.

1. Enter the Gallery Name and Gallery URL associated with your Alteryx Gallery.
2. You can choose from two Gallery authentication types.
   With Built-in authentication you have to enter your Gallery username and password while adding an Alteryx Gallery.
   By choosing Integrated Windows authentication,  you have to enter your domain username and password.
3. Enter the admin Gallery username and Gallery password you use to log into the Alteryx Gallery.
4. By checking Do not obtain API keys automatically, you’ll have to enter the API credentials manually. 
5. Enter the Gallery key associated with your Alteryx Gallery, known as the admin API key in Alteryx Gallery.
   To find the Gallery key, log into your Alteryx Gallery using your admin credentials. Access Settings, and click Keys. Copy the Admin API Key.
6. Enter the Gallery secret associated with your Alteryx Gallery.
   To find the Gallery secret, log into your Alteryx Gallery using your admin credentials. On the side menu, access Data Connections.
7. Enter the Connect loader username and Connect loader password you used to configure your metadata loaders.

Test: Click to test the connection to your Alteryx Gallery.

Save: Click to save the connection information, which can be viewed on the Connection tab.

Save and Harvest: Click to save the connection information and collect metadata available from Alteryx Gallery. The metadata is available to Connect users on the Data Sources asset page. See Understand Assets. If a loader requires credentials, edit them on the Connection tab.