Manage Data Connections

Create and manage your data connections from a central location. Use the Manage Data Connections window to view connections you created and connections shared with you, as well as add new connections.

To view and manage data connections at any time, click Options > Advanced Options > Manage Data Connections.

Gallery Administrators can create data connections in your company's Gallery and share them with you to use in Alteryx Designer. To view and use shared connections, you must add your company's Gallery in Designer.

To add a Gallery:

  1. In Designer, click File > Open Workflow > Add a Gallery.
  2. In URL, Type the URL path to your company's Gallery.
  3. Click Connect.
  4. Based on the Gallery configuration, authentication steps vary:

    • Built-in authentication: Type your Gallery email and password in Email and Password. Select Keep me logged in, if desired. Then, click Connect.

    • Windows authentication: A user name displays. Click Continue to log in.

    The Gallery window opens in Designer. Browse or click Cancel to close the window.

Shared Gallery connections update when you open Alteryx Designer. After working in Designer, click Sync All to update Gallery connections. If a connection expires, sign in to the Gallery to re-establish the connection.

In the Manage Data Connections window, click Add Connection and select an option:

Alteryx checks your computer for a SQL driver after you click Microsoft SQL Server.

  • If a driver for connecting to SQL Server is installed, the SQL Server Database Connection window opens.
  • If the SQL Server Native Client driver is not installed, you are provided a link to install it.

    See Microsoft SQL Server, for more information about the driver.

When the SQL Server driver is installed:

  1. In Connection Name, type a unique name for the connection.
  2. Click Connection Type and select an option:
    • User: Create a connection that only you can use.
    • System: Create a connection that can be shared. Open Alteryx Designer as an administrator on your computer. This option is only for Designer Admin.
  3. Click Host and select an option:
    • Add Field: Type a host name.
    • Search network for SQL Server hosts: Prompt Alteryx to locate hosts in your network.
  4. Select an authentication option:
    • Use Windows authentication: Automatically uses your Windows login credentials.
    • Use SQL Server authentication: Use your credentials for the server.

    See Guided connection setup for more information on authentication requirements.

  5. Click Test to test the connection.
  6. After testing the connection, click Default Database to view a list of databases on the server. Click a database to set it as the default database for this connection.
  7. Click Done.

Alteryx checks your computer for an Oracle driver after you click Oracle.

  • If an Oracle driver is already installed, the Oracle Database Connection window opens.
  • If a driver is not installed, the Oracle Client Not Found message displays. Select a location with at least 2 GB of free space to install the Oracle Instant Client driver. Click Install.

    • See Oracle for more information about the driver.

When the Oracle driver is installed:

  1. In the Oracle Database Connection window, in Connection Name, select an existing connection or type a name for a new connection.

    Missing connections in list

    Data Source Name (DSN) connections configured in the ODBC driver are not listed. To configure ODBC and OLEDB connections, see ODBC and OLEDB Database Connections.

  2. Click Type and select an option:
    • User: Create a connection that only you can use.
    • System: Create a connection that can be shared. Open Alteryx Designer as an administrator on your computer. This option is only for Designer Admin.

  3. In Host, type the Oracle server host name or IP address.

  4. In Port, type the network listening port for the Oracle database. The default is 1521.
  5. Type the name of the TNS-based application on the network in Service Name. This information is optional if only one service exists.
  6. In Credentials, type your user name and password for the data connection.

    7. See Guided connection setup for more information on authentication requirements.

  7. Click Test to test the connection.
  8. Click OK.

To add a new data connection other than Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle:

  1. In the Manage Data Connections window, click Add Connection and click Other.
  2. Type a unique name for the connection in Name.
  3. Click Connection Type and select an option:
    • User: Create a connection that only you can use.
    • System: Create a connection that can be shared. Open Alteryx Designer as an administrator on your computer. This option is only for Designer Admin.
  4. In Connection String, type or paste the connection string.

    5. See Manual connection setup for more information on authentication requirements.

  5. Click Save.

You can edit connections you created. You cannot edit connections shared with you via a Gallery. Only Admin users can edit System connections.

  1. In the Manage Database Connections window, point to a connection and click .
  2. Edit connection details.
  3. In Password, type the password you use to access the database.

    4. See Manual connection setup for more information on authentication requirements.

  4. Click Save.

You can delete connections you created. Gallery connections can only be deleted if access to the connection is revoked. Only Admin users can delete System connections.

In the Manage Data Connections window, point to a connection and click .

Undo appears next to the connection. If desired, click Undo to cancel the deletion.

You may be unable to see a data connections for multiple reasons. Try one or more of these recommended actions.

  • Confirm that the Gallery is added to Alteryx Designer. (File > Open Workflow > Add a Gallery)
  • Confirm that the Gallery connection is active. Try opening the Gallery from Designer. (File > Open Workflow > Gallery link)
  • Click Sync All in the Manage Data Connections window to refresh the list of connections. (Options > Advanced Options > Manage Data Connections > Sync All)
  • Confirm that you can see existing Gallery connections in the Manage Data Connections window. (Options > Advanced Options > Manage Data Connections)

If you are unable to see any Gallery connections in the Manage Data Connections window after trying the recommended actions, contact your Alteryx Server Administrator.

This error may appear because your computer uses a different version of a Microsoft SQL Server driver than the machine on which the data connection was created.

You must have the same, or a more recent, version of a Microsoft SQL Server driver installed on your computer. For example, the error message displays when your computer uses version 10.0 of a Microsoft SQL Server driver , and the machine on which the data connection was created uses version 11.0.

Users cannot directly upload data connections to share with others; that can only be done by the Alteryx Server Administrator. You can share the data connection details with another user to help them create the data connection in Designer on their computer

See Input Data Tool and Output Data Tool to learn how to use data connections in a workflow. See Supported Data Sources and File Formats for more on the data platforms and databases you can connect to.

Alteryx also supports in-database connections. See Manage In-DB Connections .