Results Window

The Results window is located below the canvas in Alteryx Designer. Before you run a workflow, the window displays the characteristics of the data that will go in to the selected tool. After you run the workflow, it displays the data from the selected tool, a data quality indicator, and messages, errors, and links to output files created from running the workflow.

View metadata

Before you run a workflow, the Results window displays metadata which contains the characteristics of data that will go in and out of a selected tool. Metadata includes: Record #, Name, Type, Size, Source, and Description. The Source column contains the tool or file the data came from and may also contain additional information about installed data.

After you run a workflow, the metadata that passed through a selected tool or tool anchor displays in the Results window.

To view metadata:

  1. Click a tool, or click any anchor on a tool, in the workflow.
  2. In Results, click Metadata.
  3. Click an input anchor or an output anchor to compare input and output results.

View data

After you run a workflow, you can view tool input and output data.

To view data:

  1. Click a tool, or click any anchor ( or ) on a tool, in the workflow.
  2. In Results, click Data.

To compare input and output results:

  1. Click an input anchor or an output anchor to compare input and output results.

By default, the Results window displays the number of records shown in the window out of the total number of records in the data. For most tools, the Results window displays up to 1 MB of data, or up to 1,000 bytes of string data, for each tool anchor. If data exceeds 1 MB, the Results window displays a message stating that partial results are displayed.

To view all data from a tool in the Results window, add a Browse tool and run the workflow. See Browse Tool.

To view more than 1 MB of data in the Result window without adding a Browse tool, adjust Memory Limit per Anchor in User Settings. See User Settings.

Interact with results

After you run a workflow, you can interact with the results. Interactions include search, data cleanse, filter, and sort. This changes the displayed results.

Search results

To search results:

  1. Click a tool, or click any anchor ( or ) on a tool, in the workflow.
  2. In Results, click Data.
  3. In Search, enter a character, number, word or phrase to find all results.

Alteryx searches each value in every row and displays all rows where the search you entered is found. For example, if you searched for the number "1", Alteryx displays all rows where the number "1" is found in any value.

Data cleanse results

To cleanse data in your results:

  1. Click a tool, or click any anchor ( or ) on a tool, in the workflow.
  2. In Results, click Data.
  3. Hover over the column you want to sort. This will display the menu icon.
  4. Click the menu icon to view the interaction menu.
  5. Click Data Cleanse to view the data cleansing fucntions.
  6. Choose the data cleansing function that you want to perform and click Apply. Refer to the Data Cleansing tool for detailed descriptions of the data cleansing functions.

Alteryx sorts the column and redisplays results. To cancel while the sort is running, click the cancel icon (X). To remove the data cleansing funtion, open the interaction menu and click Data Cleanse. Locate the action that you performed and undo it, then click Apply.

Sort results

To sort results:

  1. Click a tool, or click any anchor ( or ) on a tool, in the workflow.
  2. In Results, click Data.
  3. Hover over the column you want to sort. This will display the menu icon.
  4. Click the menu icon to view the interaction menu.
  5. Click Sort to view the sorting options.
  6. Choose either the Sort Ascending or Sort Descending options and click Apply.

Alteryx sorts the column and redisplays results. To cancel while the sort is running, click the cancel icon (X). To remove the sort, open the interaction menu and click Sort > Don't Sort > Apply.

Filter results

To filter results:

  1. Click a tool, or click any anchor ( or ) on a tool, in the workflow.
  2. In Results, click Data.
  3. Hover over the column you want to filter. This will display the menu icon.
  4. Click the menu icon to view the interaction menu.
  5. Click the Filter option.
  6. Select a filter condition such as equals, contains, <=, or Is Null.
  7. If applicable, enter filter criteria.
  8. Click Apply or press Enter.

Alteryx filters the column and redisplays results. To cancel while the filter is running, click the cancel icon (X). To remove the filter, access the interaction menu and click Filter > Clear.

Revert to original dataset

To reset and revert to your original dataset:

  1. Perform a search, sort, or filter in the results grid.
  2. Click the three-line menu icon at the top right of the results grid. You will find this icon next to Open results in new window.
  3. Click Revert to original.

Alternatively, you can select a different tool or anchor, or select the canvas to undo and remove any search, sort or filter action.

Add tools to your workflow

Add data cleanse, sort, and filter interactions as tools to your workflow

You can only add tools to your workflow from the Browse tool results or a tool's output anchor when there is no tool connected to the output anchor.

You can add the interactions, such as data cleanse, sort, and filter, to your workflow. The interactions you add to the workflow display as Alteryx Designer tools. For example, if you applied a sort to your results grid, you can add the Sort tool to the workflow. Alteryx will add the Sort tool pre-configured, using the sort configuration you applied to the results grid. This changes the dataset.

To add tools to your workflow:

  1. Click a Browse tool in your workflow, or click a tool's output anchor ( ) that has no other tools connected to it's output anchor.
  2. Perform a data cleanse, sort, and/or filter action on your dataset using the results grid.
  3. Once the data in your results grid updates, 2 new icons appear: Cancel Data Manipulations and Apply Data Manipulations.
  4. Click Apply Data Manipulations to add preconfigured tools to your workflow (based on any data cleanse, sort, or filter actions that you performed).

Alteryx adds the tools to your workflow. Click Cancel Data Manipulations to restore the Results grid to its original state.

About

The results table includes:

  • Data quality bar: A colored bar displays at the top of each column indicating the quality of data.
    • Red (Not OK): The column contains values with leading or trailing white space.
    • Yellow (Null): The column contains no values.
    • Gray (Empty): The column contains strings with no values.
    • Green (OK): The column contains values without leading or trailing white spaces.
    • Diagonal lines (Partial results): The column contains more than 1 MB of data. The quality bar only reports the quality of the data currently displayed in the Results window.

    In columns containing spatial objects, the data quality bar reports the presence or absence values. The data quality bar does not display in columns containing report snippets. Use a Browse tool to view spatial objects and report snippets. See Browse Tool.

  • Fields: Click the drop-down arrow and select fields (columns) to display in the window.
  • Cell Viewer: Click the drop-down arrow to view metadata for each data field (column), or the content of a selected cell. Click to show white space or hidden characters in the cell.

    • Table schema (metadata) displays if no cell is selected.
    • Spatial information displays if a Spatial Object cell is selected.
    • PCXML code for a snippet displays if a Report Snippet cell is selected.
    • The record byte size displays if a row is selected.
    • A red triangle appears in the top right corner of a cell if the string data contains anomalies. Examples of anomalies include:
      • Strings with leading or trailing spaces.
      • Strings with embedded tags.
      • Strings with embedded new lines.
      • Numbers rounded to six decimal places for viewing.

  • : With a field selected, navigate up and down fields.
  • Number of results: Displays the number of records displayed in Results out of the total number of records.
  • Data and Metadata: Click to view data in Results.
  • Copy: Click and select the data you want to copy.
  • Save: (Not available for partial results) Click and select an export format.
  • Open in a new window: (Only available for Browse tool) See Browse Tool.
  • Input anchor: Click to view incoming data.
  • Output anchor: Click to view outgoing data.

In some cases, data does not display in Results.

Reason Resolution
In-Database tool Add Browse tool to workflow
Map or Report tool Add Browse tool to workflow
Selected Disable All Browse Tools Deselect Disable All Browse Tools in Workflow Configuration. See Browse Tool.
Limited hard drive space  

Workflow and tool messages

After you run a workflow, Results displays information about what happened during and after the workflow was run.

There are two message views:

  • Last Run: (Default) View messages from the last time you ran the workflow.
  • Configuration: View messages about changes to a tool's configuration.

To view messages after running a workflow:

  1. Click a tool in the workflow (to view tool messages), or click the canvas (to view workflow messages).
  2. Click Last Run or Configuration.
  3. Click a message type.

To view messages after viewing data, click .

Results displays several types of messages as well as links to files.

  • Errors: A tool was not configured correctly.
  • Conv Errors: Data could not be converted, or data cannot fit in a field. You can select the number of Conversion errors allowed per workflow. See Workflow Configuration.
  • Warnings: Available computer memory is less than the preferred setting, or missing fields were detected. Warnings do not cause workflow failure, but should be reviewed.
  • Messages: Workflow was run, or data is flowing through a tool.
  • Files: Links to input, intermediate, or output files.
  • All: (Default) Displays all messages.

Messages are limited to 256 characters. Point to a message to view the entire message.

Each message displays the name of a tool and the tool ID. Each tool, including tools that have been removed, in a workflow is numbered. Tool ID indicates the tool number in the workflow.

To highlight a message, click the icon to the left of the message. Right-click a message to copy it to the clipboard or save all messages as a .txt file. Click a tool name, in a message, to select the tool in the workflow; this automatically moves the canvas so that the selected tool is visible.

Performance profiling

If you select Enable Performance Profiling (Workflow Configuration > Runtime) and you run a workflow, messages in the Results window display the percentage of time spent processing each tool. Using this feature may decrease workflow performance; only use it for debugging. See Workflow Configuration.

Before you run the workflow, Performance Profiling shows the amount of time required to retrieve metadata from data sources and pass the metadata to other tools in the workflow.