Lock Your Workflow

You can lock workflows (including analytic apps and macros) so that users can only run them in Designer.

  • Users cannot open or edit locked workflows. When you try to open a locked workflow or macro, you see a message that it cannot be edited. When you open an analytic app, the app interface displays.
  • Users can run (but not open) locked workflows only on a machine with a serial number specified at the time the workflow was locked.

Lock from Menu

Click Options > Advanced Options > Lock Workflow to open the Lock Workflow window.

  1. Output Location: Click Browse to navigate to the location to save the locked workflow.
  2. (Optional )Restrict use to specific serial numbers (one per line): Optionally enter a list of the serial numbers. Only users with a listed serial number are able to run the locked workflow. List each unique serial number on its own line. To locate your serial number, go to Help > About.
  3. (Optional) Set expiration date for locked workflow: Optionally select a date. The locked workflow will expire on the date specified, preventing the workflow from being run or used anymore.

Analytic App and Macro workflows can be locked via the command line using the following parameters:

AlteryxEngineCmd /Lock myworkflow.yxwz Output.yxwz
  • AlteryxEngineCmd: Refers to AlteryxEngineCmd.exe. This file is found in the Alteryx install directory Program Files\Alteryx\bin.
  • /Lock: The command argument to lock the workflow. It will take the specified workflow and make a locked copy of it.
  • myworkflow.yxwz: The workflow you want to lock. This needs to be the full, absolute path to the workflow.
  • Output.yxwz: The copy of the original workflow in its locked state. This needs to be the full, absolute path to the workflow.

[CommaSeparatedSerialNumbers]: Pass a list of serial numbers for the locked workflow to work on. This is an exclusive list and the locked workflow only works with one of the provided serial numbers.

AlteryxEngineCmd /Lock myworkflow.yxwz Output.yxwz serial1, serial2, serial3

[ExpirationDate]: Specify when an locked workflow expires. 

AlteryxEngineCmd /Lock myworkflow.yxwz Output.yxwz serial1, serial2, serial3 yyyy-mm-dd

If no serial numbers are included, separate the parameters with quotes.

AlteryxEngineCmd /Lock myworkflow.yxwz Output.yxwz "" yyyy-mm-dd