Flat File Layout

To assign column breaks, place your cursor where the break should be. Alteryx automatically determines the appropriate field length and the grid section populates based on those breaks.

Select the column-break lines to delete them.

Use the scroll bars beneath the file preview to reveal additional data within the file and assign the appropriate column breaks.

Allow Short Lines: Indicate if a record can end before all fields are read. This is valid only for data with line ends. By default, this box is not checked.

Allow Long Lines: Indicate if there can be extra characters after the last field for the current record. This extra data is discarded. By default, this box is not checked.

Trim Spaces: Remove blank characters from field data. By default, this box is checked.

Record Length: This is the total character width of the longest record in the file.

EOL: End of line. This refers to the type of line ends used. The default is crlf. Options include none, crlf (Windows), lf (Unix), and cr (Mac.)

Name: The name of the field. Default is Field_1 or the next sequential number. You can assign your own field name by selecting the default name and typing in the box.

Type: The type of data field. Default is V_String. To change the data field, select the default. A dropdown list appears with supported field types.

Length: The width of the data field. The default is what is manually set by the user's cursor placement in the preview section above. To change this value, select the default and type in the appropriate value for a field's length. The column break is automatically reflected in the preview pane above.

Scale: The scale field references the level of precision for a fixed decimal field. Default is 0. To change this value, you must change the Type to fixed decimal and adjust the length and scale accordingly by selecting the defaults and entering the new values.

Embed Field Settings in the Workflow: The field settings save with the workflow.

Use Field Settings from File: The user can open a Flat ASCII file (*.flat) to read in the field settings for the data

Import: This button is active when Embed Field Settings in Workflow is selected. Selecting the Import button allows the user to browse to a flat ASCII file (*.flat) that contains the field settings to be applied to the data. These settings are then saved in the workflow.

Export: The user can save the field settings to a Flat ASCII file (*.flat) to be applied again either to a different file that follows the same layout or to the same file to be utilized in a different workflow. This option is available when either radio button above is selected.