Output Data Tool

User Role Requirements

User Role*	Tool/Feature Access
Full User	✓
Basic User	✓

*Applies to Alteryx One Professional and Enterprise Edition customers on Designer versions 2025.1+.

Use Output Data to write workflow results to supported file types or data sources. Use other tools to write to other supported data sources. For a complete list of data sources supported in Designer, go to Supported Data Sources and File Formats.

One Tool Example

This tool has a One Tool Example. Go to Sample Workflows to learn how to access this and many other examples directly in Designer.

Configure the Tool

The Output Data Configuration window has 2 sections: Write to File or Database and Options. Note that the Write to a File or Database configuration options vary based on whether DCM is enabled.

You must first select a file or database for the output via the Write to File or Database section.
Then, you must configure settings associated with that file or database via the Options section.

Connect with DCM (Default)

The steps below describe the default process with Data Connection Manager (DCM) enabled.

With the Output Data tool on the canvas, follow these steps:

In the Configuration window Write to File or Database section, you can enter your output file path or select...
- Open File: Browse to and connect to a file in a local or network directory. Refer to the Files section below.
- Connect To: Open the Connector Setup window.
When you select Connect To, Designer displays the Connector Setup window. Configure your data connections using one of these tabs: Recent and Connections. You can also access External Vaults and Synchronize via the More dropdown at the bottom of the page.

Recents

Use the Recents tab to view and access a list of recently used connections. The section also contains links to these options:

Create or Browse a Data Connection: Use DCM to create a new connection or browse previously created connections. For details, go to Data Connection Manager.DCM - Designer
Select a File on Your Local Storage: Select a locally stored file to use in the Input Data tool.

Connections

Use the Connections tab to access or create connections via Data Connection Manager (DCM). Only connections supported by DCM are available.

The Connections tab lists any previously created connections (including Name, Technology, and Last Updated information), along with the option to create new ones. You can use the 3-dot icon to copy the connection ID, test the connection, or delete the connection if it's no longer needed.

To connect your Output Data tool to a previously-created connection, locate it in the list and select the Connect button.

Add New Connection

To create a new connection via the Output Data tool, follow these steps:

On the Connections tab, select the + New button to bring up the Select a Technology window.
Next, you can select the connection technology from the supported connections list. You can also use the Search Technology search box if needed.
If the technology you selected supports multiple connection types, the Select Connection Type window appears. Choose the connection type. This might include Quick Connect, Connect with ODBC Admin, Bulk with Local Staging, Bulk with Staging on Amazon S3, etc.
If you select a bulk connection that requires multiple connections, a screen appears and prompts you to select existing bulk connections.
- Use the Select buttons to navigate to the bulk connections section and select Connect to choose the connections.
- Once multiple bulk connections are chosen, select Continue to use them in the workflow.
On the New Connection screen, fill out the relevant fields:
- Connection Details: Provide a connection name.
- Data Source: Provide a data source name as well as other required data source-specific information (refer to Data Sources for additional information).
- Credentials: Select an authentication method and enter the required credential information (for example, Client ID, Secret Key, Username, and Password) for the selected authentication method.
Once you've provided the necessary information, select Save to create the connection. You'll see your connection details appear. Select Connect to use the connection in your workflow.

External Vaults

Use the External Vaults tab to access or configure External Vaults via DCM. For more information and instructions, go to DCM External Vaults.

The External Vaults tab lists any previously created vaults (including Vault Name, Technology, and Last Updated information), along with the option to create new ones.

Synchronize

With DCM, you can sync credentials across your Alteryx apps. For more information, go to Designer DCM.DCM - Designer

Connect without DCM

Important

Non-DCM workflows are not supported with Workspace Execution. As such, this is not the recommended approach for creating connections within the Output Data tool.

The steps below describe the process with Data Connection Manager (DCM) disabled.

With the Output Data tool on the canvas, follow these steps:

In the Configuration window Write to File or Database section, you can enter your input file path or select...
- Open File: Browse to and connect to a file in a local or network directory. Refer to the Files section below.
- Connect To: To open the Data Connections window.
- Use Data Connection Manager (DCM): Select this checkbox to connect to data with DCM. Note that this resets your Input Tool configuration. Refer to the Connect with DCM section above.
When you select Connect To, Designer displays the Data connections window. Configure your data connection using one of these tabs: Recent, Saved, Files, Data Sources, or Server.

Write to File or Database

Designer displays the Data connections window. Configure your data connection via one of the Recent, Saved, Files, Data Sources, or Server tabs.

Note

While AMP Engine writes SpatialObj data into the file when you save to a CSV file, the original Engine doesn’t. This causes file size differences and you might experience decreased performance.

Recent (Non-DCM)

Select a recent connection. The Recent connections view contains recently configured files and data connections. Select Clear list to delete all your recent connections.

Saved

Select a Saved connection. To rename and edit your connections, use Manage Data Connections.

Files

Use the Select file button to connect to a dataset.

Supported File Types

Here are the supported file types:

File Type	File Extension
Alteryx Calgary	.cybd
Alteryx Database	.yxdb
Alteryx Spatial Zip	.sv
Avro	.avro
Comma Separated Values	.csv
dBase	.dbf
ESRI Personal GeoDatabase	.mdb
ESRI Shapefile	.shp
Extensible Markup Language	.xml
Flat ASCII	.flat
GIS	.grc, .grd
Google Earth/Google Maps	.kml
Gzip	.gz, .tgz
IBM SPSS	.sav
JSON	.json
MapInfo Professional Interchange Format	.mif
MapInfo Professional Table	.tab
Microsoft Access 2000-2003	.bdb
Microsoft Access 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016	.accdb
Microsoft Excel Binary	.xlsb
Microsoft Excel 1997-2003	.xls
Microsoft Excel	.xlsx
Microsoft Excel Macro-Enabled	.xlsm
QlikView	.qvx
SAS	.sas7dbat
SQLite	.sqlite
SRC Geography	.geo
Text	.txt, .asc
Zip	.zip

Data Sources

Data sources displays supported and frequently used data sources.

Tools: If you select Quick connect for a tool you have not installed, a browser opens to the Alteryx Community for you to download and install that tool. Read the instructions on the page carefully.
Data sources:
- ODBC launches the ODBC connection window that displays a filtered list of DSNs on the system that use that particular driver.
- OleDB launches the native Windows OleDB manager.
- OCI launches the Native Oracle OCI connection manager. From here, select the Net Service Name as defined in your tnsnames.ora file that you want to use for this connection, as well as the username and password credentials.
- Bulk opens a special dialog allowing you to set up a bulk connection for the selected connection type.
- Quick connect: For SQL or Oracle Quick connect, you can either use a pre-existing saved connection, or you can create a new saved connection. Refer to the following for details:
  - SQLConnect to a SQL Server Database
  - OracleConnect to an Oracle Database
- All other Quick connections are connections using another tool.

Hadoop

Select Quick connect under HDFS to create a new Hadoop database connection.

Designer connects to a Hadoop Distributed File System and reads .csv and .avro files. All Hadoop distributions implementing the HDFS standard are supported.

Configure HDFS Connections

HDFS can be read using httpfs (port 14000), webhdfs (port 50070), or Knox Gateway (8443). Consult with your Hadoop administrator for which to use. If you have a Hadoop High Availability (HA) cluster, your Hadoop admin must explicitly enable httpfs.

MapR may not support webhdfs.

In the HDFS Connection window:

Select a server configuration: HTTPFS, WebHDFS, or Knox Gateway.
Host: Specify the installed instance of the Hadoop server. The entry must be a URL or IP address.
Port: Displays the default port number for httpfs (14000), webhdfs (50070), or Knox Gateway (8443), or enter a specific port number.
URL: The URL defaults based on the Host. The URL can be modified.
User Name: Depending on the cluster setup, specify the user name and password for access.
- httpfs: A user name is needed, but it can be anything.
- webhdfs: The user name is not needed.
- Knox Gateway: A user name and password are needed.
Note
Self-signed certificates are not supported in Alteryx. Use a trusted certificate when configuring Knox authentication.
Kerberos: Select a Kerberos authentication option for reading and writing to HDFS. The option you choose depends on how your IT admin configured the HDFS server:
- None: No authentication is used.
- Kerberos MIT: Designer uses the default MIT ticket to authenticate with the server. You must first acquire a valid ticket using the MIT Kerberos Ticket Manager.
- Kerberos SSPI: Designer uses Windows Kerberos keys for authentication, which are obtained when logging in to Windows with your Windows credentials. The User Name and Password fields are therefore not available.
(Recommended) Select Test to test the connection.
Select OK.
Specify the path of the file (for example, path/to/file.csv), or browse for the file and select it.
Select the Avro or CSV file format > Select OK.

To connect to HDFS for in-database processing, use the Connect In-DB tool.

Other Databases

You can also make a generic connection or a 32-bit connection to databases.

Before you connect to a database, consider these points:

Both ODBC and OleDB connection types support spatial connections. Designer auto-detects if a database supports spatial functionality, and displays the required configurations.
To connect to a database for in-database processing, go to In-Database Overview.

Saved Data Connections

Point to an option and select a saved or shared data connection to connect it, or select Manage to view and edit connections.

All Connections: Displays a list of connections saved to your computer, plus connections shared with you from Server.

My Computer: Displays a list of connections saved to your computer.

Server: Displays a list of connections shared with you from Server.

Add a Server: To add a Server, first specify the Server URL, when prompted. Next, if prompted use your username and password to sign in. After signing in, return to Saved Data Connections, and point to the Server in the list to view connections shared from Server.

Go to Manage Data Connections for more on managing saved and shared data connections and troubleshooting.

Supported Data Sources

For a detailed list of supported data sources, go to Data Sources.

Server

Server displays each Alteryx Server and its associated URL (added to the local computer). A list below each Server name contains the saved connections stored on the Server you have access to.

Select + Server to add another Alteryx Server.

Output Options

Select file format Options.
Important
Options vary based on the file or database to which you connect. Go to File Format Options for important configuration information.
(Optional) Select Take File/Table Name From Field to write a separate file for each value in a selected field. Select the dropdown, and select an option:
- Append Suffix to File/Table Name: Appends the selected field name to the end of the name of the selected table.
- Prepend Prefix to File/Table Name: Prepends the selected field name to the beginning of the name of the selected table.
- Change File/Table Name: Changes the file name to the selected field name.
- Change Entire File Path: Changes the file name to the name of the selected field. The name must be a complete file path. This option can overwrite an existing file if a file exists in the full path directory.
  1. Select Field Containing File Name or Part of File Name and select a field.
  2. (Optional) Select Keep Field in Output.

Disable Output Tool

Select the Disable Tool checkbox to disable the Output Data tool. This prevents the tool from writing data when you run your workflow. Once disabled, the tool will appear grayed out on the workflow canvas.

This feature is particularly useful while you develop or troubleshoot your workflow.