Tidy
Use Tidy to automatically arrange the tools on your workflow canvas. Tidy lays out your workflow from left to right, aligns and evenly spaces your tools, and reduces crossed connections, all in a single step that you can undo.
Tidy is useful when a workflow has become hard to follow after a lot of building and editing, for example, before you share a workflow with a colleague, present it, or review it with someone else.
Tidy only changes where things sit on the canvas. It doesn't change tool configurations, connections, or the text in your comments, and your workflow produces the same results before and after you use Tidy. Tidy only runs when you select it. It never rearranges your canvas automatically.
Tidy Your Workflow
To arrange tools in your workflow…
Select Tidy in the top-left corner of the canvas.
Alternatively, select multiple tools on the canvas. Then, right-click any of the selected tools and select Tidy Up Selection.
Review the new layout on your canvas. To return to your previous layout, select Undo.
After Tidy runs, the spacing options open so you can adjust how closely your tools are arranged. Go to Adjust Tool Spacing for more information.
Adjust Tool Spacing
Use the spacing options to choose how closely Tidy arranges your tools. Each change appears on your canvas right away.
Option | Description |
|---|---|
Compact | Places tools close together so more of your workflow fits on screen. |
Normal | Uses standard spacing between tools. |
Loose | Places more space between tools. |
You can open the spacing options in 2 ways:
Select Tidy or Select Tidy Up Selection: Tidy arranges your workflow using the spacing you used last, then opens the spacing options so you can adjust it.
Shift+Select Tidy: The spacing options open before Tidy moves any tools, so you can choose a spacing first.
You can try as many spacing options as you like. When you press Undo, your canvas returns to the layout it had before you opened the spacing options.
While the spacing options are open, you can't use the canvas. Close the spacing options to continue working. Alteryx remembers your spacing choice until the end of your session.
Additional Details
Undo
Each time you use Tidy, including any changes you make in the spacing options, Alteryx records it as a single step in your undo history. Press Undo once to return to your exact previous layout.
Tool Containers, Comments, and Wireless Connections
Tool Containers move together with the tools inside them. Comments stay next to the tools they describe and aren't hidden behind tools. Wireless connections are preserved.
Large Workflows
You can use Tidy on large workflows.
Known Limitations
Connections might cross after a tool with multiple outputs. In some workflows, connections that come after a tool with 2 outputs might cross even though a layout without the crossing is possible.
Tidy doesn't keep manually placed tools in place. Tidy can move tools that you positioned yourself.