In today’s blog will cover one useful way to handle an alteryx project handover. A couple of weeks ago, I took over an Alteryx workflow that was quite complicated. First things first, once I receive the files and documentation, I will want to explore the workflow. Since this was my first time working on a handover workflow, I requested a packaged workflow…but wait, surprise, surprise! I discover a whole new world, Relative Paths!! Let’s talk about this for a few minutes.
Let’s say you have completed your workflow, and now it’s time to share it. One way is to package and share it. Find out more here. However, when it comes to passing the project on to your clients or colleagues, relative pathing can be so versatile.
Why relative paths are versatile? When you try to run the workflow using the file paths as they are (absolute paths), some errors will occur. This is exactly what happened to me, it was so time-consuming to re-arrange every connection to the input tools.
..\..\Dashboard week\CENSUS\G13 total.csv
Why are absolute paths not useful? Absolute paths can be used to locate any file on your computer. Again, on your computer, only there. Okay, do we get it? In other words, when you share your workflow with absolute paths, other users may have different user names, drives, or folder structures. Despite being easy to understand, they are inconvenient to work with.
C:\Users\AntoneelyCalizaya\OneDrive – MIP (Aust) Pty Ltd\Documents\Dashboard week\CENSUS\G13 total.csv
How do relative paths work? In Alteryx, relative paths act as a bridge between your workflow and files, identifying the folder where these files reside. You can run the workflow from any computer no matter from where you open it.
Setting relative paths: how do I do it? An alteryx workflow with relative paths has been sent to you. In the Options menu, select Advanced Options and then Workflow Dependencies. Click on the “All Relative” button in Workflow dependencies to convert everything to relative paths.
It’s that simple. Now you can run your workflow from anywhere without any problems. I hope you enjoy it. I look forward to seeing you soon. You can see my Tableau Public here. See you soon on my next blog, and if you’re looking for new tunes while learning new cool stuff or preparing for your Alteryx certification, check out my Spotify playlist here.