alteryx pick input file based on wild card,Alteryx Pick Input File Based on Wild Card: A Comprehensive Guide

Alteryx Pick Input File Based on Wild Card: A Comprehensive Guide

When working with Alteryx, one of the most common tasks is to select specific files from a directory based on certain criteria. This is where the “Pick Input File Based on Wild Card” tool comes into play. In this detailed guide, I will walk you through the ins and outs of this powerful tool, ensuring you can effectively use it in your workflows.

Understanding Wild Cards

Before diving into the tool itself, it’s important to understand what wild cards are. Wild cards are placeholders that can represent one or more characters in a string. In the context of file names, wild cards are used to match files that have similar patterns.

The most commonly used wild cards are:

• “ – Matches any number of characters (including zero characters).
• `?` – Matches exactly one character.
• `[]` – Matches any single character within the brackets.

For example, if you have a directory with files named “data1.csv”, “data2.csv”, and “data3.csv”, the following wild card patterns would match these files:

• `data.csv` – Matches “data1.csv”, “data2.csv”, and “data3.csv” (because “ matches any number of characters after “data”).
• `data?.csv` – Matches “data1.csv” and “data3.csv” (because `?` matches exactly one character after “data”).
• `data[12].csv` – Matches “data1.csv” and “data2.csv” (because `[12]` matches either “1” or “2” after “data”).

Using the Pick Input File Based on Wild Card Tool

Now that you understand wild cards, let’s move on to the “Pick Input File Based on Wild Card” tool. This tool is located in the “Input” category of the Alteryx Gallery.

When you drag and drop the tool onto your workflow, you will see a window with several fields:

• `Directory Path` – The path to the directory containing the files you want to match.
• `File Pattern` – The wild card pattern you want to use to match the files.
• `File Name` – The name of the file you want to use as the output.
• `File Extension` – The file extension you want to use for the output file.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use the tool:

1. Drag and drop the “Pick Input File Based on Wild Card” tool onto your workflow.
2. Double-click the tool to open the configuration window.
3. In the “Directory Path” field, enter the path to the directory containing the files you want to match.
4. In the “File Pattern” field, enter the wild card pattern you want to use to match the files.
5. In the “File Name” field, enter the name of the file you want to use as the output.
6. In the “File Extension” field, enter the file extension you want to use for the output file.
7. Click “Run” to execute the tool.

Once the tool is executed, it will create a new output file with the matched files. You can then use this output file in your workflow as needed.

Examples of Using the Tool

Let’s look at a few examples to illustrate how the “Pick Input File Based on Wild Card” tool can be used in different scenarios.

Example 1: Matching All CSV Files in a Directory

In this example, we want to match all CSV files in a directory named “data” using the wild card pattern `.csv`.

After executing the tool, you will have a new file named “output.csv” containing all