If you have been following my blog posts, we have previously covered the basics of Alteryx Designer and how to leverage its powerful Spatial Analysis tools. This time I am introducing a feature for the slightly more seasoned alteryx user: Macros.
At some point in your data journey, you will find yourself copying and pasting the same chunk of logic across multiple workflows. Or perhaps you need to run a process on 50 different Excel sheets that all have slightly different formatting.
This is where Macros come in. In programming terms, if a standard workflow is a script, a Macro is a function. It allows you to encapsulate a process and reuse it repeatedly without rebuilding it from scratch.
Here is my guide to the three main types of macros in Alteryx: Standard, Batch, and Iterative.
1. The Standard Macro
A Standard Macro is the most common type. It takes a workflow process you perform frequently and packages it into a single tool.
How it works
Think of a Standard Macro as a custom tool created from a workflow. Instead of having 20 distinct tools on your canvas to perform a task, you compress them all into one. You feed data into it, the macro performs a specific set of transformations (cleaning, parsing, calculating), and it outputs the result.
When to use it
- Reusability: You use the same cleaning steps (e.g., removing nulls, formatting dates) in ten different workflows.
- Simplification: Your main workflow is becoming too large and cluttered. You can group logic into a macro to make the canvas cleaner and easier to read.
- Sharing: You want to share a specific logic with a colleague without giving them a messy, 50-tool workflow. In fact, a lot of the stock tools in Alteryx actually come from this idea - the data cleanse tool, for example, is a macro that a user designed and Alteryx later installed into their stock set of tools!
2. The Batch Macro
The Batch Macro is used to repeat a workflow a certain number of times before producing a final output. While a Standard Macro runs once for the data flowing through it, a Batch Macro runs multiple times - once for every record (or group of records) passed into its Control Parameter. In coding terms, this is a "For Loop."
How it works
A Batch Macro requires a Control Parameter input. You feed a list of values (like filenames, regions, or dates) into this input. The macro then runs the workflow once for every record in that list, updating the tools inside based on that specific value. The results of all the runs are then stacked together (unioned) into a single output.
When to use it
- Group Processing: You need to perform a calculation that requires the data to be isolated by region, department, or date, and standard grouping tools aren't sufficient for the logic you're trying to build.
- Logic Branching: You want to change the configuration of a tool (like a Filter or Formula) dynamically based on incoming data.
3. The Iterative Macro
The Iterative Macro is the most complex but also the most powerful for solving mathematical or hierarchical problems. It runs a process repeatedly until a specific condition is met. In coding terms, this is a "While Loop."
How it works
An Iterative Macro takes an input, processes it, and then checks a condition.
- If the condition is met: The record is sent to the final Output.
- If the condition is NOT met: The record is looped back to the beginning of the macro to be processed again, using the updated data from that flow. This cycle continues until all records meet the set condition or a maximum number of iterations is reached.
When to use it
- Target Setting: Calculating how many months it takes to reach a savings target or pay off a loan given a fixed interest rate.
- API Pagination: Fetching data from an API where the data is split across multiple pages, and you need to keep requesting the "next page" until there are no pages left.
- Convergence: Solving mathematical problems where a value needs to be recalculated until the difference is negligible. For example, calculating the number of hours needed for a cell culture to multiply and reach a desired solution density in a science experiment (see this Alteryx Challenge).
Getting Started: The Interface Tools
To turn any standard workflow into a macro, you need to use the Interface Palette.
Here are the two essentials you will need for every macro:
- Macro Input: This replaces your standard Input Data tool. It serves as the entry point for data coming from your main workflow.
- Macro Output: This replaces your Browse or Output Data tools. It sends the processed data back to your main workflow.
Once you drag a Macro Input tool onto your canvas, Alteryx automatically recognises the workflow as a Macro. When you save it, it will save as a .yxmc file rather than a standard .yxmd.
I recommend creating a folder to save all of your macros together in one place.
Summary
- Standard Macro: "Do this specific thing to my data." (Encapsulation)
- Batch Macro: "Do this thing for every item on this list." (For Loop)
- Iterative Macro: "Keep doing this thing until this condition is met." (While Loop)
Mastering macros significantly reduces the time you spend building repetitive logic and makes your workflows far more dynamic. Start by building a simple Standard Macro to clean a specific data field, and work your way up to Batch and Iterative processes!
-- Tyler