Browse window as text input

[lonnie]

Question:How can I take data processed from a module and viewed in a browser window into another module without saving the data to an external file? I want to avoid re-importing the data into another module.

Scenario: I have several columns of data with several hundreds of thousands of rows of data. The process required to compile this data set may have taken several minutes, or even longer to generate. Once I have this large data set, I decide there is some additional manipulation (say there is a formula or a summary I want to include as part of my evaluation of the data) I would like to do in Alteryx. I could add an additional tool to the module, but then I would have to re-run the module and wait for several minutes to re-run the entire process. Or I could save the processed data from the browser window into an external file then create a separate module. But I have a separate file to be managed which takes up disk space.

Is there a way I can copy and paste the data into a “text input” tool (or some other tool), and start my additional processing from that point?

Answer:
If you don't want to save the content of the browse and exceed the limit of 1000 records for the Text Input, use the temporary YXDB file created for the Browse as an input for the new module. As long as the previous module is open, you can use the temporary YXDB as an input in other modules. To get the name of the YXDB file, under the XML view you can see the name of the temp file that is created. Tools>User Settings>Edit User Settings>Advanced tab. Select Display XML in Properties Window.