What is an Alteryx Macro?
Alteryx Macro is a workflow or a group of tools built into a single tool that can be inserted into another workflow, which is essential when you repeat an analytics process several times.
There are 4 types of Macros including Standard Macro, Batch Macro, Iterative Macro and Location Optimizer Macro. Basically, there are 3 different types because the Location Optimizer Macro is an Iterative Macro that can be applied in network analysis to identify optimal locations.
Standard Macro
- A workflow is encapsulated as a tool that is inserted into another workflow.
- The macro repeats several times after each run of a workflow and it is executed once for each record in the whole input dataset.
Batch Macro
- This macro runs several times as a tool in a workflow and creates an output after each run.
- The macro runs once for each record(or a selected group of records) in data.
- The input of the Macro is configured so that batch macro can be applied in each run of the workflow or only in specific runs.
Iterative Macro
- This macro runs for every record and then loop the records back into the workflow, repeated as many times as desired or until a condition is met.
Recommendation for Building Macros
Build a workflow first and convert it into a macro, which can maximally avoid some possible mistakes.