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Connect to Data

When you import data into Designer Cloud Powered by Trifacta Enterprise Edition, you are creating a reference to a source of data; the source is never touched. When the data is required for use, Designer Cloud Powered by Trifacta Enterprise Edition reads a sample of the source data into the application for your use. Data is read into the application through an object called a connection.

The following are the supported types of connection for the product:

  • Upload/Download: You can upload data directly from your local desktop. You can also save it locally on export.

  • Base storage layer: Your deployed instance of the product is connected to a base storage layer, where you can read sources and write your results.

  • Relational sources: You can read from database tables into the product.

  • S3: You can read and write to S3 locations.

Locate Connections

You already have a set of connections that you can use. Connections can be either read-only or read-write.

  1. In the Home page, click the Library icon in the left nav bar.

  2. In the Library page, click Import Data.

  3. In the Import Data page, your list of available connections is displayed in the left nav bar.

See Import Data Page.

Tip

To get to the Connections page from anywhere in the Trifacta Application, click the Connections icon in the left nav bar. See Connections Page.

Use Connections

Read-Only

  1. In the Import Data page, select one of the available connections.

  2. Navigate through the connection to select the asset to import.

  3. Select the object and click Open.

  4. In the Import Data page, review the settings of the asset in the card in the right panel. Make updates as needed.

For more information, see Import Data Page.

Write

Note

You cannot write or publish results until connections have been created for you.

Write results:

You write results through a connection by specifying a set of settings.

  1. In the Run Job page, click Add Publishing Action.

  2. In the left nav bar, select the connection.

  3. Specify the settings for the publishing action.

  4. Run the job.

  5. When it successfully completes, the specified results are published through the selected connection.

See Run Job Page.

Publish results:

After you have written results from a job, you can publish them to other storage through your configured connections.

  1. In the Jobs page, locate the job whose results you wish to publish. Click its link.

  2. In the Job Details page, click the Output Destinations tab. Then, click Publish.

  3. In the Publishing Dialog, select the system to which you would like to publish the results.

  4. When the results are successfully published, a message is displayed.

See Publishing Dialog.

Create Connection

Note

Connections may be created by your Alteryx administrator. Some connections require additional configuration outside of the application. See Connection Types.

When a new connection is created, it is initially available only to you.

Prerequisites:

Before you create a new connection, please verify the following:

  • On the datastore, you have read and (optionally) write locations.

  • You have credentials to use to connect to this datastore. These credentials have permissions on your read/write locations.

  • Some datastores require a special connection string, which must be inserted as part of the connection object.

Read-only:

  1. In the Import Data page, click the New icon in the left nav bar.

  2. In the Create Connection window, specify the parameters of the connection.

For more information, see Create Connection Window.

Read-write:

  1. In the Connections page, click Create Connection.

  2. Click the connection category or search for a specific connection to create.

  3. If a connection is grayed out:

    1. It may already exist. Some connections types permit only one globally available connection.

    2. It may not be supported in your product.

    3. It may be read-only.

  4. Click the name of the connection.

  5. In the Create Connection window, specify the parameters of the connection.

See Create Connection Window.

Share Connection

Through the Connections page, you can share your private connection with other users.

Note

When you share a connection, you can choose to share your credentials with the connection. Those credentials may provide access to specific areas of the datastore.

  1. In the Connections page, locate the connection you wish to share.

  2. In the context menu for the connection, select Share....

  3. Specify the type of sharing from the drop-down and, if applicable, the users with whom you wish to share.

See Share Connection Dialog.

Delete Connection

Note

You can delete a connection only if you are the connection owner and the connection is not used to import any datasets.

  1. In the Connections page, locate the connection to remove.

  2. In the context menu, select Delete....

  3. The connection is deleted.

See Connections Page.

Automation

You can create, edit, or delete connections through the APIs. See API Reference.