Overwrite Columns

The Overwrite Columns tool can be used to add a new column, based on an expression or formula.

Input, Output

Drag an Overwrite Columns tool to your workflow canvas. Connect a downstream tabular-data output to the input of your Overwrite Columns tool. Click it once to see the tool preview. Click it again to open and configure the tool.

Input	Output
Any single table	A single table with all original input columns, with selected existing columns overwritten by expression-based values

Navigating Columns

On the right side, you will see your results table, which represents the output of the tool. On the left side is the configuration panel. Column to Overwrite is the desired existing column to overwrite via expression. The plus sign allows you to add more than one overwritten column. You can even overwrite the same column sequentially.

Overwrite an Existing Column

To overwrite an existing column from the results table, select an existing column from the Column to Overwrite dropdown. This selects an existing column.

The Expression Builder sits below the Column to Overwrite dropdown. This allows you to write custom expressions to overwrite your column. This is a required selection. The plus sign allows you to overwrite the same column multiple times or multiple columns at once.

Overwriting columns is key to advancing an analysis. The Expression Builder, baked into the Overwrite Columns tool, is ideal for this task. Its potential is capped only by your imagination (and maybe your source data).

Use Expression Builder to:

• Write an expression based on the columns from the input table, in a simple math formula (as in the example above). See a list of Expression Operators supported by Analytics.

• Mark an entire column a Boolean True or False.

• Tag an entire column with a Text String or a Date Time.

• Reference a Parameter on your canvas.

• Write a Function, from wide selection of functions, including: Aggregate, Conversion, Datetime, Logical, Math, Table, and Text functions.

Hint: Use Enter to save and calculate anything you have written in Expression Builder. Be sure to save your expression before exiting the Overwrite Columns tool.