Customer Tips From... Jeff Fleischer (Rapid Insight Inc.)

Okay, okay... Those of you who have worked with Jeff know that he isn't really a customer. But, as the Director of Client Operations here at Rapid Insight and an analyst at heart, he is a wealth of information, so I've decided to share some of his tips. They are:

1. The Format Column node was retired a few releases back in favor of the Convert node. Using Convert, change the data type you wish to format to "text", then select the desired style from the node's Format column. PS: The Format Column node is still accessible - try going through the menu Node -> Add Report -> Format Data. 

2. Merge nodes will forget their setup if you disconnect them from their inputs. Placing a Cache node just before the Merge will keep it from forgetting its configuration if you need to relocate or copy it. 

3. Merge nodes also act as a rename. Just edit the text in the Output Column and use the black arrows on the menu bar to rearrange the column order. Bonus tip: select multiple columns before using the black arrows to re-position several at a time. 

4. Use the menu option Edit -> Convert All Columns to Text to do just that. 

5. Dropdown box controls often respond to single letter entries, avoiding actually having to pick from the dropdown list.

6. Select multiple fields using Ctrl-LMouse to Cleanse multiple fields by setting up a single rule/operation. Note that the fields all have to be of the same type (text, integer, date, etc.) for this to work. 

7. Use the new "File Created Column" option in a Combine Inputs node to identify (with a Filter or Dedup) the most recent records coming from a location. 

Veera's Been Updated!

If you haven't already, be sure to download the newest version of Veera, which was released this week. Updates include:

1. The ability to change the order of the jobs and other tabs

To switch the order of jobs or other tabs you have open in Veera, simply drag and drop the tabs at the top of the screen until they match the desired order. 

2. Easier way to view jobs and other tabs in separate windows with the introduction of a "tear off" feature

To view jobs or other tabs in a separate, un-docked window, simply drag the tab you'd like to view outside of the Veera window. 

3. Addition of editable job descriptions to the Workspace area

By double-clicking in the area highlighted in orange above, you can now add job descriptions to label your jobs. Here you can include information like how and why the jobs were created, which data files were used, and which outputs come from each job. This feature is also helpful when sharing jobs as a place to get a quick idea of what the job should accomplish. 

4. New ways to format data in the Convert node, including SSN and multiple phone number formats

To utilize the new formats in the Convert Column Data Type node, change the data type to 'Text', and select the appropriate new format from the drop-down menu. Included are four ways of expressing phone number, and an SSN format. See below. 

5. Can now add new categories to "Transpose By Values" list in Transpose node

You can now add new categories (ones that currently don't exist in your dataset) as "Transpose By Values" in anticipation of them being included in your dataset. To do so, select your "Transpose By" variable in the Transpose node, and click the Get Values button as you normally would. 

Next, click the button highlighted in orange above, which will open a new screen that allows you to add additional categories. 

Once in the new screen (shown above), click the green plus sign to add additional values to your "Transpose By" list. 

We hope you like the new features. My personal favorite so far is the tear-off feature to easily check out tabs in a new window (which is also great for side-by-side comparisons). If there is a new feature that you'd like to see in the next build of Veera, please email me and I'll make sure that your request finds its way to the right person. In the meantime, have fun exploring!