Workflow: Restricting columns with the Select block

Ian Balanzá-Davis

The Select block enables you to keep or discard variables in a dataset.

The following demonstrates how to use the Select block to retain the Author variable from the lib_books.csv dataset (which contains observations that describe a range of books available from a lending library):

1. Import the lib_books.csv dataset onto a Workflow canvas using the Text File Import block.
2. Expand the Data Preparation group in the Workflow palette, then click and drag a Select block onto the Workflow canvas.
3. Click the Output port of the lib_books dataset block and drag a connection towards the Input port of the Select block.
4. Double-click the Select block to display the Configure Select dialog box.
5. In the Configure Select dialog box:
   1. In the Unselected Variables list, select Author.
   2. Click Select to move the variable to the Selected Variables list.
   
6. Click OK to save the configuration and close the Configure Select dialog box.

A green execution status is displayed in the Output ports of the Select block and the new Working Dataset. The output dataset contains only the Author variable from the input lib_books dataset.