Read only specific Columns from Excel table

KNIME Analytics Platform
1

Hello,

Is there any way to read only specific columns from an Excel table?

E.g.: The Excel table has the columns: A, B, C, D and i would like to read the Columns A and D only.

Because in the Excel Reader configuration I can only select columns which are side by side (read columns from ... to ...) but i dont want to read the columns in between.

 

Thanks .

2

Maybe reading multiple times the excel file is an option. First Column A, second column D.

3

You could also filter out the columns you don't need using the Column Filter node after reading them in.

1 Like
6

Thanks for all the advice.

I am using the version with the Coulmn Filter behind the File Reader atm. Isn’t there a nicer way to do this?
Because I am working with fairly big tables. Reading the whole table and filter the columns i dont need is good,
but does not improve my workflow performance. Same problem if i read multiple times (I would have to read like 30 times).

7

I haven’t tried it myself, but one possible option would be to connect to the Excel file as a database, using a JDBC driver for Excel.
There are a few quality commercial options and one or two free ones, and will require some time and effort to set up.
After that, you can use any of the database nodes and only get the columns you need, via an SQL statement. In theory, Database Column Filter node should also work by writing the required SQL statement in the background.

8

Thank you! :slight_smile: I will try that out.