Copy Columns
Infoveave Data Automation — Column Operations
Make a copy of any column before you transform it — always keep the original alongside the result.
Before applying transformations — rounding, normalizing, currency conversion, binning — it is good practice to preserve the original values so you can audit the change, debug an unexpected result, or roll back a specific column without re-running the entire workflow from source. Copy Columns creates a duplicate field under a new name in a single step, giving you a before-and-after view of any transformation without maintaining separate pipeline branches or re-fetching source data.
What Copy Columns does
Create copies of existing columns under new names in Infoveave workflows. Preserve original values before applying transformations, or produce parallel fields for comparison and audit.
When to use Copy Columns
- You need to transform a column (round, convert, normalize, bin) but want to keep the original value for audit or comparison
- A single source column needs to feed two different downstream steps with different transformations applied
- You want to produce both a formatted display version and a raw numeric version of a field for reporting
- You need to preserve a column value before mapping or replacing it, in case you need to trace back the original
When to avoid it
- You want to rename a column without duplicating it — use Rename Columns for that
- You want to move a column to a different position without copying it — use Move Columns
- You need to derive a new column by calculating from multiple columns — use a formula-based calculation activity instead
Where it fits in your Infoveave automation
Copy Columns is one step inside a multi-step Infoveave workflow. Chain it with other activities — no code, no manual hand-offs.
Build this workflow visually in Infoveave Data Automation — drag, connect, and schedule with no infrastructure setup.
How teams use Copy Columns
Real scenarios where this transformation saves hours of manual work.
Preserve Original Amount Before Currency Conversion
A finance team converts all transaction amounts to USD for consolidated reporting but needs to retain the original local currency values for reconciliation with source records. Copy Columns creates Amount Original before the currency conversion step, so the output table carries both the source amount and the converted amount side by side — making discrepancy investigation straightforward without re-fetching the raw data.
Keep Raw Price Alongside Discounted Price
A pricing analytics team applies promotional discount logic to a Price column to produce a Sale Price. Copy Columns creates a Price Original field at the start of the workflow, so dashboards can display both the list price and the sale price without maintaining two separate data flows. The original values are always available for margin calculations and audit.
Backup Sensor Reading Before Normalization
A plant data team normalizes raw sensor readings to a 0-1 scale for machine learning input. Copy Columns preserves the raw sensor value under a backup column name before normalization runs, so the analytics team can inspect both the normalized score and the actual machine reading in the same output table — useful for threshold calibration and anomaly investigation.
See Copy Columns in action
Input data (left) is transformed using the configuration below. The output table (right) is ready for dashboards or downstream steps.
Price -> CosttrueInput Data
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Apple | 120 |
| Banana | 80 |
| Cherry | 200 |
Output Data
| Item | Price | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Apple | 120 | 120 |
| Banana | 80 | 80 |
| Cherry | 200 | 200 |
Configuration
Key fields to configure in the Infoveave workflow builder. Full reference available in the documentation.
Column Map
Define source-to-target column pairs. Each entry copies the values from the source column into a new column with the target name. Multiple pairs can be defined in one step — copy several columns simultaneously before a batch of transformations.
Include Original
When enabled, the original source column is preserved alongside the new copied column in the output. When disabled, only the new column name appears — the source column is replaced by the copy with the new label. Use Include Original when you need both the source name and the copy name in the same output, such as for before-and-after audit views.
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about Copy Columns in Infoveave.
Also in Column Operations — and what runs before & after
Transformations in the same family as Copy Columns, often chained together in the same Infoveave workflow.
Part of Infoveave Data Automation
80+ transformations. Zero manual steps.
Copy Columns is one of over 80 transformation activities available inside Infoveave workflows. Chain transformations together — no code, no exports, no waiting for IT.
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