Add Column

Add Column

The Add Column node lets you take a single column from one dataframe and append it to another dataframe, producing an expanded output dataframe. It uses R’s tibble::add_column() under the hood, with name-collision protection enabled by default.

What it does

  • Accepts two dataframes: a base dataframe (df1) and a source dataframe (df2)
  • Lets you select which column from df2 to add
  • Optionally renames the column before it is appended
  • Stores the result as a new (or updated) dataframe in the project
  • Passes the result downstream so further analysis nodes can connect to it

How to use it

  1. Drag an Add Column node onto the canvas from the Other section of the toolbar.
  2. Connect a dataframe to the base handle (top-left) — this is the dataframe that will receive the new column.
  3. Connect a second dataframe to the source handle (top-right) — this is where the column will be taken from.
  4. Open the panel by selecting the node, then choose the column to add from the source dropdown.
  5. Optionally enter a New column name to rename the column in the result; leave blank to keep the original name.
  6. Optionally enter an Output dataframe name to store the result under a custom key; leave blank to overwrite the base dataframe key.
  7. Click Run.

Configuration

Setting Required Description
Column to add Yes Column selected from the source (df2) dataframe
New column name No Rename the column in the output; defaults to the original name
Output dataframe name No Custom storr key for the result; defaults to the base dataframe’s key

Output

After running, the Output tab shows a preview of the first rows of the combined dataframe, plus the total number of rows and columns. The result is stored and can be connected to downstream nodes such as Summary Statistics, Scatterplot, or Output CSV.

Generated R code

library(tibble)
expanded_data <- add_column(base_df, new_var = source_df[["original_col"]], .name_repair = "check_unique")

The .name_repair = "check_unique" argument prevents silent column name collisions — if the target dataframe already contains a column with the same name, R will raise an error rather than creating a duplicate.

Tips

  • Both dataframes must have the same number of rows for the operation to succeed.
  • Use the New column name field to avoid conflicts if the column you are adding already exists in the base dataframe under the same name.
  • If you want to add multiple columns from the same source, chain multiple Add Column nodes together.