# Transform features

> Transform features - Perform manual transformations on features in your dataset from either the data
> explore page or an experiment.

This Markdown file sits beside the HTML page at the same path (with a `.md` suffix). It summarizes the topic and lists links for tools and LLM context.

Companion generated at `2026-05-06T18:17:10.053024+00:00` (UTC).

## Primary page

- [Transform features](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/nxt-workbench/dataprep/transform-features.html): Full documentation for this topic (HTML).

## Sections on this page

- [Variable type transformations](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/nxt-workbench/dataprep/transform-features.html#variable-type-transformations): In-page section heading.
- [Availability in NextGen](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/nxt-workbench/dataprep/transform-features.html#availability-in-nextgen): In-page section heading.
- [Transform a feature](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/nxt-workbench/dataprep/transform-features.html#transform-a-feature): In-page section heading.

## Related documentation

- [NextGen UI documentation](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/index.html): Linked from this page.
- [Workbench](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/nxt-workbench/index.html): Linked from this page.
- [Data preparation](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/nxt-workbench/dataprep/index.html): Linked from this page.
- [special columns](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/reference/data-ref/file-types.html#special-column-detection): Linked from this page.
- [NaN](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/reference/pred-ai-ref/model-ref.html#missing-values): Linked from this page.
- [Featurestile on the data explore page](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/nxt-workbench/dataprep/explore-data/index.html#features-tile): Linked from this page.
- [Featurestile of an experiment](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/nxt-workbench/experiments/manage-experiments/experiment-data.html#features-tile): Linked from this page.
- [Feature liststab](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workbench/nxt-registry/nxt-data-registry/nxt-explore-data.html#feature-lists): Linked from this page.

## Documentation content

The following sections describe manual, user-created transformations. Transformed features do not replace the original, raw features; rather, they are provided as new, additional features for building models.

> [!NOTE] Note
> Transformed features (including numeric features created as user-defined functions) cannot be used for special variables, such as Weight, Offset, Exposure, and Count of Events.

## Variable type transformations

DataRobot bases variable type assignment on the values seen during EDA—these values are displayed in various areas throughout NextGen. There are times, however, when you may need to change the type. For example, area codes may be interpreted as numeric but you would rather they map to categories. Or a categorical feature may be encoded as a number (that is intended to map to a feature value, such as `1=yes, 2=no`) but without transformation is interpreted as a number.

Variable type transformations are only available when it is appropriate to the feature type, so there are certain cases where you cannot perform a transformation. These include columns that DataRobot has identified as [special columns](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/reference/data-ref/file-types.html#special-column-detection) for both integral and float values. (Date columns are a special case and do support transforms.) Additionally, a column that is all numeric except for a single unique non-numeric value is treated as special. In this case, DataRobot converts the unique value to [NaN](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/reference/pred-ai-ref/model-ref.html#missing-values) and disallows conversion to prevent losing the value.

> [!NOTE] Note
> When converting from numeric variable types to categorical, be aware that DataRobot drops any values after the decimal point. In other words, the value is truncated to become an integer. Also, when transforming floats with missing values to categorical, the new feature is converted, not rounded. For example, 9.9 becomes 9, not 10.

> [!TIP] Tip
> When making predictions DataRobot expects the columns in the prediction data to be the same as the original data. If a model uses the original variable plus the transformed variable, the prediction data must use the original feature name. DataRobot will calculate the derived features internally.

## Availability in NextGen

You can perform transformations on dataset features from the following areas in NextGen:

- Within a Use Case, the Featurestile on the data explore page .
- Within a Use Case, the Featurestile of an experiment .
- The Feature liststab in Data Registry.

## Transform a feature

The feature transformation workflow below is the same across NextGen. To transform a feature:

1. From theFeaturestile of either an experiment or the data explore page, do one of the following:
2. The options displayed in the resulting window are based on the original variable type of the feature: NumericTextCategoricalDateElementDescription1Transformation typeDisplays the new variable type of the feature after the transformation is performed.2New feature nameProvides a field to rename the new feature. By default, DataRobot uses the existing feature name with the new variable type appended.3Create featureCreates the new feature. The new feature is then listed below the original.ElementDescription1Transformation typeDisplays the new variable type of the feature after the transformation is performed.2New feature nameProvides a field to rename the new feature. By default, DataRobot uses the existing feature name with the new variable type appended.3Create featureCreates the new feature. The new feature is then listed below the original.ElementDescription1Transformation optionsSpecifies a new feature type from the available variable types for the current feature using the dropdown. DataRobot performs specific transformations for numeric and categorical variable types.2New feature nameProvides a field to rename the new feature. By default, DataRobot uses the existing feature name with the new variable type appended.3Create featureCreates the new feature. The new feature is then listed below the original.Date features allow you to select which date-specific derivations to apply, and whether the result should be considered a categorical or numeric value.
3. ClickCreate feature. The transformed feature appears under the original feature. It can be included in any new feature lists and can also be used for modeling. When using a model that contains transformed features for predictions, DataRobot automatically includes the new feature in any uploaded dataset. You can create any number of transformations from the same feature. By default, DataRobot applies a unique name to each transformation. If you inadvertently create duplicate features, DataRobot marks them as such and ignores them in processing.