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Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Registrant Name dei_EntityRegistrantName First Trust Exchange-Traded AlphaDEX Fund
Prospectus Date rr_ProspectusDate Dec. 01, 2016
First Trust Multi Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading

Summary Information
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading

Investment Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The First Trust Multi Cap Value AlphaDEX® Fund (the "Fund") seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund's fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Multi Cap Value Index (the "Index").
Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Fund
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. Investors purchasing and selling shares may be subject to costs (including customary brokerage commissions) charged by their broker, which are not reflected in the table below.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text] rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination November 30, 2017
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 96% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 96.00%
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example
Expense Example, No Redemption Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionNarrativeTextBlock

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. This example does not take into account customary brokerage commissions that you pay when purchasing or selling shares of the Fund in the secondary market.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain at current levels. Additionally, the example assumes that the Fund imposes a 12b-1 fee of 0.25% per annum of the Fund's average daily net assets following December 31, 2017. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in common stocks that comprise the Index. The Fund, using an "indexing" investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The Fund's investment advisor seeks a correlation of 0.95 or better (before fees and expenses) between the Fund's performance and the performance of the Index; a figure of 1.00 would represent perfect correlation. The Index is owned and is developed, maintained and sponsored by Nasdaq, Inc. (the "Index Provider").

The Index is designed to select value stocks from the NASDAQ US 500 Large Cap Index, NASDAQ US 600 Mid Cap Index and NASDAQ US 700 Small Cap Index (the "Base Indices") that may generate positive alpha, or risk-adjusted returns, relative to traditional indices through the use of the AlphaDEX® selection methodology. Alpha is an indication of how much an investment outperforms or underperforms on a risk-adjusted basis relative to its benchmark. The Index attempts to generate positive alpha by identifying stocks based on three factors: value, momentum and size.

The Base Indices are comprehensive, rules-based indices designed to measure stock market performance of US companies of all market capitalizations, as determined by the Index Provider. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated.

Security selection for the Index will be conducted in the following manner:

1.The selection universe for the Index begins with all stocks in the Base Indices.

2.The Index Provider then removes any stocks which do not trade on an eligible exchange; duplicate (multiple share classes) stocks; and stocks which do not meet the Index Provider's liquidity screens. Stocks from the NASDAQ US 500 Large Cap Index will comprise 50% of the Index; stocks from the NASDAQ US 600 Mid Cap Index will comprise 30% of the Index; and stocks from the NASDAQ US 700 Small Cap Index will comprise 20% of the Index at each rebalance.  The following steps are performed for each size class independently:     

3.The remaining stocks in each base Index are then ranked on both growth and value factors. Each stock is classified as either a value stock or a growth stock, as determined by the Index Provider. A stock classified as a value stock will receive its value rank as its "selection score" and a stock classified as a growth stock will receive its growth rank as its "selection score." Only those stocks designated as value stocks are eligible for the portfolio.

4.The top 187 stocks from the NASDAQ US 500 Large Cap Index, top 225 stocks from the NASDAQ US 600 Mid Cap Index and top 262 stocks from the NASDAQ US 700 Small Cap Index based on the selection score determined in step 3 comprise the "selected stocks." Within each size class, the selected stocks are then split into quintiles based on their selection score, with higher scoring quintiles receiving a greater weight in the Index.

The Index is reconstituted and rebalanced quarterly and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The inception date of the Index was January 11, 2016. See "Index Information" for additional information.

The Fund's strategy includes a quarterly portfolio rebalance and reconstitution which may result in a high rate of turnover. As of July 31, 2016, the Fund had significant investments in the financials sector. The securities of companies represented in the Index generally have market capitalizations that are consistent with the name of the Index. To determine the market capitalization range of such securities, the Fund uses the current range of the Index. However, the Fund will not sell a security because the security has exceeded or fallen below the current market capitalization range of the Index. As of October 31, 2016, the market capitalization range of securities in the Index was $551 million to $605.4 billion.
Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading

Principal Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. There can be no assurance that the Fund's investment objective will be achieved.

AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT CONCENTRATION RISK. Only an authorized participant (as defined in the "Frequent Purchases and Redemptions" Section) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as authorized participants. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other authorized participant is able to step forward to create or redeem, in either of these cases, Fund shares may trade at a discount to the Fund's net asset value and possibly face delisting.

CYBER SECURITY RISK. As the use of Internet technology has become more prevalent in the course of business, the Fund has become more susceptible to potential operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund's digital information systems through "hacking" or malicious software coding, but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cyber security breaches of the Fund's third party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, or issuers in which the Fund invests, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. The Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security. However, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third party service providers.

EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. Because the Fund invests in equity securities, the value of the Fund's shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of these equity securities. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors' perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant stock market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting the issuers occur. In addition, common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase.

FINANCIAL COMPANIES RISK. Financial companies are especially subject to the adverse effects of economic recession, currency exchange rates, government regulation, decreases in the availability of capital, volatile interest rates, portfolio concentrations in geographic markets and in commercial and residential real estate loans, and competition from new entrants in their fields of business.

INDEX CONSTITUENT RISK. The Fund may be a constituent of one or more indices. As a result, the Fund may be included in one or more index-tracking exchange-traded funds or mutual funds. Being a component security of such a vehicle could greatly affect the trading activity involving the Fund, the size of the Fund and the market volatility of the Fund. Inclusion in an index could significantly increase demand for the Fund and removal from an index could result in outsized selling activity in a relatively short period of time. As a result, the Fund's net asset value could be negatively impacted and the Fund's market price may be significantly below the Fund's net asset value during certain periods. In addition, index rebalances may potentially result in increased trading activity. To the extent buying or selling activity increases, the Fund can be exposed to increased brokerage costs and adverse tax consequences and the market price of the Fund can be negatively affected.

MARKET CAPITALIZATION RISK. Because of market movement, there can be no assurance that the securities held by the Fund will stay within the given market capitalization range. As a result, the Fund may be exposed to additional risk or investors may not be given the opportunity to invest fully in a certain market capitalization range.

MARKET MAKER RISK. If the Fund has lower average daily trading volumes, it may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund's net asset value and the price at which the Fund's shares are trading on Nasdaq which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund's shares. In addition, decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund's market price. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to net asset value and also in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.

MARKET RISK. Market risk is the risk that a particular security owned by the Fund or shares of the Fund in general may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic, political, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of the Fund could decline in value or underperform other investments.

NON-CORRELATION RISK. The Fund's return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and may incur costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund's portfolio holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. In addition, the Fund's portfolio holdings may not exactly replicate the securities included in the Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index.

REPLICATION MANAGEMENT RISK. The Fund is exposed to additional market risk due to its policy of investing principally in the securities included in the Index. As a result of this policy, securities held by the Fund will generally not be bought or sold in response to market fluctuations.

SMALLER COMPANIES RISK. Small and/or mid-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments, and their securities may be less liquid and may experience greater price volatility than larger, more established companies as a result of several factors, including limited trading volumes, products or financial resources, management inexperience and less publicly available information. Accordingly, such companies are generally subject to greater market risk than larger, more established companies.

VALUE STOCKS INVESTMENT RISK. The intrinsic value of a stock with value characteristics may not be fully recognized by the market for a long time or a stock judged to be undervalued may actually be appropriately priced at a low level.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Annual Total Return
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund's performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund's average annual total returns based on net asset value compare to those of the Index, a broad-based market index and two specialized securities market indices. See "Total Return Information" for additional performance information regarding the Fund. The Fund's performance information is accessible on the Fund's website at www.ftportfolios.com.

On April 8, 2016, the Fund's underlying index changed from the Defined Multi Cap Value Index to the Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Multi Cap Value Index. Therefore, the Fund's performance and total returns shown below are not necessarily indicative of the performance that the Fund, based on its current Index, would have generated. Returns for an underlying index are only disclosed for those periods in which the index was in existence for the whole period. Because the Fund's new underlying index had an inception date of January 11, 2016, it was not in existence for any of the periods disclosed. The new Index is substantially similar to the Defined Multi Cap Value Index.

Returns before taxes do not reflect the effects of any income or capital gains taxes. All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state or local tax. Returns after taxes on distributions reflect the taxed return on the payment of dividends and capital gains. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of shares assume you sold your shares at period end, and, therefore, are also adjusted for any capital gains or losses incurred. Returns for the market indices do not include expenses, which are deducted from Fund returns, or taxes.

Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or employee-sponsored retirement plans.
Bar Chart [Heading] rr_BarChartHeading

First Trust Multi Cap Value AlphaDEX® Fund
Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31 (1)
Bar Chart Footnotes [Text Block] rr_BarChartFootnotesTextBlock

(1)The Fund's year-to-date total return based on net asset value for the period 12/31/15 to 9/30/16 was 12.91%.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

During the periods shown in the chart above:

Best Quarter Worst Quarter
33.70% June 30, 2009 -26.85% December 31, 2008

The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2015
Performance Table Footnotes rr_PerformanceTableFootnotesTextBlock
(1) On April 8, 2016, the Fund's underlying index changed from the Defined Multi Cap Value Index to the Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Multi Cap Value Index. Because the Fund's new underlying index had an inception date of January 11, 2016, performance information is not included above. The new Index is substantially similar to the Defined Multi Cap Value Index.
(2) Performance data is not available for all the periods shown in the table for the index, because performance data does not exist for each of the entire periods.

First Trust Multi Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund | First Trust Multi Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.50%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none [1]
Fees Previously Waived or Expenses Reimbursed by First Trust rr_Component1OtherExpensesOverAssets none [2]
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.18%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.68%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets none [2]
Total Net Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.68%
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 $ 70
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 272
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05 490
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10 $ 1,120
2008 rr_AnnualReturn2008 (35.41%)
2009 rr_AnnualReturn2009 47.57%
2010 rr_AnnualReturn2010 22.13%
2011 rr_AnnualReturn2011 0.57%
2012 rr_AnnualReturn2012 17.17%
2013 rr_AnnualReturn2013 37.00%
2014 rr_AnnualReturn2014 7.86%
2015 rr_AnnualReturn2015 (12.45%)
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best Quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Jun. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 33.70%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst Quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Dec. 31, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (26.85%)
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (12.45%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 8.80%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 5.06%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate May 08, 2007
First Trust Multi Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund | After tax on distributions | First Trust Multi Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (13.03%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 8.22%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 4.50%
First Trust Multi Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund | After tax on distributions and sale of fund shares | First Trust Multi Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (7.03%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 6.68%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 3.73%
First Trust Multi Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund | Defined Multi Cap Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (11.84%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 9.63%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 5.89%
First Trust Multi Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund | Nasdaq AlphaDEX® Multi Cap Value Index(1),(2) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception
First Trust Multi Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund | Nasdaq US Multi Cap Value Index(2) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception
First Trust Multi Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund | S&P Composite 1500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 1.01%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 12.39%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 5.97%
First Trust Multi Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund | S&P Composite 1500® Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (3.53%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 10.88%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 3.79%
[1] Although the Fund has adopted a 12b-1 plan that permits it to pay up to 0.25% per annum, it will not pay 12b-1 fees at any time before December 31, 2017.
[2] First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund's investment advisor, has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses to the extent that the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses) exceed 0.70% of its average daily net assets per year (the "Expense Cap") at least through November 30, 2017. Expenses reimbursed and fees waived under such agreement are subject to recovery by the Fund's investment advisor for up to three years from the date the fee was waived or expense was incurred, but no reimbursement payment will be made by the Fund if it results in the Fund exceeding an expense ratio equal to the Expense Cap in place at the time the expenses were reimbursed or fees waived by the Fund's investment advisor. The agreement may be terminated by the Trust on behalf of the Fund at any time and by the Fund's investment advisor only after November 30, 2017 upon 60 days' written notice.