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Identification Keys

Uses​

In order to facilitate imports and exports of all objects in the Catalog, being able to uniquely identify them is necessary. Identification Keys are also useful when synchronizing the Catalog with an External System using the APIs.

Each item in the Catalog has its dedicated key. Keys are automatically generated as explained below:

  • When an item is imported using a Scanner, its key will be generated using its connection name, its source location and its name. The key generation will also depend on the type of item, as well as the connector type. Key generation for synchronized items is detailed in each connector article. Keys generated this way will always be unique and non-editable.
  • Keys are automatically generated for Custom Items, Glossary Items and Data Processes. For Glossary Items, the key is created by combining the object type code (defined in the Catalog Design) with its name, e.g., the key for a Glossary item type "KPI", name "Revenue per customer", then the key will be "KPI/Revenue per customer". For manually created Data Processes, the key will always be a combination of "data-process" and the name of the object : a Data Process named "Quality Check" will have the following key "data-process/Quality Check".
  • In case multiple items of the same type share the same name, their keys will be incremented.
note

Keys are case sensitive.

Managing Keys using the Interface​

For each object, the Key can be retrieved directly from the Actions button in their detailed view in the Studio.

Unique Keys and Import Files​

Keys are used to uniquely identify each object of the catalog when importing/exporting an Excel File.

When importing data via an Excel file, if there is a value in the column "key", then:

  • If that key is assigned to an existing item in the catalog, then that item is updated with the information contained in the file.
  • If the key does not exist, then the item will be created with the key defined in Excel.

If the "key" column is empty, then an item is created and its key automatically generated, based on the rules defined above.

note

Importing the same file multiple times can generate duplicates.

Unique Keys and API​

Keys are used to uniquely identify items using the API.

You may edit existing keys, or choose a key upon an item's creation, by using the item mutation API service.