Enterprise Data Catalog User Guide > Part I: Discovery > Perform Asset Tasks > Assign Custom Attribute

Assign Custom Attribute

In the Overview tab, edit custom attribute values or assign custom attributes values to an asset. Assign custom attribute values to a technical asset to append additional information to the asset or to make searching for the asset easier. You can edit or assign custom attributes to an asset from different sections in the Overview tab. The sections in the Overview tab include the people, data domains, business classifications, business terms, and custom attributes. For example, the administrator creates a custom attribute for relational tables called Business Owner and configures the list of possible business owners. In Enterprise Data Catalog, you set the business owner for some tables to jsmith in the People section. When you search for assets, you can configure the search filters to return only the assets that have the business owner set to jsmith.

Assigning Custom Attribute Values to an Asset

Assign custom attribute values to provide more context to an asset or to help you quickly find an asset. Assign custom attribute values to an asset from different sections in the Overview tab, such as the Description, People, Custom Attributes, Business Terms, and Business Classifications. You can search for an asset using the custom attribute values that are assigned to the asset.

You can assign custom attribute values to a technical asset if the catalog administrator has configured custom attributes for the asset type. For example, the catalog administrator configures a custom attribute of string data type called Data Center Location for a CSV field. The catalog administrator sets the possible values for the attribute to Denver, Milwaukee, and New York. When you launch the overview for a CSV field, you can set the Data Center Location to Denver, Milwaukee, or New York in the Custom Attributes section of the asset.

1. In the Overview tab for an asset, click the Edit Properties icon ( icon that looks like a pencil

) from the sections, such as the Description, People, Custom Attributes, Business Terms, and Business Classifications.

Alternatively, you can click the Edit Properties icon ( icon that looks like a pencil

) for the asset in the search results.

The Edit Properties dialog box appears.

2. In the Edit Properties dialog box, click Custom Attributes.

The Custom Attributes section on the left side of the dialog box lists the custom attributes that you can select for the asset.

3. Select a custom attribute from the Custom Attributes section.

The options to enter the attribute values vary based on how the attribute is configured:

- If the attribute is configured with a predefined set of values, you can see a checklist of possible values to the right of the dialog box. Select one or more values that you want to assign to the asset.

If the list of values is long, you can search for a value by entering the first few characters of the attribute value in the search field.

- If the attribute allows you to enter a text string as the attribute value, you can see a text box to the right of the dialog box. Enter a string value in the text box.
- If the attribute allows you to enter URLs as the attribute value, you can see a text box to the right of the dialog box. Enter a URL in the text box.
- If the attribute allows you to enter multiple text strings for the attribute value, you can see the Add button to the right of the dialog box. Click Add, and enter a string value in the text box.
- If the attribute allows you to enter rich text as the attribute value, you can see a text box to the right of the dialog box. Enter a string value in the text box. Use the text formatting options to format the rich text.
- If the attribute allows you to enter multiple strings as rich text for the attribute value, you can see the Add button to the right of the dialog box. Click Add, and enter a rich text string value in the text box.

To remove an attribute value, clear or delete the attribute value that you want to remove.

Note: In Enterprise Data Catalog, you cannot delete the custom attribute values that are propagated from the Catalog Administrator.

4. Click OK.