Explorer enables you to navigate and focus on your data asset hierarchy and see both data profiles and data quality metrics associated with those data assets.

Add data assets

This section details how to populate the Explorer tree by enabling your data assets via a set of slide-in "Manage " panes called the data asset management hierarchy (or the management hierarchy, for short).

Within the management hierarchy you can easily navigate by clicking the name of an object listed in the pane to go "down" the hierarchy, and by clicking Back to go "up". This can be easier than selecting the data asset in Explorer and then using its Actions menu. Either way works, and you can go back and forth based on what works best for you.

Add datasources

At the top of the hierarchy are your datasources. To begin populating the Explorer tree, add your datasources.

Add schemas

1. Do one of the following:

   • To add schemas from a new datasource, select the datasource, and then in the main window select Manage schemas.
     
   • To add more schemas to a datasource, select the datasource and then select Actions > Manage Schemas.
     

2. In the Manage schemas pane, set toggles as needed to activate schemas and enable autometrics.

   

   • Use the Active toggle to enable the schemas you want displayed in the Explorer tree.
   • If you want Lightup to track table changes in a schema, enable the Activity autometric.
   • Bulk operations are available in all Manage panes. To enable or disable a setting for multiple data assets at once, select the check box in the left column for each asset you want to change. Then change the setting in any selected row to update all the selected data assets.

Add tables

To add a table to your Explorer tree, select a schema and then select Manage Tables from the Actions menu. (Note that for blob storage datasources, you must instead add a virtual table) The tables are displayed in the Manage tables pane:

For each table you want to work with:

• Toggle on the Metadata toggle if you want to enable metadata metrics. The table will now display in the Explorer tree.
• Toggle on the Profile toggle if you want to do data profiling. The table will now display in the Explorer tree.
• Toggle on the Configure toggle if you want to create data quality metrics. This requires you to configure your table with a variety of defaults such as the timestamp column, the data lag (evaluation delay), and partition formats. View Table configuration for help on how to configure your table. These defaults are inherited by your data quality metrics. If you know the defaults you want and are preparing to create data quality metrics, then configure your table. If you don't know this information yet and want to only do data profiling, leave Configure toggled off.
• If you choose to Configure your table, optionally toggle on the table autometrics: Data Delay and Data Volume. For more info on these autometrics, see Autometrics.

Configure tables in Explorer

When you select a table in the Explorer tree, three tabs display details about the table: Data Profile, Metadata Metrics and Auto Metrics.

If you haven't configured the table yet, you can use the Auto Metrics tab to do so:

1. Select the Auto Metrics tab.
2. Follow the prompts to configure the table and enable autometrics.

Add columns

To add columns to your Explorer tree, select a table and then select Manage Columns from the Actions menu. The columns are displayed in the Manage columns slide-in pane. An example is shown below.

• Make any columns you are interested in Active.
• If you have turned on data profiling for the table, you'll be able to see the column's data profile by clicking on the column.
• Change a column's type by clicking on the A or # and select the alternate type.
• If you have configured the table for metrics, you'll be able to create metrics on the column.
• Optionally, enable the three autometrics: Activity, Distribution, and Null Percent.

Adding autometrics

Lightup supports a variety of data quality autometrics. For details, see Autometrics. As mentioned in previous sections, these can be turned on and off via toggles at each level of the management hierarchy.