Data Catalogue
User Guide — Exploring Your Data Tables and Their Lineage
| Last updated: September 2026
Contents
- Overview
- Key Concept: Data Organised as Layer, Source, and Table
- Finding Your Way Around
- Finding a Table
- The Catalog Header and Actions
- Viewing a Table's Columns
- Viewing Lineage
- Quick Reference
1. Overview
The Data Catalogue is where you explore the actual data tables in your OnCoor environment. Each catalogued table is a real, prepared set of data, and the catalogue lets you see what tables exist, what columns they contain, and — importantly — where their data came from and how it was put together.
It's the bridge between the meaning of your data (the Business Glossary and Data Dictionary) and the data itself. When you need to know "what's actually in this table?" or "where did this data come from?", the catalogue is where you look.
What you can do here
- Browse your tables, neatly organised by domain layer and source.
- Search for a table by name.
- See a table's columns and their technical details.
- Download a data sample or the table's definition.
- Trace lineage — follow the data back through the pipelines that produced it, right down to the column level.
WHERE TO FIND IT — The Data Catalogue lives under Governance → Data Catalogue. It opens with the table browser on the left and the first table's columns shown on the right.
2. Key Concept: Data Organised as Layer, Source, and Table
The catalogue arranges your tables in a simple three-level structure, so you can drill down from the big picture to a single table:
| Level | What it is |
|---|---|
| Domain Layer | The broad layer of your data environment you're looking at. You choose one at a time from a drop-down at the top of the browser. |
| Source | A grouping of tables within the layer, shown as a folder you can open and close. |
| Table | An individual catalogued table, shown inside its source folder. This is what you click to see details. |
When you open the catalogue, all the source folders are expanded and the first table is selected automatically, so you see data straight away.
3. Finding Your Way Around
Go to Governance → Data Catalogue. The screen has two parts:
- On the left — the table browser: a Domain Layer drop-down at the top, a search box below it, and then the folders of tables (source → table).
- On the right — the details for the table currently selected: a header with the table's name and action buttons at the top, and a Columns tab showing the table's columns.
4. Finding a Table
There are two ways to get to the table you want — narrowing by layer, and searching by name. You can use them together.
Choose a domain layer
Use the Domain Layer drop-down at the top of the left-hand browser to switch between the layers of your environment. Changing the layer refreshes the list of source folders and tables below it.
Search for a table
- Type part of the table's name in the Search tables… box.
- The list filters as you type, showing only the tables whose name contains what you typed — and it automatically opens the folders that contain a match.
- Click the X in the search box to clear it and show every table again.
Open folders and pick a table
Each source appears as a folder. Click a folder to open or close it. Click any table inside to load its details on the right.
THE VIEW IS ALWAYS WITHIN ONE LAYER — The search and the folders show tables for the domain layer you've selected. If you can't find a table, check that you're looking in the right layer first.
5. The Catalog Header and Actions
When you select a table, the header at the top of the right-hand side shows its key identity and the actions you can take.
| Item | What it shows / does |
|---|---|
| Catalog Name | The catalogue name of the selected table. |
| Physical Name | The table's fully qualified physical name — where it actually lives. |
| Lineage | Opens the lineage view for this table — see Viewing Lineage. |
| Download Sample | Downloads a sample of the table's data, so you can see what the records look like. |
| Download Defn | Downloads the table's definition (its structure). |
6. Viewing a Table's Columns
The Columns tab (shown by default when you select a table) lists every column in the table, with its technical details. This view is read-only.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Attribute Name | The business name of the field. |
| Column Name | The actual column name in the table. |
| Data Type | The kind of data the column holds. |
| Length | The maximum length of the value. |
| Precision | For numeric columns, the total number of digits. |
| Scale | For numeric columns, the number of digits after the decimal point. |
| Nullable | Whether the column is allowed to be empty. |
NEED THE BUSINESS MEANING? — This tab shows the technical make-up of the table. For the fuller business context of a field — its definition, related term, and quality scores — look it up in the Data Dictionary.
7. Viewing Lineage
Lineage answers the question "where did this table's data come from?" Click the Lineage button in the header (or the lineage link on a catalog result in the Data Asset search) to open it.
The lineage view
- A Go Back link (← Go Back) at the top returns you to the catalogue.
- The title reads Lineage.
- A row of tabs appears — one for each pipeline that was involved in producing this table. Switch tabs to trace the table through a different pipeline.
- Below the tabs, a diagram (canvas) lays out the flow of data through that pipeline, from its sources through each step to the table you started from.
Working with the diagram
- View Columns — open this on a step to expand it and see the individual columns, so you can follow the data at the column level, not just the table level.
- Expand the lineage — use the expand (plus) control to grow the diagram out and reveal more of the flow.
- See how a column connects — click a column name to highlight how it links from one step to the next.
- Map details — open a step's map details to see how the data was mapped and transformed at that point.
LINEAGE IS BUILT FROM YOUR PIPELINES — The lineage diagram is drawn from the actual pipelines that moved and shaped the data. Each tab is one of those pipelines. If a table was produced by more than one, you'll see more than one tab — trace whichever one you need.
8. Quick Reference
A fast lookup for the most common actions.
| I want to… | Do this |
|---|---|
| Open the catalogue | Governance → Data Catalogue |
| Switch which part of the environment I'm browsing | Change the Domain Layer drop-down |
| Find a table by name | Type in the Search tables… box |
| Show all tables again | Click the X in the search box |
| Open or close a source folder | Click the folder |
| See a table's details | Click the table in a folder |
| See a table's columns | Read the Columns tab on the right |
| See a table's physical location | Read the Physical Name in the header |
| Download example records | Click Download Sample |
| Download the table's structure | Click Download Defn |
| Trace where the data came from | Click Lineage |
| Follow the data column by column | In the lineage view, open View Columns and click a column |
| Trace through a different pipeline | Switch tabs in the lineage view |
| Return from lineage to the catalogue | Click ← Go Back |
Source: OnCoor Governance product documentation, written for end users. For the latest screens and options, always refer to the in-app interface.