Data Model
User Guide — Design Your Data Structure Across Every Layer
| Last updated: September 2026
Contents
- Overview
- Finding Your Way Around
- The Three Data Layers
- Tables and Versions
- Opening and Editing a Table
- Creating a New Table
- Building a Layout
- The Approval Workflow
- Quick Reference
1. Overview
The Data Model is where you design the structure of your data — the tables, their columns, the keys that identify records, and the relationships between them. It's the blueprint OnCoor uses to hold and move your data.
Your data passes through three layers on its way from source to finished product — Landing Zone, Transient Layer, and Conform Data — and the Data Model lets you design the tables in each. Within a layer you work in two ways: as a list of tables (with their versions), or on a visual layout where tables appear as boxes you can arrange and connect on a canvas.
Every table is versioned and goes through an approval step before it becomes official, so changes to your model are deliberate and reviewed.
What you can do here
- Browse the tables in each of the three data layers.
- Create tables and define their columns, keys, and relationships.
- Version a table and edit a working copy without disturbing the approved one.
- Lay out tables visually on a canvas and draw the connections between them.
- Submit a version for approval, and approve or deny it if you're a reviewer.
WHERE TO FIND IT — Open Management → Data Model. If you're working in the Conversion / Migration view, you'll find Data Model in the left-hand navigation menu.
WHAT YOU CAN DO DEPENDS ON YOUR ACCESS — Creating, editing, versioning, deleting, and approving are each controlled by permissions. If a button or action described here doesn't appear for you, your access level doesn't include it — you'll still be able to browse and read the model.
2. Finding Your Way Around
The screen has a left sidebar for navigating your model, and a main area that shows whatever you've selected.
The sidebar groups everything by data layer — Conform Data, Transient Layer, and Landing Zone. Expand a layer and you'll find two lists inside it:
- Tables — every table in that layer. Selecting one shows its versions in the main area.
- Layouts — the visual canvases for that layer. Selecting one opens the layout canvas. The + next to Layouts starts a new one.
So the pattern is always the same: pick a layer, then choose whether you're working with its Tables or its Layouts.
PIN THE SIDEBAR — The sidebar can expand and collapse. Use the pin control at its top to keep it open while you work, or let it slide away to give the canvas more room.
3. The Three Data Layers
Your data moves through three layers, and the Data Model mirrors that journey. It helps to picture them in the order data flows:
| Layer | What it holds | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Landing Zone | Raw data exactly as it first arrives from a source, before any cleaning. | The entry point. |
| Transient Layer | Working, in-between data — used while data is being shaped and staged. | The middle. |
| Conform Data | The clean, standardised model your business actually uses. | The finished layer. |
Each layer is modelled the same way — tables, versions, columns, keys, and layouts all work identically across the three. The Conform Data layer has the richest set of table options (see the table settings below), because it's the layer your reporting, quality, and master-data work builds on.
SAME TOOLS, EVERY LAYER — Anything you learn to do in one layer works the same in the others. This guide uses Conform Data for its examples; Transient Layer and Landing Zone follow the same steps.
4. Tables and Versions
Select a table under any layer and the main area lists its versions. Every table keeps a history of versions so you can change your model safely: you edit a fresh version while the approved one stays untouched.
Each row is one version and shows its status (for example, Draft, Pending Approval, or Approved), along with who last changed it and when.
What you can do here
- Open a version — select it to view and edit its details (see the next section).
- Create a new version — use the create version action to start a fresh working copy, usually based on the current one.
- Delete a version — remove a version you don't need. A version that is pending approval or already approved is locked and can't be deleted; only working (Draft/Open) versions can.
WHY VERSIONS? — Versioning lets you revise a table without breaking what's already live. The approved version keeps working while you prepare and review the next one. Once the new version is approved, it takes over.
5. Opening and Editing a Table
Opening a version shows its full definition in a dialog with a row of tabs down the side. Whether you can edit depends on the version's status — a Draft/Open version is editable; a version that's been submitted for approval or approved is read-only until it's re-opened.
General
The General tab holds the table's overall settings. The Conform Data layer offers the fullest set:
| Setting | What it means |
|---|---|
| Conform Data Name | The business name of the table. Required. |
| Source Table Name | The physical/source name this table comes from. |
| Reference Data | Marks the table as a reference/lookup table. |
| Enable Data Quality | Turns on data-quality checking for this table, so it can be scored in the Quality module. |
| Can Have MDM Rule | Allows master-data (MDM) rules to be defined against this table. |
| Primary Table | Marks this as the master/header table for its business object. Set it once per object. |
| Editable Table | Exposes the table in the Data Update module so its data can be edited there. |
| Audit Table Name | The name of the table's audit mirror. Defaults to <source>__a; override only if needed. |
| Audit Table Created | Read-only — shows whether the audit mirror has been created (this happens over in Data Update). |
| Compress | Compression setting for the table. |
Columns
The Columns tab lists the table's columns. You can add, edit, delete, and reorder them. Each column carries:
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Column Name | The name of the column. |
| Data Type | The column's type, chosen from the standard list. |
| Column Length / Precision / Scale | Size settings; Precision and Scale apply to numeric types. |
| is Nullable | Whether the column can be empty. |
| Is Identity Col | Whether the column is the record's unique identity. |
| Default Value | The value used when none is supplied. |
| Attribute Type | The kind of attribute this column represents. |
| Business Attribute | Links the column to an entry in the Data Dictionary, tying the physical column to its business definition. |
| is PrimaryKey | Whether the column is part of the primary key (Conform Data). |
| Reference Join | Whether the column is used to join to reference data (Conform Data). |
COLUMNS CONNECT TO THE DATA DICTIONARY — The Business Attribute field links a column here to its business definition in the Data Dictionary. Setting it keeps the physical model and the business glossary in step.
Primary Keys, Unique, and Indexes
These three tabs define the table's constraints by choosing which columns take part:
- Primary Keys — the column(s) that uniquely identify each record.
- Unique — column(s) whose values must not repeat.
- Indexes — column(s) indexed to speed up look-ups.
Foreign Keys
The Foreign Keys tab defines relationships to other tables — which column(s) in this table point to which table and columns elsewhere. These relationships are what appear as connecting lines on a layout canvas.
EDITING IS LOCKED AFTER SUBMISSION — You can only change a version's General settings, columns, keys, and relationships while it's a Draft/Open working copy. Once it's submitted for approval or approved, the tabs become read-only. To make more changes, re-open the version (see The Approval Workflow).
6. Creating a New Table
Steps
- In the sidebar, expand the layer you want, then use the Add control (or the floating + on a layout) to start a new table. The Add table dialog opens.
- Fill in the General tab — at minimum a Name and Table Name, plus settings such as Fully Qualified Name, Data Server, Connection Type, Reference Data, Use Source Column, and Enable Data Quality.
- Switch to the Columns tab and add the table's columns (each using the column fields listed above).
- Save. The new table appears in the layer's Tables list, ready for you to version and refine.
START SIMPLE, THEN REFINE — You can create a table with just its core columns and come back later to add keys, relationships, and finer settings on its detail tabs. Everything except the initial name can be changed on a working version.
7. Building a Layout
A Layout is a visual canvas — like an entity diagram — where your tables appear as boxes and their relationships as connecting lines. It's the picture of how a set of tables fits together.
Create a layout
- In the sidebar, click the + next to Layouts under the layer you want.
- Fill in the Create New Layout form: Layout Name, Catalog Name, and Schema Name (all required).
- Save. The new layout opens as an empty canvas.
Work on the canvas
- Add a table — use the floating + button, or right-click the canvas and choose Add New Table. You can add existing tables to the layout or create a new one.
- Arrange tables — drag a table box to move it. Its position is saved, so the layout looks the same next time you open it.
- See relationships — foreign-key relationships between tables are drawn as connecting lines, so you can read how the tables relate at a glance.
- Right-click a table for its actions: Details (open its definition), Create New Version, or Remove From Layout (takes it off the canvas without deleting the table).
- As Of Date — use the date picker to view the layout as it stood on a particular date.
- Delete Layout — removes the whole layout. This removes the canvas, not the underlying tables.
REMOVE vs DELETE — Remove From Layout only takes a table off this canvas; the table and its data stay in the layer. Delete Layout removes the canvas itself. Neither deletes your actual tables.
8. The Approval Workflow
Changes to your model are reviewed before they become official. Every table version moves through a simple approval cycle, with the buttons at the bottom of the table's detail dialog.
The cycle
- Draft / Open — a working version you can freely edit.
- Submit for Approval — when the version is ready, choose Submit for Approval. Editing locks and the version becomes Pending Approval.
- Approve or Deny — a reviewer with approver rights sees Approve and Deny buttons. Approving makes the version official; denying sends it back.
- Re-open — a returned or previously submitted version can be re-opened to make further edits, which puts it back into the editable Draft/Open state.
Who sees what:
- Anyone with edit rights can edit a working version and Submit for Approval.
- Only approvers see Approve and Deny. OnCoor checks whether you're an approver for that version.
APPROVAL KEEPS THE MODEL CLEAN — Because a version can't be edited once submitted, and only an approver can pass it, the approved model always reflects a reviewed, agreed-upon state. If something needs changing after approval, create or re-open a version rather than editing in place.
9. Quick Reference
A fast lookup for the most common actions.
| I want to… | Do this |
|---|---|
| Open the Data Model | Management → Data Model |
| Find a table | Expand a layer in the sidebar → Tables → pick the table |
| Edit a table's structure | Open a Draft/Open version → use the General / Columns / Keys / Foreign Keys tabs |
| Add a column | On a working version, open Columns → add a column and fill its fields |
| Link a column to its business meaning | Set the column's Business Attribute (from the Data Dictionary) |
| Set the primary key | Open the Primary Keys tab → choose the column(s) |
| Relate one table to another | Open the Foreign Keys tab → define the relationship |
| Create a new table | Use the + / Add control → fill General → add Columns → Save |
| Start a fresh working copy | Open the table's versions → Create New Version |
| Draw tables visually | Expand a layer → Layouts → + to create → add and arrange tables |
| Take a table off a canvas | Right-click the table → Remove From Layout |
| Send a version for review | Open the version → Submit for Approval |
| Approve or reject a version | Open the version → Approve or Deny (approvers only) |
| Edit an approved version | Re-open it, then make your changes |
Source: OnCoor Management module product documentation, written for end users. For the latest screens and options, always refer to the in-app interface.