Intake Model
User Guide — Describing the Data You Bring Into OnCoor
| Last updated: August 2026
Contents
- Overview
- Key Concept: The Conform Model
- Finding Your Way Around
- Creating a Conform Model
- Building the Model's Structure
- Creating Metadata
- Assigning Source Lookups
- Importing From an External Source
- Model Status — What You Can and Can't Change
- Quick Reference
1. Overview
Before OnCoor can profile, clean, map, or move any data, it needs to know what that data looks like — which tables and columns are coming in, what type each column is, and where each one belongs. The Intake Model is where you describe that. Each model you build is a Conform Model: a tidy blueprint of the tables and columns you expect, lined up against one of OnCoor's data layers.
Think of it as filling in the shape of your data once, up front. Everything downstream — data quality rules, mappings, the conformed catalog — is built on top of the models you define here.
What you can do here
- Create a model by hand when you already know the structure you want.
- Import a model from a source system — OnCoor reads the source and drafts the structure for you.
- Fine-tune the columns — names, data types, keys, relationships, and more.
- Turn a model into live metadata that the rest of OnCoor can use.
- Link your source objects to the matching target objects.
WHERE TO FIND IT — The Intake Model lives under Process Management → Intake Model. It opens on the Conform Model list, where every model you've created is shown.
2. Key Concept: The Conform Model
A Conform Model is one intake definition — usually one business area's worth of tables and columns. Every model is tied to a Domain Layer (the stage of the pipeline the data lands in) and a Schema Name (where it physically lives). A model can be built two ways:
- Internal — you describe the structure yourself, or start from data OnCoor already knows about.
- External — you point OnCoor at a source system (for example a database or an SAP source) and let it read the structure automatically. This is the Import Model path.
A model moves through a simple lifecycle. It starts Open, which means fully editable. Once you've defined its columns you Create Metadata, which turns the model into the live definitions the rest of OnCoor works from. From that point the model (or that part of it) is locked so the downstream pieces stay stable.
Rule of thumb: build and refine while the model is Open, then Create Metadata when you're confident the structure is right.
3. Finding Your Way Around
Go to Process Management → Intake Model. You land on the Conform Model list — one row per model, with a search bar above it and two buttons in the top corner:
- Add New — create a model by hand (opens the Add Conform Model dialog).
- Import Model — build a model from an external source.
Each row has three action icons that open the deeper screens for that model:
| Icon | Opens | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Edit | Intake Model Detail | Set the model's columns and structure (section 5). |
| Create Metadata | Create Metadata | Turn selected tables into live metadata (section 6). |
| Assign Domain Relations | Assign Source Lookup | Link source objects to target objects (section 7). Available once the model has a source. |
The rest of this guide follows that same order — create a model, give it structure, create its metadata, then link its sources.
4. Creating a Conform Model
Use Add New when you want to start a model by hand.
Steps
- On the Conform Model list, click Add New.
- Fill in the Add Conform Model dialog (see the table below).
- Click Save & Close. The new model appears in the list with a status of Open.
| Field | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Description | A plain-language name for the model — how you'll recognise it in the list. Required. |
| Domain Layer | The pipeline layer this model belongs to. Choosing a layer fills in the Schema Name for you. Required. |
| Schema Name | Where the data physically sits. Pre-filled from the Domain Layer; change it only if you need to. Required. |
| Layout Name | An optional layout to group the model's columns. You can also set this later. |
| Source | The source system this model draws from, if you already know it. Optional — you can add it afterwards. |
DESCRIPTION, LAYER, SCHEMA ARE REQUIRED — A model needs at least a Description, a Domain Layer, and a Schema Name before it can be saved. The Layer fills in the Schema for you, so in practice you pick the Description and the Layer and you're most of the way there.
5. Building the Model's Structure
Clicking the Edit icon on a model opens the Intake Model Detail screen. This is where a model gets its columns, and where you derive its objects once the columns are in place.
5.1 The Model Header
At the top is a short form describing the model as a whole. While the model is Open you can change any of these; once you've derived the model's objects (see below) they become read-only.
| Field | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Description | The model's name, as it appears in the Conform Model list. |
| External Source | Whether the model is fed by an external source. For an external model this shows as a link that jumps to the source's import screen (section 8). |
| Layer Name | The domain layer the model belongs to — the stage of the pipeline its data lands in. You pick it from the list of layers set up for your environment (for example a landing, conform, or reference layer), and the derived objects are created for that layer. |
| Schema Name | Where the model's data physically sits. It's usually filled in automatically from the Layer Name. |
| Layout Name | An optional layout used to group the model's columns. Pick an existing layout, or add a new one with the + beside the field. |
5.2 The Column Grid
Below the header is a grid with one row per column. The most-used fields are:
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Business Object Name | The object (roughly, the table's business meaning) the column belongs to. |
| Table Name / Table Description | The table the column sits in, and a short note about it. |
| Attribute Name / Attribute Description | The business-friendly name and explanation of the column. |
| Column Name | The technical column name. |
| Col Data Type, Length, Precision, Scale | The column's type and size. |
| Is Nullable / Is Identity Col / Is Reference / Is System Column | Yes/No flags describing how the column behaves. |
| Rel Table Name / Rel Column Name / Rel Multiplicity | How this column relates to another table, if it's a link. |
| Source Table Name | Where the column comes from in the source. |
5.3 Deriving Objects, Importing, and Exporting
Three buttons sit above the grid:
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Derive Objects | Groups the model's columns into their business objects automatically — for the model's Layer Name — using the details you've entered, so you don't assemble them by hand. |
| Import | Uploads a column layout from a file instead of typing each row. (Internal models only.) |
| Export | Downloads the current columns — handy for reviewing offline or reusing elsewhere. |
Deriving the model's objects
Once the grid holds the columns you want, Derive Objects turns them into the model's objects in one step, ready for the metadata to be created (section 6).
- Make sure the model is Open and has at least one column in the grid — Derive Objects is only available then.
- Check the Layer Name in the header is the domain layer you want the objects created for.
- Click Derive Objects.
- OnCoor works through the columns and builds the model's objects under that layer, and you'll see "Objects derived successfully!".
- The model then moves on from Open: its header (Description, Layer Name, Schema Name, Layout Name) and the Derive Objects button become read-only, so the structure stays fixed for the steps that follow.
GET THE LAYER RIGHT BEFORE YOU DERIVE — The objects are created for the model's Layer Name, and deriving locks the header — so confirm the layer (and the columns) are correct first. Derive Objects is only offered while the model is Open and has at least one column.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO TYPE EVERY ROW — For a big model, use Import to load the columns from a file, or build the model from a source (section 8) and let OnCoor draft the rows. Then tidy up in the grid. Export gives you the current layout back at any time.
6. Creating Metadata
Defining columns describes the model; Creating Metadata makes it real. This is the step that turns your model into the live table and column definitions the rest of OnCoor uses.
Clicking the Create Metadata icon on a model opens the Create Metadata screen. Here you choose which tables to promote and set a few options before creating them.
Steps
- From the Conform Model list, click the Create Metadata icon on the model.
- Select the tables (and columns) you want to turn into metadata.
- Set the options you want (see below).
- Click Create Metadata. The selected tables are created, and that part of the model changes from Open to Metadata Created.
- Use Back To Summary to return to the list.
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Create Data Quality Rule | Also sets up a starter data quality rule for the tables you're creating, so quality checks are ready to go. |
| Layout | Assigns a layout to group the created columns. You can pick an existing layout or add a new one. |
| Category | Tags the created data with a category, which helps organise and find it later. |
METADATA CREATED MEANS LOCKED — Once a table shows Metadata Created, its structure is fixed so everything built on top of it stays stable. Get the columns the way you want them while the model is still Open, then create the metadata.
7. Assigning Source Lookups
A model can describe what you want (the target) separately from where it comes from (the source). Assign Source Lookups is where you connect the two — telling OnCoor which source object feeds which target object.
Clicking the Assign Domain Relations icon on a model (available once the model has a source) opens the Assign Source Lookup screen, a simple two-column list:
| Column | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Source Object Name | The object as it exists in the source system. |
| Target Object Name | The matching object in your conform model. |
Steps
- From the Conform Model list, click the Assign Domain Relations icon on the model.
- Use Search Objects to find the objects you want to link.
- Add a row for each pairing and choose the Source Object and its matching Target Object.
- Save your changes. Remove any pairing with the delete icon on its row.
NEEDS A SOURCE FIRST — The Assign Domain Relations icon only works once the model has a Source set. If it's greyed out, open the model and add a Source (section 4 or 8) first.
8. Importing From an External Source
When the structure already exists in a source system, you don't have to retype it. Import Model lets OnCoor read the source and draft the model for you.
Click Import Model on the Conform Model list to open the O-Data Intake screen. You describe the source, pull in its objects, and shape them before saving.
Setting up the source
| Field | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Source | The source system to read from. |
| Source Type | The kind of source (for example a database or an SAP source). This decides how OnCoor reads it. |
| Get Objects | Asks the source for its available objects. When it succeeds, Object Retrieved is ticked. |
| Include Imported Model Objects | Includes objects that have already been imported, so you can build on earlier work. |
| Domain Object | The object you're describing. You can add a new one with the + button. |
| Object Type / Functional Area / Reference | Extra classification for the object. Functional Area can be added with the + button. |
Shaping the model
Below the form is a workspace with the source's tables on the left and a canvas on the right. You pick the tables you want, arrange the objects on the canvas, and OnCoor drafts the model's columns from the source's own definitions. For sources that expose their structure through SQL, OnCoor reads that structure directly.
Once you're happy, the imported model joins your Conform Model list just like a hand-built one — ready for you to refine (section 5) and Create Metadata (section 6).
START FROM THE SOURCE WHEN YOU CAN — Importing is almost always faster and more accurate than typing columns by hand, because the structure comes straight from the source. Use Get Objects first; if nothing comes back, check that the Source and Source Type are correct.
9. Model Status — What You Can and Can't Change
Every model carries a Status, shown in the Conform Model list.
| Status | What it means | Can you edit? |
|---|---|---|
| Open | The model is still being built. | Yes — description, layer, columns, sources, everything. |
| Metadata Created | Metadata has been created for the model (or a table in it). | No — that part is locked so downstream work stays stable. |
The pattern is always the same: do your building and refining while a model is Open. Deriving objects (section 5) is the first step that locks the model — after it, the header and structure become read-only — and you then Create Metadata to make the model live. If you find something wrong after that, you'll typically create a fresh model rather than edit the locked one.
10. Quick Reference
A fast lookup for the most common actions.
| I want to… | Do this |
|---|---|
| See all my models | Process Management → Intake Model (the Conform Model list) |
| Create a model by hand | Add New → fill Description, Domain Layer, Schema Name → Save & Close |
| Build a model from a source system | Import Model → set Source and Source Type → Get Objects → shape and save |
| Edit a model's columns | Click the Edit icon on the model |
| Load columns from a file | Open the model → Import |
| Get the current columns back | Open the model → Export |
| Derive the model's objects (for its layer) | Open the model → check the Layer Name → Derive Objects |
| Make the model live | Click Create Metadata → select tables → Create Metadata |
| Add data quality checks at the same time | On Create Metadata, tick Create Data Quality Rule |
| Link a source object to a target object | Click Assign Domain Relations → Search Objects → add pairings |
| Understand why a model is read-only | Its status is Metadata Created — build while it's still Open |
Source: OnCoor Process Management product documentation, written for end users. For the latest screens and options, always refer to the in-app interface.