Applying Custom Fields to Templates

Alation provides the ability to customize object templates by adding custom fields to them. Starting with V R6 (5.10.x), the object templates of the table and column objects support extended customizations allowing you to also rearrange fields in a way that best suits your needs.

In Alation, there are two types of page templates :

  • Object templates are predefined templates provided by Alation. They are used to build pages of data objects (tables, columns, data sources, BI reports, etc.).

  • Article templates are used for pages of Article objects.

This article explains how to add and remove custom fields to and from a template. Custom fields can be added to both object and article templates in a similar way.

Catalog customizations require a Catalog or Server Admin role.

To customize a template:

  1. Sign in to Alation. If you are a Catalog Admin, mouse over the settings icon on the right of the main toolbar and in the menu that opens, click Customize Catalog:

    ../../_images/Screen_Shot_2018-10-16_at_2.17.18_PM.png

    The Customize Catalog page will open:

    ../../_images/Customize_catAdminPath.png

    Note

    If you log in as a Server Admin, go to Admin Settings > Catalog Admin > Customize Catalog to open the Customize Catalog page.

  2. Click the Custom Templates tab to open it.

  3. On the left, either under Data Object Templates or under Article Templates, find the template you want to edit and click its name. The template editor will open on the right:

    ../../_images/Custom_templatesTab.png

  4. Edit the template title and add or remove custom fields from the list of custom fields. Starting from V R6, the table and column templates are edited differently.

  5. Click the Save icon on top right of the editor to save the changes.

    ../../_images/Custom_Save.png

    The modifications will be applied to all catalog pages which use the template.