Business Glossary
Pentaho Data Catalog provides a single location for creating, organizing, curating, and identifying business glossary items, such as glossaries, categories, and terms, to help you navigate your vast data environment and access the right data efficiently. You can also use the business glossary as a tool with role-based access control to secure and separate valuable data and metadata, preventing it from reaching unintended audiences.
In Data Catalog, business terms are organized into a category and then into a glossary representing a hierarchy. Using the business glossaries, you can manage or browse the business glossaries for your data environment.
Your role and assigned permissions determine your interaction with the business glossaries. For example, users with the Business Steward role can create new glossaries. For information on roles and permissions, see Default user roles and permissions.
Tour the Business Glossary page
In Pentaho Data Catalog, the Business Glossary page provides a user-friendly interface for managing and viewing glossary items. Click Glossary in the left navigation menu, to open the Business Glossary page. This page is divided into two primary areas, Navigation and Content pane.
1
Navigation
Shows the glossary, category, and term. Navigate the tree of business glossaries to find the one you want to explore on the canvas. In addition, click Actions (in area 1) to perform additional functions and features:- Add New Glossary
Add New Category
Add New Term
View Table
View Galaxy
Import
Export
2
Content
Gives information about the selected glossary item, where the details provided vary based on the selection. For example, if you select a glossary, category, or term, the metadata appears in the Content pane.
Business Glossary navigation pane
On the Navigation pane, you'll find a list of glossary items organized by glossary, category, and term hierarchy. Click a glossary, category, or term to access summary information, details, and associated rules for that glossary item or term on the page. Additionally, you can enter a keyword in the Search box to search for assets, such as a glossary, category, or term.
When you select a glossary item, the asset name is highlighted in the tree view, and the metadata of that asset is shown in the Content pane. You can view the name of the selected asset and the path in the banner. Additionally, select Actions to manage assets and import or export the business glossary. For more information, see the Manage Business Glossary section in the Administer Pentaho Data Catalog document. Additionally, you can choose View Table or View Galaxy to understand the business glossary hierarchy.
Business Glossary content pane
You can view details about the selected glossary item in the Content pane, accessible through the associated tabs. The details shown depend on the type of resource selected. For example, if you select a glossary category or term, you can view the summary and custom properties applied to it.
The following table identifies the key details available in the Content pane for a business glossary asset:
1
Data banner
Displays the name, path, and type icon that identifies the business glossary asset, such as a glossary, category, or term. The name and type attributes identifying the resource are provided.
2
Actions menu
Click to view actions available for processing, saving, and copying the data, depending on the selected asset type. The actions you can take in the data content area are:
Copy the application path (hierarchy)
Change to a Galaxy view of the data
3
Data tabs
Click to view additional information about the business glossary asset:
Summary
Custom
Related
Data Elements
Data Identification
Comment
Metadata Rules
Reference Data
Applications
Policies
Business Intelligence
Business Rules
Data Collections
To learn more about each tab, see Business Glossary hierarchy view.
Different views of Business Glossary
In Data Catalog, you can choose different views to understand the glossary items. On the Business Glossary page, the default view is the hierarchical view. To switch to other views, in the Navigation pane, under Actions, choose View Table to view the business glossaries in a tabular format or choose View Galaxy to view them in a spatial format.
Business Glossary hierarchy view
On the Business Glossary page, the hierarchy view is selected by default. The Business Glossary hierarchy view lets users create and manage business glossaries visually and intuitively. This view is designed to help organizations define and maintain a common set of business terms and their associated definitions, ensuring clarity and consistency in data-related discussions.
Refer to the following options available on the Business Glossary page.
Glossary name
Name of the glossary, category, or term in Data Catalog. When you hover the mouse pointer over the glossary name, click the pencil icon to edit this name. Additionally, you can view the timestamp of the last update below the glossary item name.
Actions
A menu with the following options:
Copy Path
Copies the link of the selected glossary to the clipboard.
View Galaxy
Takes you to the Galaxy view of the selected glossary. Here, you can see the organization of glossary terms and their related categories and glossaries. For more information. see Galaxy view.
Summary tab
Provides a summarized view of the chosen glossary item. In the Summary tab, you can view the following information.
Note: The information that is visible depends on the glossary item you have selected.
Definition
Definitions serve as the single and definitive reference for an organization. You can add or edit the definition of the glossary, category, or term. For example, you should define the purpose of the specified term for users.
Purpose
Provides a brief description or explanation of a glossary's purpose or use case. The Purpose can help you to understand why the glossary was created, what it's intended for, and how it might be relevant. Additionally, you can also add or edit the purpose of the glossary, category, or term.
Abbreviation (onlyfor a term)
Contains widely recognized or standardized abbreviations of the business glossary item. For example, for the Social Security Number business term, the abbreviation can be SSN.
Formula (onlyfor a term)
Specifies the mathematical or logical formula used to calculate the value that the term represents. The Formula is particularly useful for terms that are quantifiable or derived through calculation.
Rating
Highlights the popularity of the resource by providing an average of all the user ratings. A low rating highlights an issue with the resource, such as incomplete data.
Properties
Displays the properties of the glossary, category, or term.- Sensitivity
Metadata attributes like High, Medium, and Low, that identify the sensitivity of the resource.
Domain
The domain name to which the resource belongs.
Custodian
The user responsible for managing the glossary.
Business Steward
The user responsible for any modifications to the asset.
Critical Data Element
Denotes whether the data the term pertains to is critical.
Status
The status of the glossary item, such as Accepted, Draft, Review, and Deprecated.
Created By
The user who created the glossary item.
Updated By
The user who updated the glossary item.
Last Updated
A timestamp indicating when the glossary item was last updated.
Tags
Lists the tags linked to the resource. You can also click to start adding your own tags, which will assist in identifying the resource using specific keywords.
Style
Displays the icon and color associated with the glossary, if any. Click Change to edit the associated icon or color.
Custom tab
Lists the custom properties and values associated with the glossary. These properties appear as user-defined name-value pairs, providing a flexible way to enrich business terms with additional business context or operational details. For example, in the Regions term, custom properties such as Availability, HashTag, Inventory, and Validity offer meaningful metadata that may inform how and where the term is used. You can customize the displayed columns and apply filters to refine the list.
Additionally, you can add new custom properties or modify existing ones based on your role and permissions. For information on roles and permissions, see Default user roles and permissions. To learn more about managing custom properties, see the Manage custom properties section in the Administer Pentaho Data Catalog document.
Related tab (only for a term)
Lists the associated business terms of the chosen glossary term. It helps you understand the broader business context and semantic associations among terms, improving data discoverability and clarity. Relationship types such as Synonym, Deprecated, In favor of, Has A, Is a type of A, and Related to allow business stewards to define how terms are conceptually connected.
The Related tab provides details such as the business term name, owner, and respective glossary and category. You can customize the displayed columns and apply filters to refine the list. To get detailed information, click the item to view the business term in the Business Glossary page with focus activated. In addition, you can add existing business terms using the Add Term option. To learn more about managing business terms, see the Manage business glossary section in the Administer Pentaho Data Catalog document.
Data Elements tab (only for a term)
Lists the associated data elements across various data sources for the selected glossary term. This association provides a direct connection between business-level terminology and the underlying technical metadata, helping you understand where and how a business term is implemented within enterprise data systems.
The Data Elements tab provides key details, including the data source, item name, item type, parent asset, status, and associated tags. You can customize the displayed columns and apply filters to refine the list. To view detailed information, click View next to an item to display the data element in the Canvas view with a highlighted focus. Additionally, you can add and remove associations between the available data elements and the selected term, provided you have the necessary permission. For information on roles and permissions, see Default user roles and permissions.
Data Identification tab (only for a term)
Lists the dictionary and patterns with the business term in them to assign as an action duringthe Data Identification process for structured data and delimited files. Dictionaries are lists of accepted terms or reference values that help validate or profile data fields. At the same time, Data Patterns capture structural formats, such as regular expressions or character-based sequences, that describe how data appears. For more information, see the Manage data identification methods section in the Administer Pentaho Data Catalog document.
Associating dictionaries and patterns with a business term enhances the accuracy of data profiling, helps in identifying sensitive or critical data elements, and enables more precise matching during automated metadata enrichment processes. In the Data Identification tab, click View next to an item to access the schema of the dictionary and pattern, along with its associated rules. Additionally, you can modify the dictionary by clicking Edit without navigating through the Data Operations card.
Comment tab
The Comment tab is a collaborative feature that allows users to discuss and provide feedback on specific data assets within Data Catalog. You can add comments, share suggestions, or ask questions directly in the tab using the provided text box, which includes basic formatting options like bold, italic, and bullet points. In addition, you can tag other users by mentioning them with the "@" symbol followed by their username. Then the specific user, or users, are notified of the comment through email and in the Mentions tab on the Data Catalog landing page, prompting them to respond if necessary. For more information, see Tour of the Home page.
Note: In the Comment tab, you can:
Tag users who have been configured in Data Catalog.
Only delete the comments you posted.
Delete any comment if you are an admin.
Metadata Rules tab (onlyfor a term)
Lists any metadata rules associated with the selected glossary term. The Metadata Rules tab provides details such as the metadata rule name, associated data source, rule type, owner of the rule when the rule was last run, and schedule. You can sort the columns and view the rule definition. To view the rule definition, click View on the row for the metadata rule, where, with the Data Steward, Data Developer, or Admin role, you can modify the rule. You can run or delete the rule, or add an existing metadata rule if you have permission to do so. For information on permissions, see Default user roles and permissions. For more information on metadata rules, see Manage metadata rules in the Administer Pentaho Data Catalog document.
Reference Data tab (only for a term)
Lists any reference data (datasets) associated with the selected glossary term that defines standardized values. This association ensures consistency across the organization by offering a governed list of acceptable values that the term represents and aligns the data usage with organizational standards. For example, a business term like “Regions” may be linked to a dataset that includes predefined region names such as “North America,” “Europe,” or “Asia-Pacific.”
The Reference Data tab provides details such as the category and name, status, and version of the dataset. You can sort the columns and add or remove associations between available datasets and the selected business term if you have permission to do so. For information on permissions, see Default user roles and permissions. For more information on reference data, see Manage reference data sets in the Administer Pentaho Data Catalog document.
Applications tab (only for a term)
Lists third-party or internal applications that are associated with the selected term. This association helps provide a broader enterprise context by showing where and how the business term is being used within applications, tools, or systems across the organization. The Applications tab provides key metadata, including the application name, parent folder or group, creation and update timestamps, and the assigned owner. You can sort and apply filters to refine the list. Additionally, you can also add and remove the associations between the selected term and third-party applications if you have permission to do so. For information on permissions, see Default user roles and permissions. For more information on applications, see Manage applications in the Administer Pentaho Data Catalog document.
Policies tab (only for a term)
Lists the policies and standards associated with the selected glossary term. This association enables organizations to align business terminology with relevant compliance, governance, or operational policies, ensuring consistent data-handling practices across the enterprise. The Policies tab provides key details, such as the policy name, parent grouping (if applicable), and the assigned owner. You can sort and apply filters to refine the list. Additionally, you can add and remove the association between the selected term and policies and standards if you have permission to do so. For information on permissions, see Default user roles and permissions. For more information on policies, see Manage policies and standards in the Administer Pentaho Data Catalog document.
Business Rules tab (only for a term)
Lists the set of business rules associated with the selected glossary term. These rules represent domain-specific logic, data quality conditions, or compliance constraints that define how the business term should be interpreted, validated, or used across the organization. The Business Rules tab provides key metadata, including the rule name, type, creation date, author, and current status (Enabled or Disabled). You can sort and apply filters to refine the list. Additionally, you can add or remove the association between the selected term and existing business rules if you have permission to do so. For information on permissions, see Default user roles and permissions. For more information on business rules, see Manage business rules in the Administer Pentaho Data Catalog document.
Business Glossary table view
On the Business Glossary page, in the Navigation pane, under Actions, selecting View Table displays the Business Glossary in tabbed sections, including Glossary, Category, Term, and All (regardless of asset types), presenting the complete hierarchy in a tabular format. The table organizes glossary assets into columns, such as Name, Type, Parent, Definition, Purpose, and others, making it easy to scan and compare metadata. This helps users, such as data stewards and business users managing large or complex glossaries, as it simplifies navigation, supports bulk operations (like editing or deleting), and enhances the overall visibility of the glossary structure.
The Actions menu in this view gives options to add new glossaries, categories, and terms, and to import and export glossary metadata. For more information, see the Manage Business Glossary section in the Administer Pentaho Data Catalog document.
Business Glossary Galaxy view
In the Navigation pane, under Actions, selecting View Galaxy displays the business glossary in Galaxy view. The Galaxy view displays a distinct visual layout that facilitates the exploration of relationships and connections between assets. You can use the Galaxy view feature to view the structure of the data and its details quickly. This feature is especially useful when you want to view information that cannot be easily visualized using the navigation tree. When you open the business glossary in Galaxy view, you can view the relationships in the data from a bird's-eye view and drill down into the data for specific details. To learn more about the Galaxy view and its available features, see Galaxy view.
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