Manage virtual folders
You can use virtual folders in Lumada Data Catalog to create groups of resources belonging to a data source for easier management. Additionally, data resources can be added to multiple virtual folders. When used correctly, virtual folders are a key part in controlling the accessibility and visibility of the data.
When you create a data source in Data Catalog, you also create a corresponding top level root virtual folder. This virtual folder includes all the resources that are part of the data source connection that you created or added when creating a data source. The root virtual folder acts as a building block from which more virtual folders can be created. Additionally, data resources can be added to multiple virtual folders.
To manage virtual folders, navigate to Management and then click Virtual Folders.
Repository-only browsing
All browsing of data assets is done on metadata in the repository. Users are not required to enter their own credentials to access any data.
Add a virtual folder
.) inside the folder icon, as shown here: 
Perform the following steps to add a virtual folder:
Procedure
Click Management on the menu bar to open the Manage Your Environment page.
Select Virtual Folders to open the Virtual Folders page, and then click Add Virtual Folder.
Optionally, select Add Virtual Folder directly from the Manage Your Environment page.The Create Virtual Folder page opens.Enter the following details in the Create Virtual Folder page.
Field Description Folder Name (Required) The name of the virtual folder. The virtual folder name must begin with an alphabetic character and can include alphanumeric characters, hyphens, and underscores. It cannot contain dots (.) because Data Catalog uses the dot (.) separator to identify lineage or parentage between nested folders. Description A description to help identify the audience for this folder. This description is just to assist the administrator. Data Catalog does not use this field for metadata processing on that folder. Parent Virtual Folder The parent root virtual folder or another virtual folder from which the new virtual folder is derived. Start typing the name of the database in the field and select the best match from the list that displays. Only folders accessible to your role are listed. NoteYou must specify an existing virtual folder as a parent for your new virtual folder.Expert Users Select one or more expert users who are skilled at using the resource. Expert users must first be defined as users in Lumada Data Catalog. NoteExperts can only be assigned to non-root virtual folders.Source Path (Required) The absolute path to the resource folder included in this virtual folder. The resource folder should be a subset of the parent folder. Include Pattern (Optional) A regular expression you want included when filtering the source. See Using regular expressions. Exclude Pattern (Optional) A regular expression you want excluded when filtering the source. See Using regular expressions. Click Validate Virtual Folder.
Data Catalog verifies the specified Source Path along with the resulting list included in the newly created virtual folder. The validation is based on the include and exclude regular expressions you define.NoteTo successfully validate regular expression patterns, make sure the Force iterate through all tables of a schema/database discovery configuration setting is set totrue.Click Create Virtual Folder.
If this button is unavailable, go back to the previous step or troubleshoot your validation of the virtual folder.
Results
Using regular expressions
When working with virtual folders, you can specify regular expressions for both paths and include and exclude patterns, which gives you more granular access control for the data source while maintaining the privacy of sensitive data. By default, everything in the Source Path is included, and nothing is excluded. The default Include Pattern is ".*" and the default Exclude Pattern is EMPTY.
The string you specify for the full source path of a virtual folder equals the source path specification string plus the Include Pattern regular expression string minus the Exclude Pattern regular expression string. For example, as the administrator, you may decide to restrict access. In the Create Virtual Folder page, you give a R_DataQM sample virtual folder access to all CSV files in the /user/ldcsvc/DQM path beginning with the R.* regular expression.
The / is prepended to the Include Pattern and Exclude Pattern regular expressions in this example. Without the /, the virtual folder validation will return zero results. In some cases, you may need to escape the / by adding a backslash \. You can include or exclude more than one resource by listing them as a pipe | separated list within (...) brackets, for example, (/user/ldcsvc/Pass1/.* | /user/ldcsvc/Pass2/.*)
You can use ".*" to match any character. For example, test1.emp.* matches paths such as test1.emp1 and test1.emp2. You can escape "." by using a backslash (\) in front of it. For example, /warehouse180_patch2.*|/warehouse104_patch1.*.
Regular expression examples of virtual folder definitions
The following table lists samples of virtual folder definitions for a data source named MyHive and the source path (root)/. Use the samples to help create your own regular expresssions of virtual folder definitons.
| Sample | Definition |
All schemas starting with az_ and all the tables | For this sample, use the following settings:
|
Tables starting with emp or dept in the schema called az_db | For this sample, use the following settings:
|
All tables in the schema called az_db, except tables ending with _view | For this sample, use the following settings:
|
All tables in schemas starting with test1 or test2, except tables ending with _view | For this sample, use the following settings:
|
All tables in schemas test1 or test2 with names starting with emp. | For this sample, use the following settings:
|
Update a virtual folder
Perform the following steps to update a virtual folder:
Procedure
Click Management on the menu bar to open the Manage Your Environment page, then click Virtual Folders.
The Virtual Folders page opens.Locate the virtual folder you want to update in the table of folder names and click the View Details button (greater-than sign) in its row.
If you have a large number of folders, click Show Filters on the Virtual Folders page to help you find the folder you want to edit.The VFolder details page opens for the selected virtual folder.If you are updating non-root virtual folder, modify the Folder Name field, as needed.
Edit the following fields as needed:
Field Description Description A description to help identify the audience for this folder. This description is just to assist the administrator. Data Catalog does not use this field for metadata processing on that folder. Expert Users Expert users are typically proficient at using the resource. To be assigned as experts, these users first need to be defined in Lumada Data Catalog. Select Validate Virtual Folder. Data Catalog verifies the specified Source Path along with the resulting list included in the newly updated virtual folder. The validation is based on the include and exclude regular expressions you define.
Click Save Changes to keep your changes.
If this button is unavailable, go back to the previous step or troubleshoot your validation of the virtual folder.
Remove a virtual folder
Perform the following steps to remove a non-root virtual folder:
Procedure
Click Management on the menu bar to open the Manage Your Environment page, then click Virtual folders.
The Virtual Folders page opens.Locate the virtual folder you want to remove in the table of folder names.
If you have a large number of folders, click Show Filters to help you find the folder you want to remove.Perform one of the following actions to delete a virtual folder:
- Click the More Actions (…) icon at the end of the row for the selected folder, then click Remove.
- Click the View Details button (greater-than sign) in the row to open the VFolder details page, and then click Remove Virtual Folder.
Click Remove Virtual Folder in the confirmation dialog box to proceed.
Results