Explore schema resources in the UI

In Adobe Experience Platform, all Experience Data Model (XDM) schema resources are stored in the Schema Library, including standard resources provided by Adobe and custom resources defined by your organization. In the Experience Platform UI, you can view the structure and fields of any existing schema, class, field group, or data type in the Schema Library. This is especially useful when planning and preparing for data ingestion, as the UI provides information on the expected data types and use cases of each field provided by these XDM resources.

This tutorial covers the steps for exploring existing schemas, classes, field groups, and data types in the Experience Platform UI.

Look up a schema resource lookup

In the Experience Platform UI, select Schemas in the left navigation. The Schemas workspace provides a Browse tab to explore all schemas in your organization, along with additional dedicated tabs for exploring Classes, Field groups, Data types, and Relationships respectively.

The filter icon ( ) reveals controls in the left rail to narrow down listed results. Resource filters are available for schemas and relationships on the Browse and Relationships tabs respectively.

On the Browse tab of the Schemas workspace, you can filter your schema inventory. Use the Included in Profile toggle to only show schemas that have been enabled for use in Real-Time Customer Profile. Use the Show adhoc schemas toggle to filter the list of schemas created with fields namespaced for use only by a single dataset.

On the Relationship tab of the Schemas workspace, you can filter the list of relationships based on four criteria. The filters include Source schema, Destination schema, Source class, and the Destination class. The table below provides a description of the filters.

You can also use the search bar to narrow down results further.

The resources displayed in search results are ordered first by title matches, then by description matches. In turn, the more word matches in either of these categories, the higher the resource appears in the list.

When you have found the resource you want to explore, select its name from the list to view its structure in the canvas.

Manage schemas, classes, field groups, and data types: actions and deletion xdm-resource-actions

Use this section when you need to manage or delete XDM resources, or when an action (such as delete) is unavailable and you need to understand why.

Where to find actions (inline vs detail page) where-to-find-actions

To perform actions such as deleting, exporting, or copying a resource, use one of the following entry points:

On the Browse, Classes, Field groups, and Data types tabs, management actions are available in two locations:

These actions are consistent across both entry points for supported resource types (schemas, classes, field groups, and data types).

Available actions available-actions

Depending on the resource type and your permissions, the following actions may be available:

The following applies to different resource types:

Delete behavior delete-behavior

Use the Delete action when you want to remove a custom resource that is no longer needed.

To delete a resource:

The resource is permanently removed from your organization after confirmation.

If deletion is not available for a resource, the option appears disabled with a tooltip explaining why the action cannot be performed.

Constraints (dataset, Profile, RBAC, tenant vs global) delete-constraints

If an action such as Delete is unavailable or disabled, it is typically due to one of the following conditions:

These constraints are reflected directly in the UI. When an action is unavailable, it appears disabled and includes a tooltip explaining the specific limitation.

If you cannot delete a resource, review the conditions above to determine whether you need to update permissions, remove dependencies, or adjust your data model.

For additional schema editing workflows in the canvas, see Create and edit schemas in the UI.

Explore an XDM resource in the canvas explore

Once you select a resource, its structure opens in the canvas.

All object-type fields containing sub-properties are collapsed by default when they first appear in the canvas. To show the sub-properties of any field, select the icon next to its name.

Standard class and field group indicator standard-class-and-field-group-indicator

Within the Schema Editor, standard (Adobe-generated) classes and field groups are indicated with the padlock icon ( . The padlock appears in the left rail next to the class or field group name, as well as next to any field in the schema diagram that is a part of a system-generated resource.

See the Add custom fields to standard field groups documentation for guidance. You cannot edit a standard class.

System-generated fields system-fields

Some field names are prepended with an underscore, such as _repo and _id. These represent placeholders for fields that the system will automatically generate and assign as data is ingested.

As such, most of these fields should be excluded from the structure of your data when ingesting into Experience Platform. The main exception to this rule is the _{TENANT_ID} field, which all XDM fields created under your organization must be namespaced under.

Data types data-types

For each field shown in the canvas, its corresponding data type is shown next to its name, indicating at a glance the type of data that field expects for ingestion.

Any data type that is appended with square brackets ([]) represents an array of that particular data type. For example, a data type of String[] indicates that the field expects an array of string values. A data type of Payment Item[] indicates an array of objects that conform to the Payment Item data type.

If an array field is based on an object type, you can select its icon in the canvas to show the expected attributes for each array item.

Field properties field-properties

When you select the name of any field in the canvas, the right rail updates to show details about that field under Field properties. This can include a description of the field’s intended use case, default values, patterns, formats, whether or not the field is required, and more.

If the field you are inspecting is an enum field, the right rail will also display the acceptable values the field expects to receive.

Identity fields identity

When inspecting schemas that contain identity fields, these fields are listed in the left rail under the class or field group that provides them to the schema. Select the identity field name in the left rail to reveal the field in the canvas, regardless of how deeply it is nested.

Identity fields are highlighted in the canvas with a fingerprint icon ( ). If you select the identity field’s name, you can view additional information such as the identity namespace and whether or not the field is the primary identity for the schema.

Relationship fields relationship

If you are inspecting a schema that contains a relationship field, the field will be listed in the left rail under Relationships. Select the relationship field name in the left rail to reveal the field in the canvas, regardless of how deeply it is nested. Relationship fields are also uniquely highlighted in the canvas, showing the name of the reference schema that the field links to. For organizations with B2B capabilities, custom relationship names can be written and will be displayed on the canvas in these cases.

To view the identity namespace of the reference schema’s primary identity, select the relationship field, then Edit relationship in the Field properties sidebar. The parameters for the relationship are displayed in the Edit relationship dialog that appears.

See the tutorial on creating a relationship in the UI for more information on the use of relationships in XDM schemas.

Next steps

This document covered how to explore existing XDM resources in the Experience Platform UI. For more information on the different features of the Schemas workspace and Schema Editor, see the Schemas workspace overview.