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 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, and Data types respectively.

The filter icon ( ) reveals controls in the left rail to narrow down listed results. The displayed controls differ depending on the type of resource being listed.

For example, to filter the list to only show standard data types provided by Adobe, select Datatype and Adobe under the Type and Owner sections, respectively.

The Included in Profile toggle allows you to filter results to show only resources that are used in schemas that have been enabled for use in Real-Time Customer Profile. The Show adhoc schemas toggle filters the list of schemas that were created with fields that are namespaced for use only by a single dataset.

When listing resources on the Classes, Field groups, or Data types tabs, you can select Adobe to only show standard resources or Customer to only show resources created by your organization.

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.

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 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. If you select the relationship field’s name, you can view the identity namespace of the reference schema’s primary identity in the right rail.

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.