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Set up a manual relational schema manual-schema

Last update: Thu Sep 04 2025 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
  • Applies to:
  • Campaign Orchestration

Relational schemas can be created directly through the user interface, enabling detailed configuration of attributes, primary keys, versioning fields, and relationships.

The following example manually defines the Loyalty Memberships schema to illustrate the required structure for Orchestrated campaigns.

  1. Create a relational schema manually using the Adobe Experience Platform interface.

  2. Add attributes such as customer ID, membership level, and status fields.

  3. Link your schema to built-in schemas such as Recipients for campaign targeting.

  4. Create a dataset based on your schema and enable it for use in Orchestrated campaigns.

  5. Ingest data into your dataset from supported sources.

Create your schema schema

Start by creating a new relational schema manually in Adobe Experience Platform. This process allows you to define the schema structure from scratch, including its name and behavior.

  1. Log in to Adobe Experience Platform.

  2. Navigate to the Data Management > Schema menu.

  3. Click Create Schema.

  4. Select Relational as your Schema type.

    {modal="regular"}

  5. Choose Create manually to build schema by manually adding fields.

  6. Enter your Schema display name.

    {modal="regular"}

  7. Click Finish to proceed to your schema creation.

You can now start adding attributes to your schema to define its structure.

Add attributes to your schema schema-attributes

Next, add attributes to define the structure of your schema. These fields represent the key data points used in Orchestrated campaigns, such as customer identifiers, membership details, and activity dates. Defining them accurately ensures reliable personalization, segmentation, and tracking.

Any schema used for targeting must include at least one identity field of type String with an associated identity namespace. This ensures compatibility with Adobe Journey Optimizer’s targeting and identity resolution capabilities.

The following features are supported when creating relational schemas in Adobe Experience Platform

  • ENUM
    ENUM fields are supported in both DDL-based and manual schema creation, allowing you to define attributes with a fixed set of allowed values.

  • Schema Label for Data Governance
    Labeling is supported at the schema field level to enforce data governance policies such as access control and usage restrictions. For more details, refer to Adobe Experience Platform documentation.

  • Composite Key
    Composite primary keys are supported in relational schema definitions, enabling the use of multiple fields together to uniquely identify records.

  1. In the canvas, click next to your Schema name to start adding attributes.

    {modal="regular"}

  2. Enter your attribute Field name, Display name and Type.

    In this example, we added the attributes detailed in the table below to the Loyalty memberships schema.

    accordion
    Attributes examples
    table 0-row-3 1-row-3 2-row-3 3-row-3 4-row-3 5-row-3 6-row-3 7-row-3 8-row-3
    Attribute Name Data Type Additional Attributes
    customer STRING Primary Key
    membership_level STRING Required
    points_balance INTEGER Required
    enrollment_date DATE Required
    last_status_change DATE Required
    expiration_date DATE -
    is_active BOOLEAN Required
    lastmodified DATETIME Required

  3. Assign the appropriate fields as the Primary Key and Version Descriptor.

    When creating a manual schema, ensure the following essential fields are included:

    • At least one primary key
    • A version identifier, such as a lastmodified field of type datetime or number.
    • For Change Data Capture (CDC) ingestion, a special column named _change_request_type of type String, which indicates the type of data change (e.g., insert, update, delete) and enables incremental processing. Note that _change_request_type should not be part of the table schema, it should only be added to the data file during ingestion.

    {modal="regular"}

  4. Click Save.

Once attributes are created, you need to link your newly created schema with a built-in schema.

Create a relationship between two schemas allows you to enrich your Orchestrated campaigns with data stored outside the primary profile schema.

  1. From your newly created schema, select the attribute you want to use as the link and click Add relationship.

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  2. Choose the Reference schema and Reference field to establish the relationship with.

    In this example, the customer attribute is linked to the recipients schema.

    {modal="regular"}

  3. Enter a Relationship name from current schema and from reference schema.

  4. Click Apply once configured.

Once the relationship is established, you need to create a dataset based on your schema.

Create a dataset for the schema dataset

After defining your schema, the next step is to create a dataset based on it. This dataset store your ingested data and must be enabled for Orchestrated Campaigns to make it accessible in Adobe Journey Optimizer. Enabling this option ensures the dataset is recognized for use in real-time orchestration and personalization workflows.

  1. Navigate to the Data Management > Datasets menu and click Create dataset.

    {modal="regular"}

  2. Select Create dataset from schema.

  3. Choose your previously created schema, here Loyalty memberships, and click Next.

    {modal="regular"}

  4. Enter a Name for your Dataset and click Finish.

You now need to enable your Dataset for Orchestrate Campaigns.

Enable Dataset for Orchestrated Campaigns enable

After creating your dataset, you need to explicitly enable it for Orchestrated Campaigns. This step ensures your dataset is available for real-time orchestration and personalization within Adobe Journey Optimizer.

Refer to Adobe Developer documentation to validate or enable Orchestrated Campaign Extension on Dataset.

  1. Locate your dataset in the Datasets list.

  2. From the Datasets settings, enable the Orchestrated Campaigns option to make the dataset available for use in your Orchestrated Campaigns.

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  3. Wait a few minutes for the enablement process to complete. Note that data ingestion and campaign use will only be possible once this setting is fully activated.

You can now start ingesting data into your schema using the source of your choice.

➡️ Learn how to ingest data

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