Explore Data with Catalog Navigator

Use Catalog Navigator to browse and explore data assets, view their details, and use them in Data Studio workflows.

Before You Begin

Ensure that:

  • You selected or connected to an Autonomous AI Database when the workflow requires a database.

  • Your database user has the required privileges for the schemas and objects that you want to inspect.

  • You selected the target Oracle Cloud Infrastructure region and compartment.

  • The required OCI permissions and credentials are configured if you want to browse Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Object Storage.

The Catalog Navigator

Click Catalog in the left navigation to open Catalog Navigator. Even when no database is connected, you can perform the following activities:

  • Browse files and folders in OCI Object Storage.

  • Select an object or a file to view its details.

  • Load data and link data.

  • Connect to a database.

  • Connect to an AI Data Catalog.

After you connect to an Autonomous AI Database, you can perform additional tasks, such as:

  • Browse and view details of database objects, schemas, tables, and views.

  • Browse and manage existing Data Catalog entities.

  • View data asset details.

  • Browse locally mounted catalogs.

  • Mount an Iceberg catalog.

Browse Database Objects

On the Catalog page, do the following:

  1. Go to the connected database and select a schema.

    The page displays the database objects, such as tables, views, analytic views, hierarchies, and so on.

  2. Expand a table or view and select a corresponding object to view its details.

View Data Asset Details

Use table details to inspect structure and activity before you query or use a table.

  • Overview: View the description, tags, columns, table details, and ownership information.

  • Sample Data: Preview rows from the selected table.

  • Statistics: Gather or refresh table statistics and review table size, row count, column count, distinct values, null counts, and value distribution.

  • Data Definition: Review the table definition, when available.

  • Lineage: View source-to-target relationships for supported data flows and loads.

  • Impact: Identify downstream objects or workflows that depend on the selected object, when that information is available.

Use a Catalog Asset

You can use catalog assets in workflows that accept catalog sources or destinations, such as querying, loading, and linking data.

From a table or view details page, you can select the following options:

  • Query: Opens the table or view in SQL Worksheet. See Query Data with SQL Worksheet.

    Note:

    To load or link to a source object, use Load data or Link data.

    To run queries on tables and views, use SQL Worksheet.

  • AI Enrichment: Review AI-generated descriptions and tags so natural language queries have clearer table and column context.

For more information, see Manage Catalogs.

Parent topic: Catalog Navigator