Display Names and Descriptions
Display names and descriptions add a business-friendly layer on top of your source assets. In Qualytics, a container is the umbrella term for any table, file, or computed dataset on a datastore. Containers and fields can have a custom display name (alias) shown across the platform, with an info icon next to it that reveals the original source name. Source datastores, enrichment datastores, containers, and fields can also carry a longer description.
These values can be set manually in Qualytics, or imported from a connected data catalog integration (Atlan, Alation, Microsoft Purview, Collibra, DataHub) during a pull sync.
Asset Support
| Asset | Display Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Source Datastore | ||
| Enrichment Datastore | ||
| Container (tables, files, computed) | ||
| Field |
Source and enrichment datastores only support a description. The original datastore name is always shown in the UI.
Set Display Names and Descriptions Manually
Display names and descriptions are set from different places. Display names are set through the Rename action, and descriptions are edited inline on each asset's profile page. Either change requires the Editor team permission on the datastore (see Team Permissions).
Containers
Display name. From the datastore's containers page, open the container's settings menu (in card or list view) and choose Rename. The modal has a Source Name field and an optional Display Name field. Saving a new display name refreshes the sidebar tree, so the new label appears across the navigation right away.
Description. Open the container's profile page and edit the description inline, next to the tags input.
Fields
Display name. Open the field's settings menu and choose Rename.
Description. Open the field's profile page and edit the description inline, next to the tags input.
Datastores
Source and enrichment datastores do not have a display name. Edit the description inline on the datastore's profile page, next to the tags input.
Auto-Population from Data Catalog Integrations
When an integration is connected, display names and descriptions come in as part of a Manual Sync → Pull. There is no separate switch to flip; running the pull (or re-running it later) refreshes the values from the catalog.
To run it, open the integration card under Settings → Integrations, click Sync, choose Pull (or Pull + Push), and click Start. See Manual Sync for the full step-by-step.
What Gets Imported
| From the catalog | Imported into Qualytics as |
|---|---|
| Asset's business alias | Container / Field display name |
| Asset's user description | Datastore / Container / Field description |
If a catalog asset has no business alias, Qualytics does not copy the technical name as a fallback. The asset continues to show with its source name.
How pull updates existing values
- When the catalog has a display name or description for an asset, the pull replaces the current value in Qualytics, including values that were set manually.
- When the catalog has no value, Qualytics keeps the existing display name or description. Empty catalog values never erase what is already there.
Supported Catalogs
The table below summarizes which catalogs populate display names and descriptions during a pull sync.
| No. | Catalog | Display Name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  Atlan |
||
| 2. |  Alation |
||
| 3. |  Microsoft Purview |
||
| 4. |  Collibra |
||
| 5. |  DataHub |
DataHub field display names
DataHub imports display names only for containers. Column and field display names are not synced, but field descriptions are imported normally.
Per-Catalog Notes
Atlan. Pulls attributes.displayName for containers and fields. When no alias is set, Qualytics leaves the display name empty rather than falling back to the technical displayText. For descriptions, Qualytics prefers the user-defined description and falls back to the system description.
Alation. Pulls the asset title as the display name and the asset description for the description. Since the standard search endpoint does not return descriptions, Qualytics enriches them from the /integration/v2/table/ and /integration/v2/column/ endpoints. HTML markup is stripped before storage.
Microsoft Purview. Pulls displayName and description for containers and fields. When description is empty, Qualytics falls back to userDescription.
Collibra. Pulls displayName and description for containers and fields.
DataHub. Pulls container display names from properties.name, but only when that value differs from the technical name. Descriptions come from properties.description. Field-level display names are not synced; for fields, only the technical name and description are imported.
Pull vs. Event Driven
Only the Pull direction imports display names and descriptions. Event Driven sync is push-only (Qualytics → catalog), so leaving it enabled will not bring catalog changes back into Qualytics. To refresh values from the catalog, run a Manual Sync → Pull.
| Sync mode | When it runs | Imports display names and descriptions? |
|---|---|---|
| Manual Sync → Pull (or Pull + Push) | When the user clicks Sync on the integration card | |
| Event Driven | Automatically, on Qualytics-side events (profile/scan, anomaly delete, etc.) |
See Synchronization Options for details on the available sync modes.
Where Display Names Appear
Once a display name is set on a container or field, Qualytics uses it wherever the asset is referenced and shows the source name in a tooltip or info popup so the original identifier is always recoverable.
| Surface | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Navigation (breadcrumbs, headers, sidebar tree) | Display name shown; an info icon reveals the source name |
| Container card and list views | Display name in the title; source name in the tooltip |
| Quality checks and anomalies | Display name shown in cards, lists, forms, side panels, and dry-run results |
| Observability | Container display name on observability cards; field display name on metric cards |
| Global Search | Results show the display name; search matches both display name and source name |
| Copy Name (right-click, menus) | Copies the display name when set; otherwise the source name |
When no display name is set, Qualytics uses the source name. Only renamed assets show a different label in the UI.
Note
The source name remains the canonical identifier used in SQL, API responses, and exports. The display name is presentation only.