Tags FAQ¶
Answers to common questions about tags in Qualytics, grouped by topic. Pick the heading closest to what you are working on.
General¶
What is a tag?¶
A reusable label, such as Finance, PII, or Deprecated, kept in one shared library. You put it on datastores, tables and files, fields, checks, check templates, and anomalies, and it means the same thing everywhere. See Tags Introduction.
What does a tag change besides labeling an asset?¶
Its weight changes how much tagged tables and fields count in quality scores and how important tagged checks are, and Flows and operations can act only on what carries it. See How Tags Influence Qualytics.
Where do I see where a tag is used?¶
On the tag's own page: click the tag in the Tags list. With the Data Catalog module, its Assets tab lists every tagged asset and its Map tab shows how they connect. See Tag Page.
Creating and Naming¶
Why can't I create a tag?¶
Global tags are created by Admins only. Other users create tags for the teams where their team holds the Editor team permission, other than the Public team. If you have neither, ask an Admin, or apply an existing tag instead. See Tag Permissions.
The name I want is taken, but I can't find the tag. Why?¶
Tag names are unique across the whole workspace, including other teams' tags you can't see and external tags imported from a data catalog. Pick another name, or ask an Admin which tag holds it.
Are PII and pii the same tag?¶
No. Names are case-sensitive, so both can exist. Search the Tags list before creating a tag to avoid near-duplicates, and merge any you find.
Can I create a tag while tagging an asset?¶
Yes. Users who can create tags see an Add tag button in tag pickers. It opens the tag form, and the new tag is listed first in the picker so you can apply it right away. See Create a Tag From a Tag Picker.
Can a tag name have accents or symbols?¶
No. Names use letters A-Z, digits, spaces, underscores (_), hyphens (-), and periods (.), with at least one letter. Write Resume Data instead of Résumé Data, and PII-PCI instead of PII/PCI. See the Add a Tag field reference.
How long can a tag name be?¶
From 2 to 255 characters, both in the tag form and through the API. The form shows a counter as you type.
Inheritance¶
If I tag a datastore, do its tables get the tag?¶
Yes. A tag on a datastore reaches every table and file in it, and from them, their fields and checks. A tag on a table reaches its fields and checks. Tags never flow up. See Tag Inheritance.
I tagged a datastore, but a table doesn't show the tag yet. Why?¶
The datastore changes right away, and the assets inside it are updated in the background. On a large datastore this can take a moment. Refresh the table after a while.
Do existing anomalies get a tag added to their check?¶
No. An anomaly takes the tags of its failed checks when it is created, and keeps them. Later changes to the check's tags reach only new anomalies. To tag existing anomalies, edit them, or tag many at once with Bulk-Edit Tags.
If I remove a tag from a datastore, is it removed from its tables?¶
Yes, from every table, field, and check inside it, including the ones where it was also applied directly. Existing anomalies keep it.
Do new tables and fields get the tags of their datastore?¶
Yes. A table added later starts with its datastore's tags, and a new field starts with its table's tags, except external tags. A new check starts with every tag of its table, external ones included.
Does a tag on a check template reach its checks?¶
Yes. Every check created from the template carries the template's tags, and a tag added to or removed from the template is added to or removed from those checks too.
Weights and Scores¶
What weight should a new tag have?¶
Keep the default of 1 unless the tag should change scores or importance. Use 2 to 10 for data that matters more, and a negative weight for data that should count less. See Weight Modifier.
I changed a tag's weight, but the quality score didn't move. Why?¶
A weight edit updates the importance of the tagged checks, and the impact of their open anomalies, in the background, but it does not recalculate the weights of the tagged tables and fields that quality scores use. See When Weights Are Recalculated for which changes do.
Does a negative weight remove a table from the quality score?¶
No. Weights are shifted so the lowest one in the datastore counts as 1, so a table with a negative weight still counts, just less than its neighbors. See Weight Modifier.
How do I see a quality score for only the assets with a tag?¶
Open the tag's page: its Quality Score card covers the tables and files that carry the tag, and needs the Data Observability module. You can also filter Explore by the tag.
Do tags on an anomaly change its impact?¶
No. Only the tags on the anomaly's failed checks do, through the checks' importance. See Check Importance.
Types of Tags¶
What is the difference between global, team, and external tags?¶
A global tag is open to every user and managed by Admins. A team tag is found and applied only by its team's members and Admins, only on the team's datastores, and its Editors manage it. An external tag comes from a data catalog, which owns its name, description, and color. See Types of Tags for a side-by-side comparison.
Can I turn a team tag into a global tag, or the other way around?¶
Yes. An Admin changes the tag's Scope when editing it. Making a team tag global removes nothing. Restricting a global tag to a team removes it from every asset outside the team's datastores. See Moving a Tag Between Types.
Can an external tag become a global or team tag?¶
No. External tags are always global and stay managed by the data catalog. The opposite can happen: a pull sync with Overwrite Tags on turns a Qualytics tag with the same name as a catalog tag into an external tag.
Can I create another type of tag?¶
No. The three types are fixed. To group tags further, give them a category, or scope them to a team. See Grouping Tags.
Why can I see a tag on an asset but not in the tag picker?¶
It is another team's tag. Team tags show on every asset that carries them, with a lock icon, but only their team's members and Admins can find and apply them. See Team Tags.
Can I rename an external tag?¶
Not in Qualytics. Its name, description, and color come from the data catalog. Change them there and run another pull sync. In Qualytics, Admins can set its category and weight. See External Tags.
Why can't I pick an external tag in an asset's tag picker?¶
Only the data catalog sync puts external tags on assets or takes them off, so pickers on assets show them but don't let you select them. You can still pick them in a Flow's trigger and anomaly action filters, and in the Explore filters. See External Tags.
Why doesn't an external tag on a table reach the table's fields?¶
External tags spread less than other tags: on a table, they reach the table's checks but not its fields, and on a datastore they stay on the datastore. See Tag Inheritance.
Can I put a team tag on a check template?¶
No. A check template belongs to no datastore, and a team tag only goes on assets in its team's datastores. Use a global tag instead.
Why was my team tag removed from some assets?¶
A team tag only stays on assets its team can access. It is removed when an Admin restricts its scope to another team, or when the team loses access to a datastore. Making the tag global again, or giving the datastore back, does not put it back. See Team Tags.
What happens to a team's tags when the team is deleted?¶
They become global tags and stay on the assets that carry them.
Flows and Operations¶
Can a Flow start only for assets with a tag?¶
Yes. Add the tag to the trigger's filters, and the Flow starts only for events that carry it, such as anomalies tagged PII. See Configure a Trigger.
Can I run a scan on only the tagged tables?¶
Yes. Pick the tables by tag when you start a Profile or Scan. A Scan picked by tag runs the checks of the tagged tables, the checks on tagged fields, and the tagged checks. See Select Tables.
The Tag Page¶
Why are the counts on a tag's page lower than I expected?¶
The page only counts assets in datastores you can access. When the tag is also on assets in other datastores, a note at the top says how many are hidden.
Why do the Assets and Map tabs describe a module instead of listing assets?¶
Those tabs need the Data Catalog module. Without it, the Overview tab still shows the tag's summary, description, footprint, and timeline.
Why do some assets on the Assets tab have no checkbox?¶
Checkboxes appear only on the assets you can edit, since moving or removing the tag changes them. See Tag Permissions.
How do I find a specific asset on the Map tab?¶
From the Assets tab, click Show on map on the asset's row, and the map opens centered on it. On the Map tab itself, type its name or ID in Search assets. See Map Tab.
Why don't resolved anomalies show on the Map tab?¶
The map draws open anomalies only, so it shows where the tag needs attention now. The Assets tab lists every anomaly that carries the tag, resolved ones included.
Moving, Merging, and Deleting¶
What is the difference between moving, merging, and deleting a tag?¶
Moving replaces a tag with another one on some or all of its assets, and both tags stay. Merging switches everything that uses the tag to another tag, then deletes it. Deleting removes the tag from every asset without replacing it. See Moving, Removing, and Merging.
Can I move a tag on only some of its assets?¶
Yes. On the tag's Assets tab, select the assets and click Move to in the selection bar, or pick Specific in the move dialog. See Move a Tag to Another Tag.
Why don't I see Move to, Remove, or Merge on a tag's page?¶
These actions need the Data Catalog module, and Merge also needs the Admin role. They are not offered on external tags. Move to and Remove reach only the assets you can edit.
Can I undo a merge or a delete?¶
No. Both delete the tag, with its history and comments. A merge keeps the assets tagged under the tag that remains, and a delete leaves them untagged.
Can I undo a move?¶
There is no undo. To put the tag back, move the same assets from the other tag back to the original one, picking them with Specific.
Will a Flow that filters on a tag break if I merge the tag?¶
No. The merge switches the Flow's filter to the tag that remains, along with schedules and saved filters. Deleting the tag instead would remove it from the Flow's filter.