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Column Bulk Operations

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Overview

Modern data platforms collect data from many systems. APIs generate application data. Databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Oracle store operational records. Data warehouses such as Snowflake or BigQuery power analytics. Files land in storage systems like S3. Search indexes also hold structured data. Across all these systems many columns represent the same concept. For example:

• customer_id
• customer_email
• address
• order_id

These columns can appear thousands of times across tables and services. Managing governance metadata for each instance individually becomes difficult. Teams must update descriptions, tags, and glossary terms one asset at a time. Column Bulk Operations solves this problem by identifying unique column names across the platform and allowing you to manage their metadata in one place. A single update can propagate across every instance of that column.

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How Column Bulk Operations Works

The feature groups columns by their name across the entire metadata platform. For example, a column named customer_id might appear in:

• MySQL tables
• PostgreSQL tables
• Snowflake warehouse tables
• Data lake tables
• Search indexes

Although these columns live in different systems, they represent the same logical field. Column Bulk Operations treats them as a unique column group and allows you to manage them together.

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Accessing Column Bulk Operations

Navigate to: Governance → Column Bulk Operations This page provides a centralized view of all unique columns along with:

• Number of occurrences
• Metadata completeness
• Governance metadata

This view gives a quick understanding of where documentation or governance updates are needed.

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Updating Columns in Bulk

Instead of editing columns one table at a time, you can apply governance metadata across all instances.

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Steps

1. Open Column Bulk Operations
2. Search for a column name

3. Select the column group

4. Click Edit

5. Update metadata

6. Save changes

The update applies to every occurrence of that column.

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Metadata You Can Update

Column Bulk Operations supports several governance updates:

• Column name: Standardize naming across systems.
• Description: Provide a consistent business definition.
• Tags and classifications: Apply governance labels such as PII or Sensitive.
• Glossary terms: Connect columns to business concepts.

These updates ensure that the same column meaning is maintained across the data ecosystem.

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Metadata Status

Column Bulk Operations highlights columns based on their metadata quality:

• Incomplete: Columns missing documentation or governance metadata.
• Inconsistent: Columns where metadata differs across instances. For example, different descriptions or tags.

These indicators help teams quickly identify columns that need attention.

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Filtering Columns

Filters help narrow the scope of governance work. You can filter by:

• Column name
• Metadata status (such as incomplete or inconsistent)
• Service (such as Snowflake or BigQuery)

This helps teams focus on specific domains or systems.

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Lineage Propagation

Column Bulk Operations also works with lineage. As columns move through pipelines and transformations, the governance metadata remains consistent across the data flow. This ensures column definitions stay aligned even as data moves across systems.