Exploring master data entities and records in IBM Match 360
The master data explorer empowers you to find, view, compare, edit, and analyze your master data entities and the records that comprise them.
When you are working with governed data in the master data explorer, a shield icon 
next
to an attribute name indicates that its values are masked by a data protection rule. For more information about how IBM Match 360 handles governed catalogs, see Working with governed data in IBM Match 360.
In this topic:
Searching for master data
Within the master data explorer, you can run two different types of searches: simple or advanced.
- By using simple search, you can enter one or more search terms into a single text search field, not unlike a standard web search. Simple searches with multiple search terms return results based on
ORlogic, meaning that results are returned when any search term matches. Results that match more search terms are ranked higher than results that match fewer search terms. - By using advanced search, you can build a finely crafted set of search criteria using one or more search rules. Each search rule is defined around a particular attribute in the data model. For example, a search rule can be defined
as
["Primary Address - City" equals "Charlotte"]. This rule runs a search that returns all records or entities that have a value of"Charlotte"in thePrimary Address - Cityfield. You can define as many additional search rules as you need to refine your search results.
You can delete a search rule from a set of advanced search criteria to remove the corresponding rows from your results.
Compare an advanced search with the search rule ["Primary Address - City" = "Charlotte"] with the same search term ("Charlotte") entered into the simple search interface:
- The advanced search returns only records with a
Primary Address - Cityvalue of"Charlotte". - The simple search will return all records that have a value of
"Charlotte"in any data field. So the results would contain not only people who live in the city of Charlotte, but also anybody named Charlotte.
Explore the results of your search in the Explorer view.
Running a simple search
To run a simple text search with one or more terms:
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From the navigation menu, click Master data explorer to open the master data explorer.
-
On the Search tab, type your search terms in the search field. Press Enter or wait a couple of seconds after typing each term.
Double-click a search term to edit it. Click the X for search term to remove it, or click the X beside the search box to remove all terms from the search criteria.
When you add, modify, or remove a search term from the criteria, IBM Match 360 immediately runs the search on the master data and returns the results.
Simple searches with multiple terms return results when any term matches. Results that match more search terms are ranked higher.
Running an advanced search
Advanced searches enable you to refine your search results to see a more precise subset of your data.
If you are working with data from a governed catalog, you might not have permission to create advanced search rules that include protected data unless you are the data owner or manager.
To run a search that uses one or more advanced search rules:
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From the navigation menu, click Master data explorer to open the master data explorer.
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On the Search tab, click Advanced.
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Use the search rule builder tools to define as many rules as you need for this search.
a) From the Select attribute list, choose the attribute that you want to provide search terms for.
b) Choose the type of rule (equals, starts with, ends with, greater than, less than, and so on.).
c) Type the specific search term for this rule.
d) Click Save to keep this rule or Cancel to discard it.
e) Click Add Rule if you need to add another search rule to further refine your results.
To remove a rule, click the X. To remove all search rules, click Delete all rules.
As soon as you create a search rule, IBM Match 360 immediately runs the search on your master data and returns the results in both table view and graph view formats. If you modify a rule or add another, then the results are immediately updated.
-
Optionally, add multiple advanced search rules that use either
ANDorORlogic.- With
ORsearching, results are returned when any rule matches. - With
ANDsearching, results are returned when all rules match.
- With
Exploring record and entity data
IBM Match 360 provides you with a rich and powerful way to explore, view, and visualize the record and entity data in your service instance. You can browse data either graphically or using a table view. You can view the relationships between records in the data, and explore all of the information about a selected person, organization, or other entity at a glance.
To explore record and entity data in the master data explorer interface:
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Search for the data that you want to view. The results are shown in a table view by default.
Exploring data using table view If you want to view and explore your search results graphically in the form of a relationship map, click the Show graph icon
.
Exploring data using graphical view To return to the table view, click the Show table icon
. -
From the search results, use the record or entity's three-dot action menu or Explore icon
to select it
for further exploration in the Explore tab. When you send an entity or record to the Explore tab, you can more closely review its details, compare it to any other entities or records in the Explore tab, or edit it.Send as many records and entities as you need to the Explore tab to view, compare, and optionally edit their details.
To edit a record or entity, click the Edit icon
.Tip: When viewing details of an entity, you might notice an Entity attribute tag beside one or more attributes. The values of these entity attributes are defined directly in the entity, as opposed to being inherited from its member records. Entity attributes are only visible when viewing an entity. To change an entity attribute value, edit the entity. -
Choose the Explore tab to review and compare the details of any entities or records that are selected for exploration. In the Entity explorer panel, you'll see a list of the records and entities that you selected for exploration from the search screen.
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Select the items that you want to explore and compare in detail.
The way IBM Match 360 displays your entities and records in the Explore tab is customizable. For more information, see Defining the way records and attributes are displayed.
Next steps
Learn more
Parent topic: Exploring master data