How to Relate Enterprise Glossary Terms to Columns in a Data Asset Table

Question

How to Relate Enterprise Glossary Terms to Columns in a Data Asset Table

David Carr 20

I have published business terms into the Enterprise Glossary as shown

User's image

I want to relate Glossary Terms to columns in table so that the business context is provided, but the terms are not available to select, as shown. User's image

Can I relate Enterprise Glossary Terms to columns to provide business context to data users?

I have read many articles, and nothing confirms if I can achieve this. I do not want to have to use the Classic Glossary and then need to maintain alignment between the classic and Enterprise glossaries and glossary relationships.

Thanks.

David Carr 20 Reputation points

2025-03-03T00:46:58.4666667+00:00

Thanks @phemanth for the quick response. Unfortunately step 2 does not allow me to relate any Enterprise Glossary terms to tables or columns. It only allows me to relate Classic Glossary Terms to the data catalogue. To follow step 3 would mean duplicating and maintaining alignment of business terms across the two glossaries which would be significant additional effort. It would also be challenging as the Enterprise Glossary does not have the ability to export/ import business terms to support a process to keep them aligned. Additionally, other data assets related to the Enterprise glossary terms, such as data policies, would not have the relationships established in the Classic Glossary Terms so this important information would be lost to data users.

Is there a reason that I cannot perform step 2 and see and relate Enterprise Glossary Terms to tables and columns, is there a change I can apply to allow this to work?

Is there planned new functionality to enable this to operate in the near future and remove the need to use the Classic Glossary Terms?

Thanks.
phemanth 14,560 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-03-10T02:59:31.8+00:00

@David Carr We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if you have a resolution yet. In case if you have any resolution please do share that same with the community as it can be helpful to others. Otherwise, will respond with more details and we will try to help.
phemanth 14,560 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-03-11T05:31:41.0466667+00:00

@David Carr Just checking in to see if the below answer helped. If this answers your query, do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

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David Carr 20 Reputation points

2025-03-03T00:46:58.4666667+00:00

Thanks @phemanth for the quick response. Unfortunately step 2 does not allow me to relate any Enterprise Glossary terms to tables or columns. It only allows me to relate Classic Glossary Terms to the data catalogue. To follow step 3 would mean duplicating and maintaining alignment of business terms across the two glossaries which would be significant additional effort. It would also be challenging as the Enterprise Glossary does not have the ability to export/ import business terms to support a process to keep them aligned. Additionally, other data assets related to the Enterprise glossary terms, such as data policies, would not have the relationships established in the Classic Glossary Terms so this important information would be lost to data users.

Is there a reason that I cannot perform step 2 and see and relate Enterprise Glossary Terms to tables and columns, is there a change I can apply to allow this to work?

Is there planned new functionality to enable this to operate in the near future and remove the need to use the Classic Glossary Terms?

Thanks.
phemanth 14,560 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-03-10T02:59:31.8+00:00

@David Carr We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if you have a resolution yet. In case if you have any resolution please do share that same with the community as it can be helpful to others. Otherwise, will respond with more details and we will try to help.
phemanth 14,560 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-03-11T05:31:41.0466667+00:00

@David Carr Just checking in to see if the below answer helped. If this answers your query, do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

Answer 1

@David Carr

Thanks for the question and using MS Q&A platform.

Yes, you can relate Enterprise Glossary Terms to columns in a data asset table to provide business context to data users.

Here are the steps to achieve this:

Create Glossary Terms: Ensure that your glossary terms are created and published in the Enterprise Glossary.
Link Glossary Terms to Data Assets: You can link glossary terms to data assets, including tables and columns. This can be done through the data catalog or data governance tool you are using. For example, in Microsoft Purview, you can link glossary terms to data assets by navigating to the data asset and selecting the appropriate glossary term from the glossary term picker
Use the Classic Portal if Necessary: If the terms are not available to select in the new portal, you might need to use the classic portal to create and link the glossary terms. Once the terms are added using the classic portal, they should be available to assign at the asset and schema level
Verify the Links: After linking the glossary terms to the columns, verify that the links are correctly established and that the business context is provided to the data users.

For more details, refer to How to create and manage glossary terms (Preview).

For more details, refer to Glossary terms in Microsoft Purview (Preview).

I hope this information helps. Please do let us know if you have any further queries.

Kindly consider upvoting the comment if the information provided is helpful. This can assist other community members in resolving similar issues.

phemanth 14,560 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-03-07T07:34:24.7833333+00:00

@David Carr

It seems like you're facing a significant challenge with the current limitations of the Enterprise Glossary in Microsoft Purview.

To address your concerns:

The inability to relate Enterprise Glossary terms directly to tables and columns might be due to current feature limitations in Microsoft Purview. This is a known issue that many users have encountered.

Potential Workarounds: Unfortunately, without the ability to export/import business terms or directly link Enterprise Glossary terms, the workaround would involve using the Classic Glossary, as you mentioned. However, this is not ideal due to the additional effort required.

Future Functionality: Microsoft frequently updates its products based on user feedback. It would be beneficial to check the Microsoft Purview roadmap or submit a feature request through the Microsoft feedback portal. This way, you can stay informed about any upcoming features that might address this limitation.
David Carr 20 Reputation points

2025-03-10T04:42:30.6533333+00:00

You have provided me with the answer. Thanks.

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How to Relate Enterprise Glossary Terms to Columns in a Data Asset Table

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