XML files

To modify glossary assets outside of the catalog, you can import from and export to a file that is in an XML (Extensible Markup Language) format.

You can export the content to an XML file, edit it, and then import the file. You can edit the XML file with any text editor or XML editor.

XML file content

You can define all aspects of content in the XML file. For example, the file can contain information governance policies, information governance rules, categories and terms and all of the properties of each of these assets. The file can also contain custom attributes and their values, notes, stewardship, synonyms, and any type of relationships that can be defined in IBM® InfoSphere® Information Governance Catalog. The XML file can include relationships among information governance policies, information governance rules, categories, subcategories, and terms, assignment of assets to terms, custom assignments, labels, and collections.

The required structure and syntax of this file is defined by the InfoSphere Information Governance Catalog XML schema. You can download the XML schema and a sample XML file from the Choose Import Format window of the Import wizard in the Administration tab.

Assigned assets themselves cannot be imported from the XML file. If an asset exists in the catalog, you can include assignments from information governance rules or terms to that asset in the XML file. See Import and export file formats for a list of the properties that you can change by using an XML file.

When you select categories that you want to export, the selected categories, their subcategories, and the terms included in any of the categories or subcategories are exported to the file.

Considerations

Note the following points before you export to XML file:
  • You can select individual categories that you want to export. When you export the selected categories, their subcategories, and the terms included in any of the categories or subcategories are exported to the file.
  • You can choose whether to export information governance policies and information governance rules. You cannot choose specific information governance policies or specific information governance rules to export.
Note the following points before you import from XML file:
  • When you import from an XML file, you must specify a merge method to resolve conflicts between the existing and the imported glossary assets.
    In addition to adhering to the merge options that you select, relationships are established during the import process according to the following rules:
    • If an information asset that is assigned to a glossary asset exists in the catalog, the assignment relationship between the information asset and the glossary asset is established.
    • External assets themselves do not exist in the catalog. As a result, no assignment relationship is established between external assets and glossary assets.
    • If a user or user group that is assigned as a steward exists in the catalog, the steward relationship is established.
    • If a user, user group, or an assigned asset does not exist in the catalog, then the relationship between an asset and the assigned asset or between the asset and the steward is not established.
    • Synonym relationships are established only after conflicts between the existing and the imported categories and terms are resolved by the merge method that you select.
  • If assigned glossary assets or stewards do not exist in the target catalog, the imported references to them are discarded. Therefore, before you import a file that contains assignments to glossary assets or stewards:
    • Make sure that the glossary assets exist in the catalog. Import them into the catalog or create them in some other way.
    • Create users and user groups in the catalog and define them as stewards.