Action sets

Action sets are groups of actions that appear together in a business view menu to modify one or more records.

Action types

Depending on the entity type, possible actions include:

  • Create to create master or golden records.

  • Edit to edit master, golden, or erroneous records.

  • Import to create or update master or golden records from Excel or CSV files.

  • Copy to copy records.

  • Mass-Update to edit multiple master, golden, or erroneous records.

  • Confirm Duplicates to directly confirm groups of fuzzy-matched records.

  • Review and Confirm Duplicates to confirm groups of fuzzy-matched records after reviewing these groups in detail.

  • Merge or Split Duplicates to reorganize groups of fuzzy-matched records.

  • Review Duplicates Suggestions to accept, reject, or reorganize suggestions made on groups of fuzzy-matched records.

  • Delete to delete golden or master records.

  • Export to export records.

    In the application, selecting the Export action item opens up export options for choosing the exported file format (Excel or CSV) and customizing exported file columns with advanced formatting options. End-users can choose to export:

    • Either the attribute name, label, or both in column headers.

    • Either the code, label, or both for lists of values.

    • Either the display name, ID, or both for references.

  • Browse Graph for a given record to graphically navigate the relationships from and to this record.

  • Explain Record for a fuzzy-matched record to graphically view the matches and consolidated values.

  • Start Workflow to trigger data-driven workflows.

Actions that create or modify records (Create, Edit, Import, Copy and Mass-Update) require a stepper or a workflow to perform the operation.

Import actions process records sequentially and execute enrichers, validations, and triggers based on the selected stepper’s configuration. Therefore, they are not suitable for importing massive files in the range of 10,000 rows or more. For such use cases, it is recommended to use ETL/ELT tools designed for bulk imports.

Similarly, actions that manage duplicate records (Merge or Split Duplicates and Review Duplicates Suggestions) require a duplicate manager and are available only for fuzzy-matched entities.

Create action sets

To create an action set:

  1. Right-click the Action Sets node under an entity and select Add Action set. The Create Action Set wizard opens.

  2. In the Create New Action Set wizard, enter the following values:

    • Name: the internal name of the object.

    • Label: a user-friendly label for this action that appears in the action menu.

  3. Select the Create Default Action to have the wizard seed default actions in the action set.

  4. Click Finish to close the wizard.

The Action Set editor opens, optionally with default actions created.

Add actions to action sets

To add new actions:

  1. In the Action Set editor, scroll down to the Actions table.

  2. Click the Add Action Add Action button in the table toolbar.
    The Create New Action wizard opens.

  3. In the wizard:

    • In the Authoring Actions section, from the Authoring Method drop-down list, select a Stepper or a Legacy Workflow if you want to add data authoring actions. Stepper and legacy workflow selections are mutually exclusive.

    • In the Workflow Actions section, select the Start Workflow checkbox if you want the action to trigger a data-driven workflow, and then select a workflow definition and a start event from their respective drop-down menus.

      The Start Workflow action item exclusively appears in the OptionsOptions menu when browsing the type of records (i.e., golden data, source authoring data with errors or golden data with errors) that is specified in the startup context properties of the selected start event.

    • In the Duplicates Management section, select a duplicate Manager if you want to add duplicate management actions.

    • In the Import/Export Actions section, select the actions (Create, Edit, Import, etc.) you want to add. Some actions may be unavailable if their requirements are not met.

  4. Click Finish to close the wizard.
    The selected actions are added to the action set.

  5. Use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to reorder the actions in the action set. The items in the action menu will appear in that order.

Action requirements

Actions are available under certain conditions:

  • Duplicate Management and Explain Record actions are not available for basic or ID-matched entities.

  • Delete is only available for entities with Delete Enabled.

  • Copy is only available for entities with an ID Generation set to UUID or Sequence.

  • Authoring actions require that you select a stepper that is valid for the selected action:

    • Create: the root collection step must have one child step enabled on parent create operations.

    • Edit and Mass-Update: the root collection step must have one child step enabled on parent edit operations.

    • Import: the root collection step must enable child import on parent create operations.

    • Copy: the root collection step must enable child copy on parent edit operations.

  • Workflow actions require that you select a workflow definition and a start event.

Configure actions

To configure actions:

  1. In the Action Set editor, scroll down to the Actions table.

  2. Select an action in the table.

  3. In the Properties view, configure the action properties:

    • Name and Definition:

      • Name, Label, and Description.

      • Required Role: (optional) select a role required to perform this action.

      • Icon: select an icon representing the action in the menu.

    • In the Action Configuration tab, configure how the action should behave depending on the record selection:

      • Condition (available for Edit, Copy, Mass Update, Delete, and all duplicate management actions): the SemQL condition that must be met by all select records for this action to be available in the menu. When a large number of records is selected (using Select All), the action is available in the menu and this condition is processed when the action is started.

      • Support Multiple Selection (available for Edit, Copy or Delete): select this option to support this action when multiple records are selected.

      • Items Limit (available for Edit, Copy, Mass Update, Delete, and all duplicate management actions): set the maximum number of the records that can be processed by the action simultaneously. Above that limit, users will be prompted to confirm the action. Leave this property empty for no limit.

Configure data authoring actions

If configuring a data authoring action, in the Action Configuration tab, set the following properties:

  • Stepper/Workflow (only for authoring actions): stepper or workflow used to perform the action.

  • Support Multiple Creation (available for Create): select this option to support cyclic record creation.

  • Created Record Type (available for Create): select the type of records that should be created. See Data authoring patterns for more information about master- and golden-data creation.

    • Golden Records creates new golden records that only exist in the MDM and are unrelated to source publishers.

    • Master Records (only for ID- and fuzzy-matched entities) creates master records on behalf of publishers. These records require that you provide the publisher, and they are matched and merged. They may be updated later on by records pushed by publishers with the same source ID.

  • Imported Record Type (available for Import): select the type of records that should be handled by the import. See Data authoring patterns for more information about golden- and master-data import.

    • Golden Records imports new golden records or changes to existing golden records that only exist in the MDM. If importing golden data on a record consolidated from publishers, such an import is considered an override.

    • Master Records (only for ID- and fuzzy-matched entities) imports new or changes existing master records on behalf of publishers. These records require that you provide the publisher, and they are matched and merged. They may be updated later on by records pushed by publishers with the same source ID.

  • Default Publisher (only for Import and Create): this option is available for an ID-matched or a fuzzy-matched entity when importing or creating master records. This is the publisher on behalf of which the master records are imported or created by default.

  • Allow Other Publishers: (only for Import and Create): this option is available for an ID-matched or a fuzzy-matched entity when importing or creating master records. It allows the user to select the publisher on behalf of which the records are created, or load the publisher from a column when importing.

  • Available For Golden Data (available for Mass-Update and Edit): select this option to support this action when browsing golden data. See Data authoring patterns for more information about golden-data authoring.

  • Available for Master Data (available for Mass-Update and Edit): select this option to support this action when browsing master data. See Data authoring patterns for more information about master-data authoring.

  • Available for Erroneous Data (available for Mass-Update and Edit): select this option to support this action when browsing errors. See Data authoring patterns for more information about erroneous-data authoring.

  • Import Mode (available for Import): defines if records can be created and/or updated with the action:

    • Create and Update (default): creates and updates records.

    • Create: only creates new records. Existing records cannot be updated with this action.

    • Update: only updates existing records. New records cannot be created with this action.

  • Show the Wait Dialog on Finish (available for Create, Edit, Mass Update, Import). If this option is selected:

    • A wait dialog is displayed to the end-users when they submit the stepper until the certification process ends.

    • When the certification process is complete, the page from which the action was called refreshes automatically.

Configure duplicate management actions

If configuring a duplicate management action, in the Action Configuration tab, set the following properties:

  • Duplicate Manager (available for duplicate management actions): the duplicate manager used to perform this action.

  • Enable Edit (available for Review and Confirm Duplicates, Merge or Split Duplicates, and Review Duplicates Suggestions): select this option to allow editing the values merged into the golden records while managing the duplicates.

  • Mandate Confirm All (available for Review and Confirm Duplicates): select this option to force the user to confirm all the duplicates he has to review.

  • Mandate Resolve All Suggestion (available for Review Duplicates Suggestions): select this option to force the user to confirm all the suggestions he has to review.

  • Prompt Golden ID (available for Review Duplicates Suggestions): select this option to prompt the user for the surviving Golden ID when he merges two golden records while processing duplicates suggestion.

  • On Finish Job (available for Confirm Duplicates): select the job to run when the duplicates confirmation is submitted. If you leave this property empty, Semarchy xDM automatically generates a job for you.

  • Show the Wait Dialog on Finish. If this option is selected:

    • A wait dialog is displayed to the end-users submitting the duplicate manager until the certification process ends.

    • When the certification process is complete, the page from which the duplicate manager was opened refreshes automatically.

Configure a delete actions

If configuring a delete action, in the Action Configuration tab, set the following properties:

  • Delete Type (available for Delete): define the type of delete applied with this action. For more information, see Record deletion.

  • Available For Golden Data: select this option to support deleting golden data. For more information about golden data deletion, see Record deletion.

  • Available for Master Data: select this option to support deleting master data. For more information about master data deletion, see Record deletion.

  • On Finish Job (available for Delete): select the job to run when record deletion is submitted. If you leave this property empty, Semarchy xDM automatically generates a job for you.

  • If configuring an explain record action, in the Action Configuration tab, set the following properties:

    • Display Card: select the display card used to represent the records in the graph.

    • Form Tab: select the form tab used to show the values of a record.

    • Show the Wait Dialog on Finish. If this option is selected:

      • A wait dialog is displayed to the end-users when they confirm the deletion until the certification process ends.

      • When the certification process is complete, the page from which the delete action was triggered refreshes automatically.

Once the action sets are created, you can use them in business views to start data management operations, possibly using steppers or workflows.