Atlan enables you to use spreadsheet tools to collaborate on assets with your team, make bulk metadata updates, and sync changes back to Atlan.
Atlan currently supports the following options for bulk metadata enrichment:
Export assets to spreadsheets
For a fairly large number of assets to be documented, you can export your assets from Atlan to a supported spreadsheet tool and bulk enrich metadata directly from spreadsheets. Atlan currently supports exporting assets to:
- Google Sheets
- Microsoft Excel online
Here is a quick summary of this option:
- An Atlan admin must integrate a supported spreadsheet tool in Atlan to export assets.
- Once assets have been exported, you must install the Atlan extension to enrich assets and sync changes to Atlan.
- Only supported for online versions of Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel.
- Must use an organizational email address to export assets from Atlan.
- Exports basic as well as custom metadata.
- Supports exporting impacted assets.
- Creation of new terms or tags is not supported. To create new terms, admins and members with edit access can bulk upload glossaries.
- Deletion of terms is not supported.
- Does not provide cron support, use custom packages instead.
Refer to How to export assets to get started.
Use Atlan extension in spreadsheets
For a small number of assets to be documented, you can install the Atlan extension in a supported spreadsheet tool and bulk enrich metadata directly from spreadsheets.
Atlan currently supports installing the Atlan extension in:
- Google Sheets
- Microsoft Excel online and desktop versions
Here is a quick summary of this option:
- Must install the Atlan extension for Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel.
- Supports both online and desktop versions of supported spreadsheet tools.
- Only supports basic metadata — custom metadata is not supported, use export assets option instead.
- Supports importing and updating impacted assets.
- Creation of new terms or tags is not supported. To create new terms, admins and members with edit access can bulk upload glossaries.
- Glossary assets are not supported, use export assets option instead.
Refer to How to integrate Atlan with Google Sheets or How to integrate Atlan with Microsoft Excel to get started.
Use custom packages
Atlan's basic and advanced asset export custom packages can power miscellaneous use cases:
- Export to your file storage for reporting and analytics outside Atlan.
- Export to a CSV file, enrich metadata, and then use the asset import package to update in Atlan.
Here is a quick summary of this option:
- Exports to a CSV file.
- Provides an alternative to out-of-the-box solutions if your administrative policies prohibit such integrations.
- The basic package exports almost all backend attributes, recommended for one-off migrations.
- The advanced package offers filtering capabilities, recommended if the scope of the export is limited.
- Both packages are compatible with the asset import package.
- Only admin users can run custom package workflows.
- All attributes except asset relationships are supported.
Refer to Asset export (basic) or Asset export (advanced) to get started.