When to use Desktop
Dataedo Desktop is an optional Windows application that works alongside Dataedo Portal. Portal is Dataedo's primary interface, and you will do nearly all of your work there. Desktop exists to fill a narrow set of gaps that Portal does not yet cover, and is expected to be phased out over time as Portal continues to grow.
Dataedo Portal
Dataedo Portal is a browser-based application designed to empower data analysts, business users, and everyone working with data in an organization. It is designed for day-to-day interactions with the data catalog, allowing you to discover and learn about your organization's data. Portal features a user-friendly interface for browsing cataloged metadata and includes interactive elements that promote collaboration. One of its key components is the Data Community module, which encourages user knowledge sharing, discussions, and Q&A.
Dataedo Desktop
Dataedo Desktop is an optional Windows application used primarily by Data Stewards. It is not a full-featured alternative to Portal — it covers a limited set of operations, and new capabilities are no longer being added to it. Over time, as more of what Desktop does becomes available in Portal, Desktop will be retired.
Desktop exclusive features
The main use of Desktop is limited to features and areas that are not yet covered by Dataedo Portal:
- Bulk actions — making updates across many assets at once, such as editing descriptions or classifications
- Exporting — generating documentation exports in formats such as HTML, PDF, or DDL (Excel export is possible in Portal)
- Exporting comments back to a database
- Managing data sources — while the most widely used data sources can be easily imported in Portal, some sources still have to be imported in Desktop. In the contrary tasks for all established connections can be planned in Portal thanks to Dataedo Agent and Scheduler
- Data Profiling — can be scheduled and configured in Desktop. Portal offers a read-only view
- Lookups — you can only create and edit Lookups in Desktop
- ERD diagrams — diagrams are read-only in Portal. All changes have to be made in Desktop
