Locate & Show

Locate and Show in Diagram

The Locate and Show features in AnalyticsCreator help you visually explore metadata objects within the model diagram. These functions allow you to find, inspect, and understand how objects relate across layers — directly within the graphical interface.

Whether you're tracing a source-to-star flow or debugging a transformation chain, these tools bring metadata to life through contextual, interactive diagrams.

Locate in Diagram

The Locate in Diagram function lets you jump directly to a metadata object (e.g., table, transformation, source) in the active diagram. This is particularly useful in large projects where manually browsing through layers can be time-consuming.

Steps to Use

  1. Open the Search Object dialog or select an object from the navigation tree.
  2. Right-click the object and choose Locate in Diagram.
  3. The diagram will automatically focus on the object’s position and highlight it.

Supported Object Types

  • Sources
  • Source References
  • Tables (staging, DWH, datamart)
  • Transformations
  • Facts and Dimensions

Key Benefits

  • Accelerates model navigation and metadata review
  • Visualizes object context within layers
  • Improves productivity in large-scale models

Show Reference Diagram

The Show Reference Diagram feature allows you to visualize all referential dependencies (i.e., joins, relationships, key references) between selected objects. This is ideal for understanding how a table is used across transformations or where a source is consumed downstream.

Steps to Use

  1. In the diagram or navigation tree, right-click the target object.
  2. Select Show Reference Diagram.
  3. AnalyticsCreator will generate a focused diagram showing the selected object and all its direct or indirect dependencies.

Common Use Cases

  • Understand join chains between source tables and fact tables
  • Trace how one object affects others (e.g., impact analysis)
  • Verify whether all expected relationships are defined

Tip:

Use this feature in combination with Search Object to quickly isolate objects and examine their lineage.

Summary

Feature Purpose Usage
Locate in Diagram Jump to and highlight an existing object in the diagram. Right-click object > Locate in Diagram
Show Reference Diagram Visualize references and dependencies related to an object. Right-click object > Show Reference Diagram

These features together enhance your ability to explore metadata visually, making large and complex models easier to understand and manage.