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Adding your own custom data types

This article covers how to extend the masked data types available in your custom_types.ttl file. If you do not already have a custom_types.ttl file, follow the steps for getting one found at the bottom of Masking data with custom data types. If you are already using custom data types, download a copy of the custom_types.ttl file from your organization's ddw-ontologies dataset.

The easiest way to create a new masked data type in your custom_types.ttl file is to copy an existing data type and paste it at the bottom of the file to use as the basis for your new type:

new_data_type.png

Note

If you are unfamiliar with the nomenclature and structure used for .ttl files, see our overview of the custom_types.ttl file

The triples (or lines of the file) you need to change are:

  • The name of the data type in the ontology - hg:masked_us_phone_number a csvw:Datatype;

  • The title for the menu - dc:title "Masked US Phone Number" ;

  • The description - dc:description "US phone number with area code" ; - just

  • How you want it rewritten - dwo:mask [ a dwo:RegexMask; dwo:matchPattern "([0-9]{3})-([0-9]{3})-([0-9]{4})"; dwo:rewritePattern "XXX-XXX-XXXX"]. )

For this example you do not need to change:

  • The expected input format - csvw:format "[0-9]{3}-[0-9]{3}-[0-9]{4}";

Do not change:

  • The location of the definition- dwo:isDefinedIn hg: ;

  • The data type of the output string - csvw:base dwo:maskedString;

Warning

It is a highly recommended to test your new data type on a test table before applying it to production data. If you inadvertently create an invalid data type, you will need to recreate any table you applied it to.

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