Disable Data Exports and Downloads

Applies from 2022.2

In order to comply with security requirements at your company, you may need to disable certain ways of obtaining data from Alation. There are two settings for disabling data exports and downloads in Alation:

  • Disabling exports for all data sources

  • Disabling both exports and downloads for individual data sources

Disable Exports for All Data Sources

Server Admins can turn off the ability to use Compose to export data. This affects all data sources and disables the Export button in Compose. All options normally available through this button will be unavailable, including Run & Export Full Query, Run & Export Current Statement, and Run & Export as Script.

../../_images/Compose_ExportDisabled.png

To disable exports for all data sources:

  1. In Alation, click on the Settings gear icon in the top right corner. This opens the Admin Settings page.

    ../../_images/TopNavigationBar_Gear.png

  1. Under the Server Admin section, click Compose Settings.

  2. Click the Allow Query Exports toggle to enable or disable it.

Disable Exports and Downloads for an Individual Data Source

Data Source Admins can disable both exports and downloads for individual data sources. This prevents all export and download actions for the given data source wherever such actions are available in Alation. The following options will be disabled or removed:

  • The Export button in Compose

    ../../_images/Compose_ExportButton.png

  • The Download Excel Live Reports option under the Share button in Compose

    ../../_images/Compose_ShareButton_DownloadExcelLiveReport.png

  • The Download button on the Results tab in Compose

    ../../_images/Compose_ResultsTab_DownloadButton.png

  • The Export button that appears above tables on execution result pages, query form pages, and table catalog pages

    ../../_images/TableExportButton.png

  • The Download Result Table link on execution session pages

    ../../_images/ExecutionSessionPage_DownloadResultTable.png

To disable exports and downloads for a single data source:

  1. Select the Apps menu in the top right of the toolbar.

  2. Select Sources.

  3. Select the data source you want to modify.

  4. In the data source menu in the top right corner, select More.

  5. Select Settings.

  6. If there’s a Compose tab, select it. If not, select the General Settings tab.

  7. Scroll down to the Allow Export and Download toggle and enable or disable it as desired.

Combining Both Options for Disabling Exports and Downloads

If you disable exports with one setting but enable them with another, exports will remain disabled (for the data sources affected by the disabled setting). The following table goes into more detail about all the combinations.

Allow Query Exports for all data sources

Allow Export and Download for an individual data source

Enabled

Enabled

All export and download options are available.

Enabled

Disabled

All export and download options are unavailable for the individual data source. All export and download options are available for every other data source.

Disabled

Enabled

The Export button in Compose is unavailable for all data sources. Other options for downloading data are available for the individual data source.

Disabled

Disabled

The Export button in Compose is unavailable for all data sources. All export and download options are unavailable only for the individual data source.