Alation Chrome Extension

Alation Cloud Service Applies to Alation Cloud Service instances of Alation

Applies only to Alation Cloud Service on the cloud native architecture

Available from 2024.3.2

Alation Anywhere is a set of features that integrate Alation with other apps, so you can access and use Alation data within apps you already use daily.

The Alation Chrome Extension enables any Alation user to search the data catalog from within their Chrome browser and retrieve a preview of the catalog content without having Alation open in a separate tab. By using the Alation Chrome Extension, you can get more work done without leaving the context of your important work applications.

Alation’s Chrome Extension provides additional benefits for other popular platforms:

  • Snowflake Snowsight users can get additional context on schemas and tables directly within Snowflake. For data analysts, the integrated experience of seeing Snowflake content alongside the corresponding metadata from Alation improves productivity and reduces errors.

  • Users on Looker web pages can access Alation metadata directly through the extension for Dashboards, Folders, and Reports, provided these Looker objects are cataloged in Alation.

  • Power BI users can view Alation catalog details for reviewed objects directly within the Power BI cloud environment.

Install the Alation Chrome Extension

To install the Alation Chrome Extension:

  1. In your Chrome browser, visit the Alation Chrome Extension page on the Chrome Web Store.

  2. Click on Add to Chrome on the right, then click Add extension to confirm. The extension is installed.

  3. Click the extension (puzzle) icon at the top right corner of Chrome browser, then click Alation to open the extension.

  4. Select or enter the URL of your Alation instance, then click Sign In to log in with your Alation login credentials. The user of the Alation Chrome Extension must be an Alation user.

Upgrade the Alation Chrome Extension

If you have installed a previous version, there is no need to reinstall. Chrome will automatically download and install a newer version of the extension.

Check out the Alation Chrome Extension Release Notes for the latest features and improvements.

Use the Alation Chrome Extension

  • Use Intelligent Search to find assets through Alation and refine results with filters without leaving the Chrome browser or opening Alation. Highlight any text in a web page, right-click, and select Search in Alation to search for the highlighted text in Alation.

  • Preview metadata of data objects such as data sources, schemas, tables, and columns, as well as business intelligence objects, inside the Chrome Extension.

  • If you’re actively using Snowflake Snowsight in database navigation mode, you can browse a schema or a table in Snowflake Snowsight, and the metadata preview from Alation of the corresponding schema or table appears.

  • Users on Looker web pages can access Alation metadata directly through the extension for Dashboards, Folders, and Reports, provided these Looker objects are cataloged in Alation.

  • Users of Power BI can view Alation catalog details for reviewed objects directly within the Power BI cloud environment.

  • Click on the Chrome extension to browse through additional details about object metadata.