In this article, we will try to understand what is a Data extension, various ways to access Data extensions. One of the biggest challenges in learning a new language/Application is understanding the Technical terminology. After reading through this article we should be able to correlate Data extensions to other familiar programming languages.
Data Extension is a placeholder with different field/attributes which can hold data. When compared to other programming languages like oracle you can call it as Table which can hold data. Fields in Data extensions can be compared to Columns in Tables. If you are familiar with Salesforce then you can compare this with Salesforce Custom object with Fields which can hold data. If you are from a non-programming background then think this as a Table in your excel or CSV.
Let us understand how we can access data extensions in Marketing Cloud using Email Studio and Audience Builder.
Option 1: Once you login to the Marketing cloud then click on Email Studio and select Email from the Dropdown. After Selecting Emails then navigate to Subscribers dropdown and click on Data Extensions.
Based on your role in the Marketing cloud you will have the ability to view available Data Extensions or create Data Extensions by using create a button on the top right corner. You can see the screenshot below for visualization purposes.
Option 2: We can also access Data Extensions from Audience Builder and by selecting Contact Builder from the dropdown. After Selecting Contact Builder there would be various Tabs displayed on the page and Navigate to Data extensions to select desired Data Extensions.
In order to create a new Data Extension from Contact Builder, Select the Data Extensions tab and click on Create on the Top right Corner. You can see the screenshot below for visualization purposes.
Summary: We have successfully learned various ways to access Data extensions in the Marketing Cloud.
In the next article, we will try to cover different types of Data extensions and how to create a Data extension in the Marketing Cloud.
