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Relation Types

Every edge in the Ontology Explorer graph—and every option in its Relationship Type filter—is backed by a relation type definition. Collate ships with a set of system-defined types (for example Related To, Parent Of, Part Of, Synonym) and lets admins add their own custom types to model relationships specific to their domain.

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Accessing Relation Type Settings

• To access relation type settings, navigate to Settings > Governance > Glossary Term Relations. This page is only visible to admin users.
• The page lists every relation type available in your instance as a table, with a column for each of the following:
  • Name: The unique, system-facing identifier for the relation type.
  • Display Name: The human-readable label shown in the Ontology Explorer graph and filters.
  • Category: Groups the type as Hierarchical, Associative, or Equivalence.
  • Symmetric: Whether the relationship applies equally in both directions (for example, Related To).
  • Transitive: Whether the relationship chains across terms (if A relates to B, and B relates to C, A also relates to C).
  • Cross-Glossary: Whether the relation type can connect terms that belong to different glossaries.
  • Cardinality: The allowed number of source and target terms the relationship can connect.
  • Color: The color used for the type’s edges and badges in the graph.
• System-defined relation types show a lock icon next to their name and can’t be edited or deleted. Custom relation types—added by an admin—can be edited or removed using the icons in the Actions column.

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Adding a Custom Relation Type

1. On the Glossary Term Relations page, click Add Relation Type.
2. On the right panel that appears, configure the following options: Basic details:
   • Name: A required, unique identifier. Must start with a letter and contain only letters and numbers.
   • Display Name: A required, human-readable label.
   • Optional: Description — Add context on what the relationship represents and when to use it.
   • Category: Groups the type alongside similar relationships:
     • Hierarchical: Parent/child style relationships that build a ranked structure, such as Parent Of or Broader.
     • Associative: General related-to style relationships between terms that don’t imply a hierarchy, such as Related To or See Also.
     • Equivalence: Same-as style relationships that mark two terms as interchangeable, such as Synonym.
   Behavior:
   • Cardinality: Constrains how many terms can be connected on each side of the relationship:
     • One-to-One: Each source term can connect to exactly one target term, and each target term to exactly one source term.
     • One-to-Many: Each source term can connect to multiple target terms, but each target term connects back to only one source term.
     • Many-to-One: Multiple source terms can connect to a single target term, but each source term connects to only one target term.
     • Many-to-Many: Any number of source terms can connect to any number of target terms, with no limit on either side.
     • Custom: Set explicit Source Max and Target Max values instead of using one of the presets above—leave either field blank for unlimited.
   • Symmetric: Toggle on if the relationship applies equally in both directions. For example, Related To.
   • Transitive: Toggle on if the relationship chains across terms. For example, if A relates to B, and B relates to C, A also relates to C.
   • Cross-Glossary: Toggle on to allow the relation type to connect terms that belong to different glossaries.
   Display & mapping:
   • Inverse Relation: The name of the relation type that represents this one in reverse. For example, an inverse of Broader would be Narrower.
   • RDF Predicate: The RDF/OWL predicate URI this relation type maps to when RDF indexing is enabled. For example, http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#broader. Collate warns you if a predicate is already used by another relation type.
   • Color: Pick a color to distinguish the relation type’s edges and badges in the Ontology Explorer.
3. Click Add to save the relation type.

After you add a relation type, it’s immediately available as an edge label in the Ontology Explorer graph and as an option in the Relationship Type filter.

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Editing or Deleting a Custom Relation Type

• To edit the relation type, in the Actions column, click the Edit icon and modify the details.
• To delete the relation type, in the Actions column, click the Delete icon.

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