Ruleset Files
A ruleset file (.ruleset) is essentially a collection of rules, organized by Data Type and Field Name Pattern. These rules can be applied to any data profile that contains fields of the specified data type and field names matching the defined pattern.
The ruleset file is not provided by default, but you can create one. There is no limit to the number of .ruleset files you can create, and they can be manually edited if needed.
The saved rules within a ruleset file can be quickly added to a profile (
Import Ruleset) and conversely, existing rules within a profile can be saved to a ruleset file (
Export Ruleset). When you add rules from a ruleset file to a profile, a copy of the rule is created and added to the profile. This enables you to modify the rules within the profile without affecting the original rule in the ruleset file.
When adding a rule within a ruleset file, the user must specify both a data type and a corresponding field name pattern. There is a structured association between data types and profile rules. Each data type is supported by a distinct subset of profile rules, ensuring that the application of rules remains contextually appropriate. For instance, a rule designed for date data types is restricted from being applied to numeric fields. This behavior ensures that each rule is applied only to the data types for which it was specifically designed, enhancing the accuracy and reliability of ruleset file rules.
Note that rules that are added in a ruleset file operate differently from rules that are added in a profile. When you add a rule within a profile the rule resides in that profile, and is associated with a particular field of a connected data source or a derived field. Whereas when you add a rule to a ruleset file, the rule is not part of any profile, nor is it associated with any particular field of a connected data source. Instead, the ruleset file rules are associated with a data type and field name pattern that you specify. This way, the ruleset rules can be applied to any number of datasets that have a datetype/field pattern match.
To manage where the ruleset files are stored, you can set the Ruleset Files Location preference (see
Setting Data Profile Preferences). This preference defines the default save location for .ruleset files and is used when loading or saving rules through browse dialogs. Centralizing your rules in a dedicated location not only enables rule reuse across multiple profiles but also eliminates the need to recreate them each time. You can also browse to a different location during ruleset import or export, if needed.
Some key concepts related to ruleset files are:
• A ruleset file consists of one or more collections of rules.
• Each rule collection contains a group of rules relevant to a specific data type and field name pattern. Thus a rule collection can be applied to fields of a specified data type with names that match a specified named pattern.
• The Field Name Pattern represents the specified value used to identify similarly named fields in the source dataset. Field name patterns allow for wildcard matching using the asterisk (*) character. This feature is particularly useful when reusing profile rules through a ruleset file, as it allows a single rule to match multiple similar fields (for example, *name will match first_name, middle_name, and last_name) when applying the ruleset file rules to a profile. The field name patterns are case insensitive.
Refer to the following topics for more information:
Last modified date: 01/08/2026