An Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD), also known as an E-R Diagram, is a visual representation of data objects and their logical structure as entities, attributes, and relationships.
In an ERD, an entity is represented as an object or concept that has distinctive properties which are stored as attributes. Entities are illustrated in the diagram as boxes. Each entity box contains the associated attributes that comprise the left- or right-hand side of the compound join.
Only joins that you validate as permanent are included in ERDs. You can generate ERDs for a single join, a selection of multiple joins, or for all permanent joins.
In an ERD, the diagram illustrates:
- The relationship of how two entities share information in the data structure.
- Entity cardinality; how multiple instances of an entity relate to one instance of another entity.
- Show example:
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To print an ERD, click the "Print" command in the Windows ribbon.