---
title: "Soft Keys"
slug: "soft-keys"
updated: 2026-06-12T13:17:04Z
published: 2026-06-12T13:17:04Z
canonical: "knowledge.curiositysoftware.ie/soft-keys"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://knowledge.curiositysoftware.ie/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Soft Keys

Soft keys are foreign key relationships between tables that only exist within Curiosity’s Enterprise Test Data. Adding a soft primary key will not be enforced on the underlying DBMS but they simply allow you to define and document table relationships at the catalog level, independently of the database schema.

### Viewing & Editing Relationships

- Navigate to **Data Dictionary**
- Select the **Definition Structure** tab and choose your definition
- Each table displays relationship tags indicating **Parent** and **Child** associations
- Click on a table to open the **Table Details** pane
- From here you can add **Parent** or **Child** soft foreign keys

### **Adding a Soft Foreign Key**

From the **Table Details** pane:

- Click the green **Child** or **Parent** button next to the relevant table, or use the buttons in the **Foreign Keys** section of the **Table Details** pane
- Give the relationship a name, select the related table, and use **Add Column** **Reference** to map the local and referenced columns
- Click **OK**

Adding soft foreign keys is particularly valuable here, even where metadata harvesting identifies relationships automatically, explicitly defining them reinforces data lineage and makes relationships easier to validate and understand across your definition.

#### **Marking a Column as a Soft Primary Key**

1. Navigate to **Data Dictionary**

2. Select your **Definition** and open your **Table** from the dropdown

3. Click the **Edit** button to the right of the column name you want to flag

4. Expand the **Advanced** section

5. Toggle "**Is Soft PK?**" to enable it

As with soft foreign keys, marking a column as a soft primary key helps document the intended structure of your data - useful for validation activities and for anyone navigating relationships within the platform.

#### Deleting a Soft Key

1. Navigate to Data Dictionary → Definition Structure and select your definition

2. In the Content section, select the table where the soft key exists

3. In the Table Details pane, the Soft Key column indicates:

o ✅ Tick - soft key relationship

o ❌ Cross - hard (DBMS-level) key

4. Click the red X to remove the relationship

Note: Hard foreign keys can also be deleted this way - this only removes them from Curiosity, not from the database itself.