You can use tables, flat files, logical data objects, social media objects, and mapping specifications as sources.

If an external source changes, you can synchronize the changes with corresponding source objects in a mapping specification. After you synchronize the changes, the Analyst tool updates the mapping specification to match the changes in the data object. You must open the mapping specification again to view the updated source.

You can search for source columns in the mapping specification. You can add source columns to the target, rules, filters, or joins. You can also automatically map source columns to target columns based on naming conventions and column positions. You can drag multiple source columns to the target to insert between existing target columns.

You can remove a source from the mapping specification. When you remove a source that is referenced by other objects, the Analyst tool displays a lists of referenced objects. If you remove the source that has referenced objects, the mapping specification is not valid.