## Add descriptions

URL: https://docs.atlan.com/product/capabilities/discovery/how-tos/add-descriptions

> You can add descriptions to your assets in Atlan, including tables, views, and individual columns. You can even add a description in the form of a [README](/product/integrations). Doing so enriches your data asset with the relevant contextual information.

You can add descriptions to your assets in Atlan, including tables, views, and individual columns. You can even add a description in the form of a [README](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/governance/integrations/llms.txt). Doing so enriches your data asset with the relevant contextual information.

:::info **Did you know?** 
 The description editor in Atlan also supports Markdown syntax. You can crawl descriptions in Markdown at source, view them in the asset sidebar and profile, and make edits in Markdown directly in Atlan.

:::

## Add descriptions to your assets

To add or update a description for your data asset, follow these steps:

1. On the Atlan homepage, click on **all assets**.

 If you are using the **Old UI (Classic)**, from the left menu on any screen, click **Assets**.

2. On the _Assets_ page, click on an asset to view its _Overview_ in the right menu.
3. Under _Description_, click on the text box to add a description.
4. Once you've added new text or updated the existing one, click anywhere to automatically save your changes.

Your asset description is now live! 🎉

You can also add or edit asset descriptions directly from the asset profile.

:::info **Did you know?** 
 The size limit for description values is 32766 bytes. Depending on the types of characters used, the character limit for descriptions can range from 8191 to 32766 characters.

:::

## Add column descriptions

You can also add a description for a single column rather than an entire data asset. To add column descriptions, follow these steps:

1. On the _Assets_ page, click on an asset to view its asset profile.
2. Under _Column Preview_ in the asset profile, navigate to a column and click **+Add** under _Description_.
3. Once you've entered the text, click anywhere to save it.

## Search using asset descriptions

You can also filter your assets by the keywords in your asset descriptions. Here are the steps:

1. In the _Filters_ menu on the _Assets_ page, click **Properties**.
2. Next, click **Description** from the dropdown menu.
3. In the _Description_ popup display, enter a keyword in the text box.
4. Click on the **downward arrow** and then select the preferred matching condition.
5. To add multiple description filters, click **+** in the _Description_ popup.

The _Assets_ page will now display a list of assets filtered by your description text. You can click **Clear All** in the _Filters_ menu at any time to remove all your filters.

:::warning

If you're using integration code or [custom packages](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/platform/packages/llms.txt) to update asset descriptions, there may be [additional nuances](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/platform/python/change-description/llms.txt) to consider since these can override either (or both) description attributes: `description` and `userDescription`.

:::

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