---
title: "How to set the dataset name and description"
description: "Change the Dataset name and Description in Data details. Both save when you leave the field, and the preview card shows the result as you type."
seo:
  title: "Set dataset name and description"
sidebar:
  label: "Set name and description"
---

The `Dataset name` and `Description` identify the dataset in the Data portal and dataset view. The name is required; the description is optional. A layer can have its own map name, so renaming the dataset does not change an existing layer name override.

## Before you start

- You need permission to edit the dataset (Owner, Admin, or an Editor with edit access).
- Choose a name that works in: the data portal listing card, the layer-add picker that shows all your account's datasets, the dataset view header, and any layer that hasn't had its per-map name overridden.
- The description is shown in the data portal card, the layer-add picker (when picking a dataset), and the dataset view's info sidebar. It doesn't appear in maps unless you wire it into a popup template explicitly.

## Open the dataset settings

From the data portal, open the dataset you want to edit. From the dataset view, navigate to `Settings`. The page opens at `Data details`.

<img src="/_assets/dataset-settings/set-dataset-name-and-description--open.png" alt="Data details of a dataset named us_state_capitals with an empty Description field, and the preview card showing us_state_capitals and No description provided" width="1600" height="960" />

## Edit the name

Click the `Dataset name` field and type the new name.

Click out of the field or press Enter to save.

If you leave the field empty, the field doesn't save until you provide a value.

## Edit the description

Click the `Description` field and type. Very long descriptions are shortened on the data portal card.

Click out of the field or tab away to save. Pressing Enter adds a new line because the description is multi-line.

## Verify the result

The preview card on the right of `Data details` updates live as you type.

<img src="/_assets/dataset-settings/set-dataset-name-and-description--renamed.png" alt="Data details after a rename: Dataset name US State Capitals with a green saved check and a Dataset name saved message, a new description typed in, and the preview card showing the new name and description" width="1600" height="960" />

The new name and description show in the `Data portal`, the dataset view, and the layer picker.

## What about layers already on maps

Renaming the dataset changes the dataset's name everywhere — but a layer's name on a specific map can be overridden independently of the dataset name. If you've renamed a layer on a map (via the layer panel), that map keeps the layer's overridden name. Maps where the layer name was never overridden show the new dataset name.

To rename a layer on a specific map, see [Managing layers](/docs/managing-layers).