---
schema_version: "1"
id: e838ee0518bce803823731ec23f3c3552ae4c52698bd527a496cc239fa2f7c5a
title: Container Paths
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/data/264-0-0/c360_a_container_path.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=data.c360_a_container_path.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 82baee40e8eeb1a7d718d6ec43d22346c60db5474e013e7b6ab53b4dd0a7d289
description: Some containers have multiple paths back to the segmentation entity. When a container has multiple access paths, you can select a path to help Data 360 understand how to build your segment. The paths available when you first create a filter may differ from those available when you edit it later. This is expected behavior driven by relationship-cardinality rules.
products:
  - Data 360
release: "264"
---
# Container Paths

Some containers have multiple paths back to the segmentation entity. When a container has multiple access paths, you can select a path to help Data 360 understand how to build your segment. The paths available when you first create a filter may differ from those available when you edit it later. This is expected behavior driven by relationship-cardinality rules.

## Why path selection matters

When you configure a related attribute filter, the Container Path dropdown lists every valid path from the container object back to your segment-on entity. The path you choose tells the segmentation engine which relationship to traverse, and therefore which group of records to use when building your segment.

For example, an order for a used car has a Buyer ID and a Seller ID, both relating back to the individual. Choosing a path when using order attributes as filter criteria determines which group is used to build the segment: car buyers or car sellers.

## What drives the paths in the dropdown

Data 360 derives the dropdown from the Attribute Library Metadata (ALM) — the model of every relationship between objects in your data graph. ALM finds every path between the container object and your segment-on object, then keeps only the paths that produce a reliable, unambiguous result set.

Paths shown:

- Paths whose hops all narrow toward the segment-on object (each hop maps many records to one)
- Paths whose hops all expand away from the container (each hop maps one record to many)

Paths not shown:

- Paths that mix both directions. It narrows on some hops, and expands on others. Mixing directions can multiply or collapse rows and produce duplicate or ambiguous records.

![Example](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-data-data_cloud-264-0-0-production-enus/f3569962-3c9b-4f83-9d0c-b6a574e785da/images/icon_example.png)

Example

A marketer wants to send a thank-you offer to customers who recently purchased a kitchen appliance. They build a segment on Individual with a filter on the Product container: `Product.Category = Kitchen Appliances`.

Product connects to Individual through two different relationships in the data model, so the Container Path dropdown shows two paths:

- `Product.OrderId > Order.PurchaserId > Individual.Individual ID` — individuals who bought a kitchen appliance.
- `Product.CaseId > Case.SubmittedBy > Individual.Individual ID` — individuals who complained about a kitchen appliance.

Both paths are valid, but they build very different audiences. For a thank-you campaign, the marketer chooses the first path. For a service-recovery campaign, they would choose the second.