[[tutorial-define-index]] == Defining Your Index Patterns Each set of data loaded to Elasticsearch has an index pattern. In the previous section, the Shakespeare data set has an index named `shakespeare`, and the accounts data set has an index named `bank`. An _index pattern_ is a string with optional wildcards that can match multiple indices. For example, in the common logging use case, a typical index name contains the date in MM-DD-YYYY format, and an index pattern for May would look something like `logstash-2015.05*`. For this tutorial, any pattern that matches the name of an index we've loaded will work. Open a browser and navigate to `localhost:5601`. Click the *Settings* tab, then the *Indices* tab. Click *Add New* to define a new index pattern. Two of the sample data sets, the Shakespeare plays and the financial accounts, don't contain time-series data. Make sure the *Index contains time-based events* box is unchecked when you create index patterns for these data sets. Specify `shakes*` as the index pattern for the Shakespeare data set and click *Create* to define the index pattern, then define a second index pattern named `ba*`. The Logstash data set does contain time-series data, so after clicking *Add New* to define the index for this data set, make sure the *Index contains time-based events* box is checked and select the `@timestamp` field from the *Time-field name* drop-down. NOTE: When you define an index pattern, indices that match that pattern must exist in Elasticsearch. Those indices must contain data.