[EDI] Exploring data flow with path queries (#59585)

Co-authored-by: Sophie <29382425+sophietheking@users.noreply.github.com>

Author: sabrowning1

content/code-security/how-tos/scan-code-for-vulnerabilities/scan-from-vs-code/exploring-data-flow-with-path-queries.md

@@ -9,25 +9,21 @@ topics:
   - Code Security
   - Code scanning
   - CodeQL
-intro: You can run {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} queries in {% data variables.product.prodname_vscode %} to help you track the flow of data through a program, highlighting areas that are potential security vulnerabilities.
+intro: Detect potential vulnerabilities by running path queries and analyzing your data flow.
 redirect_from:
   - /code-security/codeql-for-vs-code/exploring-data-flow-with-path-queries
   - /code-security/codeql-for-vs-code/getting-started-with-codeql-for-vs-code/exploring-data-flow-with-path-queries
 contentType: how-tos
 ---
 
-## About path queries
+## Prerequisites
 
-A path query is a {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} query with the property `@kind path-problem`. You can find a number of these in the standard {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} libraries.
-
-You can run the standard {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} path queries to identify security vulnerabilities and manually look through the results. For more information about how {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} tracks data flow, see [About data flow analysis](https://codeql.github.com/docs/writing-codeql-queries/about-data-flow-analysis/) in the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} documentation.
-
-Once you're familiar with data flow analysis and existing queries, you can write your own path queries in {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %}. For more information, see [Next steps](#next-steps).
+Before you can effectively use path queries, you should understand the basics of data flow analysis. See [About data flow analysis](https://codeql.github.com/docs/writing-codeql-queries/about-data-flow-analysis/) in the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} documentation.
 
 ## Running path queries in {% data variables.product.prodname_vscode_shortname %} locally
 
-1. Open a path query in {% data variables.product.prodname_vscode_shortname %}.
-1. Right-click in the window with the query open, and select **{% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %}: Run Query on Selected Database**. Alternatively, you can also run this from the {% data variables.product.prodname_vscode_command_palette_shortname %}.
+1. Open a path query in {% data variables.product.prodname_vscode_shortname %}. A path query is a {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} query with the property `@kind path-problem`.
+1. Right-click in the window with the query open, then select **{% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %}: Run Query on Selected Database**. Alternatively, you can also run this from the {% data variables.product.prodname_vscode_command_palette_shortname %}.
 1. Once the query has finished running, you can see the results in the "Results" view (under `alerts` in the dropdown menu). Each query result describes the flow of information between a source and a sink.
 1. Expand the result to see the individual steps that the data follows.
 1. Click each step to jump to it in the source code and investigate the problem further.
@@ -36,8 +32,8 @@ Once you're familiar with data flow analysis and existing queries, you can write
 
 {% ifversion codeql-vs-code-mrva %}
 
-When you are ready to run a path query at scale, you can use the "Variant Analysis Repositories" view to run the query against up to 1,000 repositories on {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom_the_website %}. For more information, see [AUTOTITLE](/code-security/codeql-for-vs-code/getting-started-with-codeql-for-vs-code/running-codeql-queries-at-scale-with-multi-repository-variant-analysis).
+You can use the "Variant Analysis Repositories" view to run a query against up to 1,000 repositories on {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom_the_website %}. See [AUTOTITLE](/code-security/codeql-for-vs-code/getting-started-with-codeql-for-vs-code/running-codeql-queries-at-scale-with-multi-repository-variant-analysis).
 
 {% endif %}
 
-For information about how to use the correct format and metadata for your own path queries, see [Creating path queries](https://codeql.github.com/docs/writing-codeql-queries/creating-path-queries/#creating-path-queries) in the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} documentation. The {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} documentation also contains detailed information about how to define new sources and sinks, as well as templates and examples of how to extend the standard {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} libraries to suit your analysis.
+To start writing your own path queries, see [Creating path queries](https://codeql.github.com/docs/writing-codeql-queries/creating-path-queries/#creating-path-queries) in the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} documentation.