Profiles are encyclopedia-like articles, with a heading, dates of birth and death, a short "definition" and a general statement about the person, place, organization, etc. However, they differ sharply from such articles by stressing primarily the relationship to Heinrich or Jeanette Schenker, or their circle, of the entity being defined. In the case of persons, the more widely known that person is, the less space is devoted to their life and career, and proportionally the more to the Schenker relationship.

Major historical figures such as Mozart, Goethe, and Shakespeare, though frequently mentioned in Schenker's writings, are not currently assigned profiles at all. They are coded as composer, dramatist, etc., so that they can be searched for by category. However, profiles for certain such major figures will be created in due course; that for Beethoven is already on the site.

Any correspondence between a person and the Schenkers (and in some cases those in Schenker's circle) is enumerated and briefly described. Where relevant, a short, select bibliography is given, and the sources used by the contributor of the profile are listed.

The primary form of a place name is the German name of Schenker's time (thus Ypren, not Ypres; Bozen, not Bolzano; Lemberg, not L'vov or L'viv), but other forms are given in square brackets following the primary form (e.g. Sereth [Siret]; Premysl [Cz.: Přemysl; Pol.: Przemysl]). The locations of places are given with the regions existing at the time (e.g. Galicia, Bukovina), but the subsequent locations are given in the text where possible.