Troubleshooting - Loading data

This section describes problems that can occur when loading and modeling data in Qlik Sense.

A data connection stops working after SQL Server is restarted

Possible cause  

If you create a data connection to a SQL Server, and then restart the SQL Server, the data connection may stop working, and you are not able to select data. Qlik Sense has lost connection to the SQL Server and was not able to reconnect.

Proposed action  

Qlik Sense:

Do the following:

• Close the app, and open it again from the hub.

Qlik Sense Desktop:

Do the following:

1. Close all apps.
2. Restart Qlik Sense Desktop.

Synthetic keys warning when loading data

If you have loaded several files, you may receive a warning that synthetic keys have been created after loading the data.

Possible cause  

If two tables contain more than one common field, Qlik Sense creates a synthetic key to resolve the linking.

See: Synthetic keys

Proposed action  

In many cases, you do not need to do anything about synthetic keys if the linking is meaningful, but it is a good idea to review the data structure in the data model viewer.

Circular references warning when loading data

Possible cause  

If you have loaded more than two tables, the tables can be associated in such a way that there is more than one path of associations between two fields, causing a loop in the data structure.

See: Understanding circular references

Proposed action  

See: Solving circular references

Data selection problems with an OLE DB data source

Possible cause  

If you are not able to select data from an OLE DB data connection, you need to check how the connection is configured.

Proposed action  

Do the following:

1. Verify that the connection string is correctly designed.

2. Verify that you are using appropriate credentials to log on.

See: OLE DB data connections

Syntax error when using a script from a QlikView document

If you get a syntax error when running the script in the data load editor, it may be related to using unsupported script statements or functions.

Possible cause  

Some QlikView script statements are not supported in Qlik Sense.

Proposed action  

Do the following:

• Remove the invalid statement or replace it with a valid one.

See: QlikView functions and statements not supported in Qlik Sense

See: Functions and statements not recommended in Qlik Sense

Character set problems with non-ANSI encoded data files

You may experience problems with character encoding in non-ANSI encoded data files when using an ODBC data connection.

Possible cause  

ODBC data connections do not provide full capabilities for character set encoding.

Proposed action  

Do the following:

• If possible, import the data files using a folder data connection, which supports more options for handling character codes. This is probably the best option if you are loading a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet or a text data file.

Custom connector is not working

You are trying to create a data connection to a third party custom connector in the data load editor, but the connection fails, or an existing connection is labeled as unknown.

The custom connector is not properly installed

Possible cause  

The custom connector is not properly installed according to installation instructions. If an app uses a custom connector on a multi-node site, the connector needs to be installed on all nodes.

Proposed action  

Do the following:

• Verify that the connector is installed according to instructions on all nodes of the site.

Download and install custom connectors

The custom connector is not adapted for Qlik Sense

Possible cause  

QlikView connectors need to be adapted for Qlik Sense if you want to be able to select data.

Proposed action (if you developed the connector yourself with the QVX SDK)

Do the following:

• You need to adapt the connector for Qlik Sense with an interface to select data.

Qlik Sense adaptation

Proposed action (if the connector was supplied to you)

Do the following:

• Contact the connector supplier to acquire a Qlik Sense adapted connector.

Data load script is executed without error, but data is not loaded

The script is executed without syntax or load errors, but data is not loaded as expected. A general recommendation is to activate debug to step through the script and examine execution results, but here are some common causes of error.

See: Debug the data load script

A statement is not terminated with a semicolon

Possible cause  

You have forgotten to terminate a statement with a semicolon.

Proposed action  

Do the following:

• Terminate all statements with a semicolon.

Single quote character inside a string

Possible cause  

A string contains a single quote character in, for example, a SET variable statement.

Proposed action  

Do the following:

• If a string contains a single quote character, it needs to be escaped with an extra single quote.

See: Using quotation marks in the script

Columns are not lining up as expected when selecting data from a fixed record file

Possible cause  

The file uses tab characters to pad the columns. Typically, you will see that the field headings do not line up with the expected data if you select Field breaks in the select dialog.

In this case, the tab character is usually equivalent to a number of characters.

Proposed action  

Do the following:

1. Select No field names in Field names.
2. Select Field breaks.
3. Increase the setting of Tab size until you see the columns lining up with the header.
4. Insert field breaks by clicking at the appropriate column positions.
5. Select Data preview.
6. Select Embedded field names in Field names.

The columns are now lined up properly, and each field should have the correct field name.