Managing data in the app with the Data manager

The Data manager is where you add and manage data from your own data sources, or from Qlik DataMarket, so that you can use it in your app.

There are two views in data manager:

• ▶ Associations

  You can create and edit association between tables.

• ' Tables

  You get an overview of all data tables in the app, whether you added them using Add data, or loaded them with the data load script. Each table is displayed with the table name, the number of data fields, and the name of the data source.

Previewing a data table

You can preview a table to see which columns it contains, and a sample set of the data.

Do the following:

1. Select the data table you want to preview.

A preview of the table data set is displayed.

Adding a new data table

You can quickly add a data table to your app, by clicking Add data in Data manager or in the ¨ menu.

You can add data from the following data source types:

See: Adding data to the app

Editing a data table

You can edit all the data tables that you have added with Add data. You can rename the table and fields in the data table, and update the fields from the data source. It is also possible to add a calculated field and adjust date and time formats.

Do the following:

1. Click @ on the data table you want to edit.

   The data table editor opens, and you can perform the edits and transformations you want to do.

2. Click Close to return.

The table is now marked Pending update, and the changes will be applied to the app data the next time you reload data.

See: Editing a table

Deleting a data table

Do the following:

• Click Ö on the data table you want to delete.

The table is now marked Pending delete and will be removed the next time you reload data.

You can undo and redo your delete actions by clicking B and C.

Managing data table associations

When you add several tables that need to be associated, the perfect situation is that the tables associate with key fields that have identical names in the different tables. If that is the case, you can add them to Qlik Sense with the Load data and finish option of Add data, and the result will be a data structure with the tables associated correctly.

If you have less than ideal data sources, there are a number of possible association problems.

• If you have loaded two fields containing the same data but with a different field name from two different tables, it's probably a good idea to name the fields identically to relate the tables.
• If you have loaded two fields containing different data but with identical field names from two different tables, you need to rename at least one of the fields to load them as separate fields.
• If you have loaded two tables containing more than one common field.

If you need to load data with possible association problems, we recommend you to use the Prepare data option of Add data. Qlik Sense performs data profiling of the data you want to load to assist you in fixing the table association. Existing bad associations and potential good associations are highlighted, and you get assistance with selecting fields to associate, based on analysis of the data.

You can manage table associations in two different ways:

• In the ▶ Associations view of data manager.

  You can create associations based on recommendations, or create custom associations based on one or more fields.

  See: Managing data associations

• Using the Associate option in the table editor.

  You can create custom associations and composite key associations based on several fields.

  See: Managing associations to other tables

Applying changes and reloading data

Changes that you have made in the Data manager will not be available in the app until you have reloaded data. When you reload data, the changes are applied and any new data that you have added is loaded from the external data sources. Data that you loaded previously is not reloaded.

If the data in Data manager is out of synch with the app data, the Load data button is green. In the Associations view, all new or updated tables are indicated with *, and deleted tables are a lighter color of gray. In the Tables view, all new, updated, or deleted tables are highlighted in blue and display an icon that shows the status of the table:

• Tables marked with Pending delete Ö will be deleted.
• Tables marked with Pending update ô will be updated with fields that have been added, renamed, or removed, or the table will be renamed.
• Tables marked with Pending add m will be added.

Do the following:

• Click Load data to load the changes in the app.

The app data is now updated with changes you made in Data manager.

Undo and Redo actions in Data manager

When you are editing in Data manager, you can undo or redo some actions by clicking B and C, or by using the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl + Z and Ctrl + Y.

The log of actions is cleared if you:

• Change view, for example, going from the table overview to Associations.
• Load data.
• Close Data manager.

Concatenated tables

If the field names and the number of fields of two or more added tables are exactly the same, Qlik Sense will automatically concatenate the content into one table.

See: Concatenating tables

Splitting a concatenated table

If it wasn't your intention to create a single concatenated table, you can split the concatenated table into its component tables.

Do the following:

1. Select the concatenated table.

2. Click →.

   You will see a preview of the tables that will be created as a result of the split.

3. Click Split.

The table is now split into its component tables. All fields in the component tables are qualified, that is, they are renamed to include the table name and a period character as prefix.

Example:  

Table1 and Table2 both contain the fields Field1 and Field2. When you add them in Data manager, they are concatenated to a table called Table1-Table2 with the same fields, Field1 and Field2.

If you split Table1-Table2, the result is two tables:

• Table1 with fields Table1.Field1 and Table1.Field2
• Table2 with fields Table2.Field1 and Table2.Field2

Interaction between Data manager and the data load script

When you add data tables in the Data manager, data load script code is generated. You can view the script code in the Auto-generated section of the data load editor. You can also choose to unlock and edit the generated script code, but if you do, the data tables will no longer be managed in the Data manager. Data tables defined in the load script are not managed in the Data manager. That is, you can see the tables in the data overview, but you cannot delete or edit the tables in Data manager, and association recommendations are not provided for tables loaded with the script.

You can add script sections and develop code that enhances and interacts with the data model created in Data manager, but there are some areas where you need to be careful. The script code you write can interfere with the Data manager data model, and create problems in these cases:

• Renaming or dropping tables added with Data manager in the script.
• Dropping fields from tables added with Data manager.
• Concatenation between tables added with Data manager and tables loaded in the script.
• Using the Qualify statement with fields in tables added with Data manager.
• Loading tables added with Data manager using Resident in the script.

See: Edit the data load script