It is often simpler than it looks

Often, as we encounter more and more diverse data, we encounter data structures that would appear to call for more and more complex workings to associate them in QlikView. What we need to do though is take a step back and see if there is a different way. My experience is that once I do this, I find that it is often simpler than it looked.

For example, you have 2 or 3 tables that have several fields in common. Some might start down the route of generating complex keys (for example, with autonumber or autonumberhash256) and one or more key tables. A second look might reveal that if we simply concatenate all the tables - even though it appears that they are unlikely candidates for concatenation - then we will suddenly be left with a simple key table and some dimension tables.

Another way of simplifying things that I use all the time is ApplyMap. This is a really useful function (not unlike vlookup in excel) that enables us to map small tables into larger tables. Always look to see if you can do a mapping load.

It is often simpler than it looks.