Handling Circular Reference Error in Qlik Sense Data Model

[yh2023]

I have encountered a circular reference error while trying to create a Qlik Sense data model involving three tables: Visits, Referrals, and Valid Referrals.

I need to establish a common date field and common users_id to enable filtering across all tables and also to connect user information across these tables.

I attempted to create a table called "Common Date" with columns for Common Date, dates from Visits, Referrals, and Valid Referrals tables respectively. Similarly, I created a table named "Common User" with columns for Common Users_id and users_id from each of the three tables.

However, this approach resulted in a circular reference error. I believe this error stems from the interconnections between the tables, which Qlik Sense cannot resolve.

What would be the best approach to resolve this circular reference error and create a functional data model that allows for seamless filtering and analysis across all tables? Any insights or solutions would be greatly appreciated.

Error- 

Thank you.

[PhanThanhSon]

Hi,

If all keys are correct, I would drop or rename some keys so that there are no circular references. Perhaps the following fields could be deleted or renamed accordingly to eliminate the circular reference.

However, I cannot guarantee that the relations will still be accurate.

Best regards Son

[anat]

you can check on "common users" table association with other tables,

now common users table is joining with 3 tables so thats why you are getting circle loop.

[yh2023]

Hi @anat 

The circular error is likely occurring due to the presence of two common tables: one for dates and another for users. In Qlik, there's typically a limit of connecting tables with one common table. However, in this scenario, we have two common tables. Any suggestions on resolving this issue would be greatly valued.

Regards

Bhavya

[yh2023]

Hi @PhanThanhSon 

The names are different for users_id in three tables, had they been same they would be connected.

[Fabiano_Martino_Intelco · Accepted solution]

Hi @yh2023 

if you want to use a table with common dimensions you should pay attention to circular references.

In this scenario concatenated tables or link tables offer a good solution.

I suggest you the following article:

https://community.qlik.com/t5/Design/Concatenate-vs-Link-Table/ba-p/1467569

It is from 2013, but the information i still valid.

I personally prefer concatenated tables, but link tables are also a good solution.

Regards

Fabiano

[yh2023]

Thanks to for the help, I've transitioned to a concatenated model, creating both fact and dimension tables.