QlikViewQVDCatelog

A QlikView application that catalogues and measures the data volume stored across a collection of QVD (QlikView Data) files.

Overview

The QVD Catalog reads metadata from QVD files across one or more configured directories and loads it into a QlikView data model. The application gives analysts and developers a clear picture of what data is stored in their QVD layer — including field names, record counts, file sizes, and table structures — without needing to load the underlying data itself.

Features

• Scans multiple directories for QVD files (configurable in the load script)
• Extracts metadata from each QVD including:
  • File name and path
  • Number of records and fields
  • File size and creation/modification dates
  • Field names and data types
• Provides a data model suitable for building charts, tables, and dashboards
• Useful for data governance, capacity planning, and QVD layer documentation

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• QlikView Desktop (or QlikView Server for deployment)
• Read access to the directories containing your QVD files

Configuration

Before reloading the application, open the load script and locate the Configuration section at the top. Set the directories you want to scan as records in the inline table:

// ── Configuration ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
ScanDir:
Load * Inline[
ScanDir
C:\QlikWarehouse\RawData
C:\QlikWarehouse\Transformed
];
// Add additional paths as needed

Adjust the path variables to point to the root folders where your QVD files are stored. The application will scan sub-folders.

Running the Application

1. Open QlikView_QVD_Catelog.qvw in QlikView Desktop.
2. Update the directory paths in the Configuration section of the load script.
3. Save the script and perform a full reload (Ctrl+R or File > Reload).
4. The data model will populate with metadata from all discovered QVD files.

Data Model

The application produces two primary tables linked by key fields.

Table — QVD File Metadata

Field Name	Description
%TableId	Surrogate key uniquely identifying each QVD table (links to Fields and Lineage tables)
Table Full File Name	Full path and filename of the QVD file
Table Folder	Directory path where the QVD file is located
Table File Name	File name of the QVD without the folder path
Table File Size	Size of the QVD file on disk in bytes
Table QV Build No	QlikView build number used when the QVD was created
Table Creator Doc	The QlikView document (.qvw) that created the QVD
Table Create Date	Date the QVD file was created
Table Create Time	Time the QVD file was created
Table Source File Size	Size of the source data before QVD compression
Table Name	Logical name of the table as defined in the creating script
Table Record Byte Size	Average size of a single record in bytes
Table No of Records	Total number of records stored in the QVD
Table Offset	Byte offset to the start of the data section within the QVD file
Table Length	Length of the data section within the QVD file in bytes

Fields — QVD Field Metadata

Field Name	Description
%TableId	Foreign key linking each field record back to its parent QVD in the Table table
FieldName	Name of the field as stored in the QVD
%FieldID	Surrogate key uniquely identifying each field (links to the Tags table)
Field Bit Offset	Bit offset of the field within the QVD record structure
Field Bit Width	Number of bits used to store the field value
Field Bias	Numeric bias applied to the field's stored values
Field Number of Symbols	Count of distinct symbol values in the field's symbol table
Field Offset	Byte offset to the field's symbol table within the QVD file
Field Length	Length of the field's symbol table section in bytes
Field Type	Data type of the field (e.g., ASCII, Integer, Real, Date)
Field Num Decimals	Number of decimal places used for numeric formatting
Field Use Thousands Separator	Whether the field uses a thousands separator when displayed
Field Format	Display format mask applied to the field
Field Dec	Decimal separator character used for the field
Field Thou	Thousands separator character used for the field

Tags — Field Tags

Field Name	Description
%FieldID	Foreign key linking each tag back to its parent field in the Fields table
Field Tag	System or user-defined tag applied to the field (e.g., $date, $numeric, $ascii)

Lineage — QVD Source Lineage

Field Name	Description
%TableId	Foreign key linking the lineage record back to its parent QVD in the Table table
Lineage Discriminator	Identifies the source statement or connection that contributed data to the QVD

This model can be used to build charts showing data volume by directory, tables listing all fields across all QVDs, trend analysis on QVD growth over time, and more.

Use Cases

• Data volume measurement — understand how much data is stored across your QVD layer
• Field discovery — find which QVD files contain a specific field name
• Documentation — generate a living catalogue of your QVD layer
• Capacity planning — monitor file sizes and record counts over time
• Data governance — audit the structure and content of your data lake

File Structure

QlikView_QVD_Catelog/
│
└── QlikView_QVD_Catelog.qvw   # Main QlikView application

License

This project is provided as-is for internal use. See LICENSE for details.