System Fields?
During the loading process, QlikView generates special fields that contain information on the internal data structure. Basically these fields contain metadata about the Associative Query Logic (AQL) database.
These fields are called “system fields” and they can be very useful. You can easily recognise them by the $ sign preceding them.
$Field – Lists all the fields loaded
$Table – Lists all the tables loaded
$Rows – Number of rows in the tables
$Fields – Number of fields in the various tables
$FieldsNo – Positions of the fields in the tables (column number)
$Info – The names of the information tables loaded
Showing the System Fields
You can easily show all the System Fields by creating a new sheet in your QV application.
- Create a new sheet (Layout->Add Sheet)
- Right-click on the sheet and select Properties
- Select the Fields tab amd check the box Show System Fields, on the bottom left corner
- Select all the System Fields (i.e. the fields with a $ sign before them)
- Click the Add button and then OK/Apply
As you can see, nothing complex, but when you have several tables and you want to have good overview you can always use this simple technique.
When you only have a few tables you might not find this very useful, but, believe me, as soon as you will start showing some results of what QlikView can achieve, you will be asked to do more complex stuff…
Just make sure you get a good recognition from your boss! 
