How to Work with Dependencies

2026-04-10
Morten Lønskov

Applies to:

✔ Tabular Editor 2
✔ Tabular Editor 3

The TOM wrapper tracks which objects reference which other objects through the DependsOn and ReferencedBy properties. Use these for impact analysis, finding unused objects and understanding DAX lineage.

Note

The DependsOn and ReferencedBy properties expose the same dependency information shown in the Dependency View in Tabular Editor's UI.

Quick reference

// What does this measure depend on? (direct)
measure.DependsOn.Columns     // columns referenced in DAX
measure.DependsOn.Measures    // measures referenced in DAX
measure.DependsOn.Tables      // tables referenced in DAX
measure.DependsOn.Count       // total direct dependency count

// Transitive (all levels deep)
measure.DependsOn.Deep()      // HashSet<IDaxObject> of all upstream objects

// Who references this column? (direct)
column.ReferencedBy.Measures   // measures that reference this column
column.ReferencedBy.Columns    // calculated columns that reference this column
column.ReferencedBy.Tables     // calculated tables that reference this column
column.ReferencedBy.Roles      // roles (RLS) that reference this column
column.ReferencedBy.Count      // total direct reference count

// Transitive (all levels deep)
column.ReferencedBy.Deep()           // HashSet<IDaxDependantObject> of all downstream
column.ReferencedBy.AllMeasures      // all measures downstream (deep)
column.ReferencedBy.AllColumns       // all calculated columns downstream (deep)
column.ReferencedBy.AllTables        // all calculated tables downstream (deep)
column.ReferencedBy.AnyVisible       // true if any downstream object is visible

// Column-specific structural usage
column.UsedInRelationships     // relationships using this column
column.UsedInHierarchies       // hierarchies containing this column
column.UsedInSortBy            // columns using this as SortByColumn

DependsOn: what does this object reference?

DependsOn is available on (xref:TabularEditor.TOMWrapper.IDaxDependantObject) types -- objects that have a DAX expression. This includes measures, calculated columns, calculation items, KPIs, tables and partitions.

var measure = Model.AllMeasures.First(m => m.Name == "Revenue");

// List all columns this measure references
foreach (var col in measure.DependsOn.Columns)
    Info($"References column: {col.DaxObjectFullName}");

// Check if measure depends on a specific table
var usesDate = measure.DependsOn.Tables.Any(t => t.Name == "Date");

ReferencedBy: what references this object?

ReferencedBy is available on any (xref:TabularEditor.TOMWrapper.IDaxObject). This includes objects with no DAX expression of their own, such as DataColumn, which can still be referenced by name in other objects' DAX.

var column = Model.Tables["Sales"].Columns["Amount"];

// List all measures that reference this column
foreach (var m in column.ReferencedBy.Measures)
    Info($"Referenced by: {m.DaxObjectFullName}");

// Check if column is used in any RLS expression
var usedInRLS = column.ReferencedBy.Roles.Any();

Deep traversal

Deep() follows the dependency chain transitively. Use it for full impact analysis.

// All upstream objects (direct + indirect) that a measure depends on
var allUpstream = measure.DependsOn.Deep();
var upstreamColumns = allUpstream.OfType<Column>();
var upstreamTables = allUpstream.OfType<Table>();

// All downstream objects that would break if this column is removed
var allDownstream = column.ReferencedBy.Deep();
var affectedMeasures = allDownstream.OfType<Measure>();

Finding unused objects

Objects with no references are candidates for cleanup. This pattern mirrors the built-in BPA rule for detecting unused objects.

// Measures not referenced by any other DAX expression
var unusedMeasures = Model.AllMeasures
    .Where(m => m.ReferencedBy.Count == 0);

// Hidden columns not referenced by anything (DAX, relationships, hierarchies, sort-by)
var unusedColumns = Model.AllColumns
    .Where(c => c.IsHidden
        && c.ReferencedBy.Count == 0
        && !c.UsedInRelationships.Any()
        && !c.UsedInHierarchies.Any()
        && !c.UsedInSortBy.Any());

Impact analysis

Before renaming or deleting an object, check what depends on it.

var col = Model.Tables["Sales"].Columns["ProductKey"];

Info($"Direct references: {col.ReferencedBy.Count}");
Info($"Relationships: {col.UsedInRelationships.Count()}");
Info($"Hierarchies: {col.UsedInHierarchies.Count()}");
Info($"Sort-by: {col.UsedInSortBy.Count()}");
Info($"Any visible downstream: {col.ReferencedBy.AnyVisible}");

// Full downstream tree
var allAffected = col.ReferencedBy.Deep();
Info($"Total objects affected (deep): {allAffected.Count}");

Dynamic LINQ equivalent

In BPA rule expressions, dependency properties are accessed directly on the object in context.

C# script	Dynamic LINQ (BPA)
`m.ReferencedBy.Count == 0`	`ReferencedBy.Count = 0`
`m.DependsOn.Any()`	`DependsOn.Any()`
`!c.ReferencedBy.AllMeasures.Any(m => !m.IsHidden)`	`not ReferencedBy.AllMeasures.Any(not IsHidden)`
`c.UsedInRelationships.Any()`	`UsedInRelationships.Any()`
`c.UsedInSortBy.Any()`	`UsedInSortBy.Any()`
`c.UsedInHierarchies.Any()`	`UsedInHierarchies.Any()`
`c.ReferencedBy.AnyVisible`	`ReferencedBy.AnyVisible`

Common pitfalls

Important

DependsOn requires a DAX expression and is only available on IDaxDependantObject types: Measure, CalculatedColumn, CalculationItem, KPI, Table, Partition, TablePermission. A DataColumn does not have DependsOn because it has no DAX expression.
ReferencedBy does not require a DAX expression. It is available on any IDaxObject type: Column, Measure, Table, Hierarchy. A DataColumn has ReferencedBy because other objects can reference it by name. Not every object type has both properties.
UsedInRelationships, UsedInHierarchies and UsedInSortBy are column-specific properties. They track structural usage, not DAX expression references. Check both structural and DAX references to find truly unused columns.
ReferencedBy.Deep() and DependsOn.Deep() can be computationally expensive on large models with deeply nested dependency chains.

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