DataGrid 2 column over an association owned by another module is written as a flat attribute path (mx check CE1613; check/exec pass)

[MohamedElNady]

mxcli version: v0.24.0 (2026-09-24T05:44:35Z), Windows amd64
Mendix version: 11.14.0 (MPR v2), blank project

Summary

A Data grid 2 column whose attribute path goes through an association owned by a module other than the grid entity's module is stored as a flat string: AttributeRef.Attribute = 'ModH.Order.Order_Customer/Customer_Region/Name' with no EntityRef. mxcli check --references and mxcli exec both pass; mx check then reports CE1613. DESCRIBE PAGE round-trips the path, so the problem is invisible until mx check.

Related but different: #830 (the association itself as a column, one hop) and #1045.

Minimal repro

create module "ModH";
create module "ModK";
create persistent entity "ModK"."Region" ("Name": String(100));
create persistent entity "ModK"."Customer" ("Name": String(100));
create persistent entity "ModH"."Order" ("Number": String(20));
create association "ModH"."Order_Customer" from "ModH"."Order" to "ModK"."Customer" type Reference;
create association "ModK"."Customer_Region" from "ModK"."Customer" to "ModK"."Region" type Reference;
create page "ModH"."OrdersPage" (Title: 'Orders', Layout: Atlas_Core.Atlas_Default) {
  datagrid dgOrders (DataSource: database "ModH"."Order") {
    column colNumber (Attribute: Number, Caption: 'Number')
    column colRegion (Attribute: Order_Customer/Customer_Region/Name, Caption: 'Region (2nd association owned by ModK, unqualified)')
  }
};

Expected

The column stored the way Studio Pro stores it: Attribute = 'ModK.Region.Name' plus an IndirectEntityRef with one EntityRefStep per association (ModH.Order_Customer → ModK.Customer, ModK.Customer_Region → ModK.Region), and mx check 0 errors.

Actual

$ mx check Repro.mpr
[error] [CE1613] "The selected attribute 'ModH.Order.Order_Customer/Customer_Region/Name' no longer exists." at Columns (2/2) of data grid 2 'dgOrders'
The app contains: 1 errors.

What narrows it down (same blank project, reset between runs)

Variant	mx check
Both associations in the page entity's module (CREATE PAGE)	0 errors
Same, column added with ALTER PAGE … INSERT	0 errors
2nd association in the page module, target entity in another module	0 errors
2nd association owned by another module (the repro above)	CE1613
Qualifying it: Attribute: Order_Customer/ModK.Customer_Region/Name	parse error (mismatched input '.') — so no MDL-side workaround

So the unqualified association name after the first hop seems to be resolved only in the grid entity's module; when that lookup fails the writer falls back to the raw text instead of raising an error. Text-template parameters over the same two-hop path (ContentParams: [{1} = ModH.Order_Customer/ModK.Customer_Region/Name]) are written correctly (seen in our app).

Suggestions

1. Resolve each association step in the module of the entity reached so far (or globally when the name is unique), and allow qualified names in a column attribute path.
2. If a step cannot be resolved, make check --references / exec fail instead of writing an unresolvable string.

Workaround we use

A small offline pass that rewrites such refs into the IndirectEntityRef form after exec (Studio Pro closed), then mx check.

Session log (isolated HOME, only this repro)

mxcli-2026-09-30.log

{"time":"2026-09-30T08:51:50.7286533+03:00","level":"INFO","msg":"session_start","version":"v0.24.0","go":"go1.26.6","os":"windows","arch":"amd64","mode":"mxcli exec","args":["C:\\Tools\\mxcli.exe","exec","D:/Mohamed/Mendix/_mxrepro/scripts/g47d.mdl","-p","Repro.mpr"],"pid":8424,"parent_pid":""}
{"time":"2026-09-30T08:51:50.768957+03:00","level":"INFO","msg":"connect","mpr_path":"Repro.mpr","mendix_version":"11.14.0","mpr_format":2}
{"time":"2026-09-30T08:51:50.768957+03:00","level":"INFO","msg":"execute","stmt_type":"ConnectStmt","stmt_summary":"connect local 'Repro.mpr'","duration_ms":2}
{"time":"2026-09-30T08:51:52.9754407+03:00","level":"INFO","msg":"execute","stmt_type":"CreateModuleStmt","stmt_summary":"create module ModH","duration_ms":159}
{"time":"2026-09-30T08:51:53.1916676+03:00","level":"INFO","msg":"execute","stmt_type":"CreateModuleStmt","stmt_summary":"create module ModK","duration_ms":214}
{"time":"2026-09-30T08:51:53.3797636+03:00","level":"INFO","msg":"execute","stmt_type":"CreateEntityStmt","stmt_summary":"create entity ModK.Region","duration_ms":188}
{"time":"2026-09-30T08:51:53.5453176+03:00","level":"INFO","msg":"execute","stmt_type":"CreateEntityStmt","stmt_summary":"create entity ModK.Customer","duration_ms":165}
{"time":"2026-09-30T08:51:53.7254129+03:00","level":"INFO","msg":"execute","stmt_type":"CreateEntityStmt","stmt_summary":"create entity ModH.Order","duration_ms":180}
{"time":"2026-09-30T08:51:54.0141595+03:00","level":"INFO","msg":"execute","stmt_type":"CreateAssociationStmt","stmt_summary":"create association ModH.Order_Customer","duration_ms":288}
{"time":"2026-09-30T08:51:54.2256876+03:00","level":"INFO","msg":"execute","stmt_type":"CreateAssociationStmt","stmt_summary":"create association ModK.Customer_Region","duration_ms":211}
{"time":"2026-09-30T08:51:54.4623651+03:00","level":"INFO","msg":"execute","stmt_type":"CreatePageStmtV3","stmt_summary":"create page ModH.OrdersPage","duration_ms":236}
{"time":"2026-09-30T08:51:54.5501945+03:00","level":"INFO","msg":"session_end","commands_executed":9,"errors_count":0,"duration_s":3,"pid":8424}
{"time":"2026-09-30T08:52:03.9455476+03:00","level":"INFO","msg":"session_start","version":"v0.24.0","go":"go1.26.6","os":"windows","arch":"amd64","mode":"batch","args":["C:\\Tools\\mxcli.exe","-p","Repro.mpr","-c","describe page ModH.OrdersPage"],"pid":23900,"parent_pid":""}
{"time":"2026-09-30T08:52:03.9977779+03:00","level":"INFO","msg":"connect","mpr_path":"Repro.mpr","mendix_version":"11.14.0","mpr_format":2}
{"time":"2026-09-30T08:52:03.9977779+03:00","level":"INFO","msg":"execute","stmt_type":"ConnectStmt","stmt_summary":"connect local 'Repro.mpr'","duration_ms":1}
{"time":"2026-09-30T08:52:04.1915316+03:00","level":"INFO","msg":"execute","stmt_type":"DescribeStmt","stmt_summary":"describe PAGE ModH.OrdersPage","duration_ms":193}
{"time":"2026-09-30T08:52:04.1915316+03:00","level":"INFO","msg":"session_end","commands_executed":2,"errors_count":0,"duration_s":0,"pid":23900}

[github-actions]

Issue Triage

Summary:
When a Data Grid 2 column’s attribute path traverses an association owned by a different module, mxcli writes the path as a flat string instead of the proper AttributeRef + IndirectEntityRef structure, causing mx check to fail with CE1613 even though mxcli check --references and exec succeed.

Checklist (bug report)

Required info	Present?	Details
mxcli version	✅	v0.24.0 (2026-09-24T05:44:35Z)
Mendix version	✅	11.14.0 (MPR v2)
Scenario (what was done)	✅	MDL script creating two modules, entities, associations, and a page with a Data Grid 2 column using a two‑hop attribute path
Expected output	✅	Column stored as Attribute = 'ModK.Region.Name' with IndirectEntityRef steps; mx check reports 0 errors
Experienced output	✅	Flat string stored (AttributeRef.Attribute = 'ModH.Order.Order_Customer/Customer_Region/Name'); mx check yields CE1613 error
AI bug report / session log	✅	Full session log included in the issue (connect, execute statements, etc.)

Conclusion:
All required information for a bug report is present. Thank you for the detailed reproduction steps and logs!

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