Extensions in Qlik Sense

Qlik Sense is all extensions.  Even the out of box objects are extensions.  It also comes with some samples of additional Extensions.

After installing Qlik Sense Desktop, have a look in %userprofile%\Documents\Qlik\Examples\Extensions.  You will find several sub-folders, each containing one extension.

If you have experience with QlikView 10/11 extension objects (or have read my blog entries on how to create extensions) then you will see immediately that there is a different way of creating extensions in Qlik Sense.

There are two core files that you must have:

- a .QEXT file which contains the JSON description of the extension that will be used within the desktop client.
- a .JS file that contains the javascript to implement the extension.  This JS is build around the requiredjs framework.

Additional files can be added as required.

If you copy one of the extension folders into %userprofile%\Documents\Qlik\Sense\Extensions and restart the Qlik Sense Desktop (F5 may be enough) then the extension should appear.

You can also simply create your own sub-folder and create the .QEXT and .JS files and they will be picked up.  However, it is easier to use the Workbench to create your extension from a template.  To run the Workbench, first make sure that Qlik Sense Desktop is running (it provides the web service for this) and then connect to http://localhost:4848/workbencheditor.

There is no documentation for the extensions in the default help for Qlik Sense, but you may be able to access the beta documentation at: http://betahelp.qlik.com/0.95/en-US/online/index.html.

Some of you may have seen a post of mine where I had proposed a new chart type called a Pie-Gauge.  I had already created a QlikView v11 extension to generate these gauges using Raphaëljs to draw the pies so I wanted to have a go at doing this in Qlik Sense.  After a bit of trial and error, and looking at other extensions (including Ralf Becher's implementation of the d3 dependency wheel), I was able to get what I was looking for:

I am happy for anyone to grab the code for this from my github repository.  Just grab the whole RedmondPieGauge folder and drop it into your %userprofile%\Documents\Qlik\Sense\Extensions folder and restart the Qlik Sense Desktop.

You need to specify one dimension and then two expressions - one for Actuals and one for Target.

Each of the objects - including the text labels - are clickable to make selections exactly as if they were a Qlik Sense object.  This also implements a slider in the properties to allow you set a doughnut size.  Anyone who knows me will know that this was definitely an academic exercise - I hate doughnut charts!

Enjoy.

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Stephen Redmond is author of QlikView Server and Publisher and the QlikView for Developer's Cookbook
He is CTO of CapricornVentis a QlikView Elite Partner. We are always looking for the right people to join our team.
Follow me on Twitter: @stephencredmond

Qlik Sense

Yay!  It is finally here.  Qlik Sense, the product that has previously been called QlikView.next, has been released to the public as a free download.

http://www.qlik.com/us/explore/products/sense

This is the desktop version of the product and is licensed similarly to QlikView Personal Edition.  You can use it "...solely for the User’s personal or internal business use...".

Right now, there is no server version but this will follow.  Qlik have also promised a public server service - Qlik Cloud -  to allow users to create and share content.  This will be awesome when it happens.

So, now Qlik have two products - QlikView and Qlik Sense.  Qlik Sense is an evolution of QlikView, but QlikView will still be around for several years to come.

So, what is in this new Desktop client?

When you first open it, you arrive at the "Hub".  This lists all your applications.  You simply click on an application to open it.

When an application opens, it will allow you to select sheets (just like current QlikView).  The navigation between sheets is different, so will need some getting used to, but it is pretty straightforward.

Opening the Sales Management demo app invites you to look at the new Story feature, where you can find out more about Qlik Sense.  The sheets in this application allow you to try out creating new objects, and learn how easy it is.

If you do feel brave enough to create your own applications, there is a very useful feature that allows you to drop a file of structured data into the application and then it will generate the data model and allow you to get up and running.

If you feel really brave, you can go into the script editor!  As it turns out, not really a lot of bravery required as any experienced QlikView developer will be able to get up and running in here - the script syntax is all the same.  In fact, all your old scripts will run and generate a data model.

Your Qlik Sense apps, in the new QVF format, are stored in %userprofile%\Documents\Qlik\Sense\Apps.  If you drop an older QVW file into this folder and re-open (F5 works) the Hub, the app will appear and can be loaded into Qlik Sense.  When you save it then, it will be saved in the new format.  Right now, only the data and script will get converted into the new format, all UI will be lost.  There are also limitations around applications with hidden scripts and those with section access.

I am really happy to see this new version finally released.  It marks the start of a whole new Qlik journey and I, for one, am happy to be along for the ride.  I can't wait to see where it takes me.

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Stephen Redmond is author of QlikView Server and Publisher and the QlikView for Developer's Cookbook
He is CTO of CapricornVentis a QlikView Elite Partner. We are always looking for the right people to join our team.
Follow me on Twitter: @stephencredmond