Tutorial - Building an App

Qlik Sense®
November 2024
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trade names, trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they
are associated.
 Contents

1 Welcome to this tutorial! 5

1.1 About this tutorial 5
1.2 Prerequisites 5
1.3 Building an app 5
1.4 Further reading and resources 6
2 Making preparations 7
2.1 Opening Qlik Sense 7
Opening Qlik Sense Enterprise 7
Opening Qlik Sense Desktop 7
2.2 Placing tutorial source files 7
Placing tutorial source files in Qlik Sense Enterprise 7
Placing tutorial source files in Qlik Sense Desktop 7
3 Creating a new app 8
3.1 Creating a new app in Qlik Sense Enterprise or Qlik Sense Desktop 8
4 Adding data 9
4.1 Loading data from the first data file in Qlik Sense Enterprise 9
Loading data from the first data file in Qlik Sense Desktop 10
4.2 Adding the Sales rep file 12
4.3 Associating data 13
4.4 Adding and associating more data 13
4.5 Loading data 15
4.6 Regional settings 15
4.7 Loading data 16
Viewing the data model 16
5 App design 18
5.1 Creating the sheets 18
6 The first sheet: Dashboard 23
6.1 Creating visualizations 23
6.2 Adding the filter panes 23
6.3 Adding the pie chart 24
6.4 Adding the bar chart 25
6.5 Adding the combo chart 26
6.6 Adding the KPI 26
6.7 Adding the gauge 27
6.8 Adding the line chart 28
7 The second sheet: Product Details 30
7.1 Adding the filter panes 30
7.2 Adding the bar chart 30
7.3 Adding the treemap chart 31
8 The third sheet: Customer Details 32
8.1 Adding filter panes 32
8.2 Adding the scatter plot 32
8.3 Adding the Customer KPIs table 33
Adjusting the number formatting 33

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 Contents

8.4 Converting the Customer KPIs table to a pivot table 33

Converting the table 34
9 The fourth sheet: Customer Location 36
9.1 Adding filter panes 36
9.2 Adding the map 37
10 The fifth and sixth sheets: Insights sheet and Manager dashboard 38
10.1 Creating a bar chart from a search 39
10.2 Creating a Multi KPI from a search 40
10.3 Creating charts from analysis types 40
10.4 Create a sheet from analysis types 41
11 Data storytelling 42
11.1 Taking snapshots 42
11.2 Creating a simple story 43
Slide 1 43
Slide 2-4 44
11.3 Thank you! 45

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 1 Welcome to this tutorial!

1 Welcome to this tutorial!

Welcome to this tutorial, which will introduce you to app building in Qlik Sense. Qlik Sense is a
software product that is used to extract and present data in an intuitive and easy-to-use interface.
You extract data by making selections in Qlik Sense. When you make a selection, the app
immediately filters the data and presents all associated items. If you want to learn more about
selections, go through the Tutorial - Beginning with the Basics that is available at help.qlik.com. In
this tutorial, the focus is on app building.

1.1 About this tutorial

This tutorial guides you through the building of an app from scratch. You start with an empty sheet
and finish with a good-looking app!

It is assumed that you are familiar with the basics of Qlik Sense. You know how to make selections
and how to interpret the results of your selection.

These are some of the subjects in this tutorial:

l Data loading
l App design
l Visualization creation
l Reuse of visualizations, dimensions and measures
l Data storytelling

When you have completed the tutorial, you should have a fair understanding of the different steps
involved in the building of a Qlik Sense app. You will also be aware of some of the necessary
considerations related to the design of the app.

Depending on the Qlik Sense platform that you are using, the screenshots in this tutorial may differ
slightly from what you see in Qlik Sense.

1.2 Prerequisites
Before you can start working with Qlik Sense, you need one of the following:

l Access to Qlik Sense Enterprise.

l Qlik Sense Desktop installed on your computer.

You can download Qlik Sense Desktop from www.qlik.com. If you need help with the installation,
you can find instructions at help.qlik.com.

1.3 Building an app

Building an app involves some basic steps that you need to take to be able to design and use the
app.

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 1 Welcome to this tutorial!

1. Preparing the data files.

Make the data files available in Qlik Sense Enterprise or Qlik Sense Desktop.
2. Creating an empty app.
Basically, what you do is to give the app a name.
3. Loading data.
Qlik Sense is built for analyzing data, and without any data the app is not very useful.
4. Creating one or more sheets and adding visualizations.
The sheet is where you create your visualizations. It is also where you analyze your data,
when the app is ready.

These are the basic steps. In more advanced apps, scripting often includes much more than just
loading data.

1.4 Further reading and resources

l ≤ Qlik offers a wide variety of resources when you want to learn more.
l Qlik online help is available.
l Training, including free online courses, is available in the ≤ Qlik Continuous Classroom.
l Discussion forums, blogs, and more can be found in ≤ Qlik Community.

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 2 Making preparations

2 Making preparations
In this step, you will create a new analytics app and add the data files from the Tutorial
- Building an App folder.

2.1 Opening Qlik Sense

Do one of the following depending on which version of Qlik Sense you are using.

Opening Qlik Sense Enterprise

If you are using Qlik Sense Enterprise, you start Qlik Sense Enterprise by entering a web address in
your browser, such as https://<server name>/hub. The exact address depends on how Qlik Sense
has been deployed in your organization.

When Qlik Sense has started, you arrive at the hub, where you can create a new app from Work.

Opening Qlik Sense Desktop

When you have installed Qlik Sense Desktop, you start it from the shortcut on your desktop, the left
pane in the Start menu, or the Qlik Sense folder, under All Programs.

When you start Qlik Sense Desktop, you arrive at the hub. You can close the greeting message.

The hub is the storage of your apps. If you have installed Qlik Sense Desktop recently, you may not
have many apps yet, and in that case, you are about to begin building your first app!

2.2 Placing tutorial source files

The folder Tutorial source is included in the zip file and contains the data files. Before you start
building the app you need to make sure you can access the data files. Do one of the following
depending on which version of Qlik Sense you are using.

Placing tutorial source files in Qlik Sense Enterprise

If you are using Qlik Sense Enterprise, you need to place the Tutorial source folder on your
computer. A specific file location is not required.

Placing tutorial source files in Qlik Sense Desktop

If you are using Qlik Sense Desktop, you need to place the Tutorial source folder in the Sense folder.

Do the following:

1. Open the folder Documents. (It is sometimes called My Documents.) From there, the path is
Qlik\Sense.
2. Place the Tutorial source folder in the Sense folder.

The next step is to associate and load the data.

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 3 Creating a new app

3 Creating a new app

Your first step towards a complete app is to create an empty app.

3.1 Creating a new app in Qlik Sense Enterprise or Qlik

Sense Desktop
Do the following:

1. In the hub click Create new app.

The Create new app dialog opens.
2. Enter the name Tutorial for the app.
3. Click Create.
A creation confirmation is displayed.
4. Click Open app.
The app is opened. You are now prompted to start adding data.

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 4 Adding data

4 Adding data
Your second step towards a complete app is loading the data.

You will load the following files:

l Sales.xlsx
l Item master.xlsx
l Cities.xlsx
l Sales rep.csv
l Customers.xlsx

Do one of the following depending on which version of Qlik Sense you are using.

4.1 Loading data from the first data file in Qlik Sense
Enterprise
It is good practice to add the most important file first, which in this case is Sales.xlsx.

If you are using Qlik Sense Enterprise, you will add the data files from the Tutorial source folder,
which you have placed on your computer if you followed the previous instructions.

Do the following:

1. Click Add data from files and other sources.

A data source selection dialog is displayed.
2. Click Attached files and do one of the following to upload the file:
l Drag and drop the file Sales.xlsx onto the dialog.
l Click in the designated area at the bottom of the dialog, browse to the file Sales.xlsx
and click Open.
Either way a progress window is displayed and then the data selection window opens. You
can see that Sales, which is a sheetin the data file, is already selected. Embedded
fieldnames is also selected. This is correct.

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 4 Adding data

3. Click Add data.

A progress window is displayed before the associations view of the data manager opens. In
this view your data is illustrated using bubbles. The table Sales is added and marked with *,
which indicates a new or updated table.

Before you load data you will add more data files. Continue with Adding the Sales rep file (page 12).

Loading data from the first data file in Qlik Sense Desktop
It is good practice to add the most important file first, which in this case is Sales.xlsx.

If you are using Qlik Sense Desktop, you must have a data connection to the Tutorial source folder,
which contains the data files. The data connection to the Tutorial sourcefolder will be created when
you load the first data file Sales.xlsx from the Tutorial source folder.

Do the following:

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 4 Adding data

1. Click Add data from files and other sources.

A data source selection dialog is displayed. You now need to navigate to the Tutorial source
folder, which contains with all the data files that you will load.
2. Click My computer.
3. If you followed the previous recommendation on where to place the Tutorial source folder,
browse to the Tutorial source folder under Documents > Qlik > Sense. If you stored the
Tutorial source folder somewhere else, you need to navigate to the folder location and open
the folder.

File selection dialog where no data source is selected and all file types in the folder are shown

Do the following:

1. In the file selection dialog, select the file Sales.xlsx.

A progress window is displayed and then the data selection window opens. You can see that
Sales, which is a sheet in the data file, is already selected. Embedded field names is also
selected. That is correct.

2. Click Add data.

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 4 Adding data

A progress window is displayed before the associations view of the data manager opens. In
this view your data is illustrated using bubbles. The table Sales is added and marked with *,
which indicates a new or updated table.

Before you load data you will add more data files. Continue with Adding the Sales rep file (page 12).

4.2 Adding the Sales rep file

The next data file you will add is Sales rep.csv, with a slightly different data selection interface.

In the Associations view, do the following:

1. Add the Sales rep.csv file by dropping it on the app:

The data source selection dialog is displayed.
Under Field names, make sure that Embedded field names is selected to include the names
of the table fields when you load the data.

The Delimiter field is set to Semicolon, and that is correct. Qlik Sense automatically
recognizes the delimiter and by default displays the data with the correct delimiter.

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 4 Adding data

2. Click Add data.

A progress window is displayed before the data manager opens. The table Sales rep is added
and marked with Pending add. The next step is to associate your data.

4.3 Associating data

Now it is time to create an association between the fields in your tables Sales and Sales rep.

Do the following:

1. Click Associations in the data manager overview.

In the Associations view of the data manager your data is illustrated using bubbles, with
each bubble representing a data table, and the size of the bubble representing the amount of
data in the table. Bubbles marked with * indicates a new or updated table.
2. Drag the Sales rep bubble towards the Sales bubble.
Qlik Sense now detects a highly recommended association to the Sales table and its bubble
is marked with green.
3. Drop the Sales rep bubble onto the Sales bubble.
A link is now created between the bubbles and the tables are associated using the
recommended fields.
4. Click the link between the Sales rep bubble and the Sales bubble.
The association panel, at the bottom of the screen, displays a preview of data in the
associated fields.
5. Click the association Sales rep ID-Sales Rep Number in the association panel and rename it
Sales Rep Number.
The association is now named Sales Rep Number.

Now you have associated the first two tables. The next step is to add more data files.

4.4 Adding and associating more data

You will add the final three data files before you load data and start building the app.

In the Associations view, do the following:

1. Add the following data files by dropping them on the app:

l Cities.xlsx
l Customers.xlsx
l Item master.xlsx

Under Field names, make sure that Embedded field names is selected to include
the names of the table fields when you load the data.

You should now see five data files.

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 4 Adding data

You have already associated the tables Sales and Sales rep. Qlik Sense helps you identify
recommended associations and you will now explore this.

2. Click and hold the bubble Customer.

The bubbles Sales and Cities are marked green because Qlik Sense highly suggests
associating these two tables to Customers.
3. Click and hold the bubble Cities.
The bubble Customer is marked green. The bubble Sales is marked orange, which indicates a
medium recommendation.
4. Click and hold the bubble Item master.
The bubble Sales is marked green.

Recommended associations are identified between all tables and you will now let Qlik Sense create
the associations for you.

Do the following:

l Click .
If you're using Qlik Sense Desktop, click Save.
The tables are now associated according to Qlik Sense recommendations.

All tables are now associated and you will now load the data.

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 4 Adding data

4.5 Loading data

Do the following:

1. Click Load data.

A progress window is displayed while the data is loading. When the data load is complete,
you can continue.
2. Click Close.

You will now adjust the regional settings.

4.6 Regional settings

You need to change the regional settings, to prepare the time and date formats for this tutorial.

Number interpretation variablesare system defined, that is, they are automatically generated
according to the current regional settings of the operating system when a new app is created.

In Qlik Sense Desktop,the regional settings is according to the settings of the computer operating
system. InQlik Sense Enterprise, it is according to the operating system of the server whereQlik
Sense is installed. In Qlik Cloud, it depends on which browser you are using.

To be able to use the tutorial files provided for this tutorial, you need to define the time and date
formats in the app.

Do the following:

1. Click and select Data load editor.

2. In the left panel, click Main to go to the existing regional settings.
3. Delete the existing regional settings (they all begin with SET) and copy and paste the
following regional settings at the top in the data load editor.
SET ThousandSep=',';
SET DecimalSep='.';
SET MoneyThousandSep=',';
SET MoneyDecimalSep='.';
SET MoneyFormat='$#,##0.00;($#,##0.00)';
SET TimeFormat='h:mm:ss TT';
SET DateFormat='M/D/YYYY';
SET TimestampFormat='M/D/YYYY h:mm:ss[.fff] TT';
SET FirstWeekDay=6;
SET BrokenWeeks=1;
SET ReferenceDay=0;

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 4 Adding data

SET FirstMonthOfYear=1;
SET CollationLocale='en-US';
SET CreateSearchIndexOnReload=1;
SET MonthNames='Jan;Feb;Mar;Apr;May;Jun;Jul;Aug;Sep;Oct;Nov;Dec';
SET
LongMonthNames='January;February;March;April;May;June;July;August;September;October;Nov
ember;December';
SET DayNames='Mon;Tue;Wed;Thu;Fri;Sat;Sun';
SET LongDayNames='Monday;Tuesday;Wednesday;Thursday;Friday;Saturday;Sunday';

You should now have 18 SET statements at the beginning of the script.

4.7 Loading data

Now you have added all data files, associated their tables and changed the regional settings.
Before you start building your app you must load the script.

Do the following:

1. Click Load data.

A progress window is displayed while the data is loading. When the data load is complete,
you can continue.
2. Click Close.

Viewing the data model

Now you are ready to start building your app, but before you start, let's have a look at the data
model.

Do the following:

1. In the toolbar, click and select Data model viewer.

2. In the toolbar in the data model viewer, click to expand the tables.
3. In the toolbar, click Save to save your work.

All tables are now connected and the data model viewer should have the following content. A field
connecting one or more tables is called a key.

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 4 Adding data

The data model viewer with tables connected using key fields

You have now finished adding data and can start building your app.

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 5 App design

5 App design
You have loaded the data. Now it is time to create sheets and visualizations.
Dashboard design involves using the right objects in the right way, and making the
sheets well structured and user-friendly.

This app will be fairly simple, but you will learn some basic design principles that are good to know.

If you want to build an app of your own, and want some inspiration, you should visit the Qlik
website. You can find a large number of apps serving a wide variety of purposes there.This is useful
if you are looking for a template when you want to design your own app.

If you are looking for assistance in creating analyses, you can use Insight Advisor. Insight Advisor
helps you create meaningful charts and analyses from your data. You can create visualizations by
selecting the analysis type you want to use and then select data to include in the analysis. You can
also create visualizations from your queries using search-based analytics.

5.1 Creating the sheets

The app that you are building will contain six sheets:

1. Dashboard
2. Product Details
3. Customer Details
4. Customer Location
5. Insights
6. Manager dashboard

You will build the first four sheets manually. The last two sheets you will build using Insight Advisor.

Do the following:

1. In the top left, click , and click App overview.

2. Click Create new sheet, and then name the sheet Dashboard.
3. Create four more sheets and name them Product Details, Customer Details, Customer
Location, and Insights.
You now have five sheets that all belong to the same app. There is no need to create a
Manager dashboard sheet, because it will be auto-generated by Insight Advisor later in this
tutorial.

The following screen shots show how your app will appear when you complete this tutorial.

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 5 App design

Dashboard sheet with different visualizations

Product Details sheet with different visualizations

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 5 App design

Customer Details sheet with different visualizations

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 5 App design

Customer Location sheet with different visualizations

Insights sheet with different visualizations.

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 5 App design

Manager dashboard sheet with different visualizations.

As you can see, there are similarities between the sheets. The first four all contain filter panes that
are placed to the left. It is good to have consistency when you design an app. Insights and Manager
dashboard break from this design as their role in this tutorial is to show different chart creation
capabilities and advance analytics available through Insight Advisor

Visualizations that are present in several sheets should have the same position in all sheets so that
the user knows where to find them. There should be a logic in the design that supports the user in
achieving their goal of data discovery. Placement is one aspect of the design, another is the choice
of visualization.

Each visualization has its own advantages, and to be able to build an efficient and well-functioning
app, you need to be aware of those advantages. To some extent the visualizations are self-
explanatory.

Graphical elements are great for giving overviews and showing trends, whereas tables are
economical in that they can present large amounts of data using a limited space. You get exact
figures, but lose the quick and easily digestible information that is conveyed in graphical elements.

Next, you will add visualizations to your first sheet.

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 6 The first sheet: Dashboard

6 The first sheet: Dashboard

Right-click Dashboard, and then select Open and edit to open the first sheet. The
sheet is empty, but it will not be for long. The assets panel to the left contains available
charts and fields. Click (Charts), so that you can start adding charts to the sheet.
The properties panel is on the right.

6.1 Creating visualizations

The purpose of a dashboard is to give a quick overview of the current state of affairs. The focus is
on sales trends and figures. The dashboard is not primarily designed for data exploration, but it is of
course possible to make selections and analyze the results.

The screenshot for the sheet Dashboard shows the sheet when editing. You drag the charts to the
center of the area where you want to place them.

To the left there are two filter panes, the time filter pane without a title and Region. You will begin
with these.

Dashboard sheet when editing

6.2 Adding the filter panes

The purpose of the filter panes is to filter out a limited data set, which you can analyze and explore.

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 6 The first sheet: Dashboard

Do the following:

1. Drag a filter pane to the sheet.

2. In the assets panel to the left, click to open Fields.
3. Click Date in the list to expand it.
4. Drag the field Year from to the center of the filter pane, then click in the properties panel on
the right-hand side to expand the dimension and change its Title to Year.
5. Drag the field Quarter to the filter pane, then click in the properties panel on the right-hand
side to expand the dimension and change its Title to Quarter.
6. Drag the field Month to the filter pane, then click in the properties panel on the right-hand
side to expand the dimension and change its Title to Month.
7. Drag the field Week to the filter pane, then click in the properties panel on the right-hand
side to expand the dimension and change its Title to Week.
8. Use the handles to resize the filter pane according to the screenshot.
Dashboard sheet when editing (page 23)
9. Right-click the filter pane and select Add to master items.
10. Type the name Period and click Add.

You have created a filter pane and saved it as a master item which facilitates reuse.

The second filter pane only contains one dimension, Region.

Do the following:

1. In the assets panel to the left, click to open Charts and drag a filter pane to the sheet.
2. Click Add dimension and scroll down and select the field Region.
3. Use the handles to resize the filter pane according to the screenshot.
Dashboard sheet when editing (page 23)
4. Right-click the filter pane and select Add to master items.
5. Type the name Region and click Add.

The two filter panes are complete.

6.3 Adding the pie chart

Next we will add a pie chart.

Do the following:

1. In the assets panel to the left, click to open Charts and drag a pie chart to the sheet.
2. Click Add dimension and add the field Region.
3. In the assets panel to the left, click to open Fields.
4. Locate the field Sales, right-click it and select Create measure.

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 6 The first sheet: Dashboard

5. In the Create new measure dialog, in the Expression box, add Sum in front of (Sales) to
create the measure Sum(Sales).
6. Click Create.
The measure is added as a master item.
7. Drag the new measure Sales to the center of the pie chart.
8. In the properties panel to the right, click Appearance > Presentation and select Donut.
9. Still in the properties panel, click Colors and legend.
10. Set Colors to Custom and select By measure in the list.
11. At the top of the visualization, add the title Sales per Region.
12. Use the handles to resize the pie chart according to the screenshot.
Dashboard sheet when editing (page 23)

The donut pie chart is complete. The colors in the pie chart are by measure, which means the higher
the value, the darker the color.

You have many options when it comes to coloring the values. Just remember that the colors should
serve a purpose and not be used just to make the visualization more colorful.

6.4 Adding the bar chart

The next visualization is a bar chart with the top five customers.

Do the following:

1. In the assets panel to the left, click to open Charts.

2. Drag a bar chart to the sheet. Place it under the pie chart.
3. Click Add dimension and scroll down and select the field Customer.
4. Click Add measure and under Measures, select Sales.
5. In the properties panel to the right, under Appearance > Presentation, select Horizontal.
The bars are displayed horizontally.
6. In the properties panel under Data, click Customer to open the dimension.
7. In the list Limitation, select Fixed number.
8. The default setting is to display the top 10. Change the number to 5.
9. Clear the selection Show others.
10. In the properties panel, click Appearance > Presentation and set Value labels to Auto.
11. In the properties panel, click Appearance > Y-axis: Customer.
12. Under Labels and title, select Labels only.
13. Click X-axis: Sales.
14. Under Labels and title, select Labels only.
15. At the top of the visualization, add the title Top 5 Customers.
16. Resize the bar chart according to the screenshot.
Dashboard sheet when editing (page 23)

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 6 The first sheet: Dashboard

The bar chart is complete. You have created a bar chart showing the top five customers. When you
make selections in other visualizations, these customers will change, accordingly.

If you had not cleared the selection Show others, the fifth bar would have been gray, summarizing
all the sales values where the company name is missing. This value can be useful to get an
understanding of how much of the sales that cannot be referred to a specific company.

6.5 Adding the combo chart

The combo chart combines a bar chart and a line chart and is especially useful when you want to
combine values that are normally hard to combine because of their different scales.

Do the following:

1. In the assets panel to the left, click to open Charts.

2. Drag a combo chart to the sheet. Place it under the bar chart.
3. In the assets panel to the left, click to open Fields.
4. Click Date.
5. Drag the field YearMonth to the combo chart and click Add at the top.
6. Click Add measure and under Measures, select Sales.
7. In the assets panel to the left, click to open Master items.
8. Under Measures, click Create new.
9. Copy and paste the following string into the Expression box:
(Sum(Sales) - Sum(Cost)) / Sum(Sales)
10. Type the name Margin Percent and click Create.
The new measure is added to the list of master item measures.
11. Drag the measure Margin Percent to the combo chart.
12. Select Add Margin Percent > As line.
13. At the top of the visualization, add the title Sales Trend.
14. Resize the combo chart according to the screenshot.
Dashboard sheet when editing (page 23)

The combo chart is complete. The two measures Sales and Margin Percent have one axis each,
which enables the combination of two totally different scales.

The primary axis to the left is used for Sales and the secondary axis to the right is used for Margin
Percent.

6.6 Adding the KPI

The KPI visualization can show one or two measure values, and is used to track performance. Color
coding and symbols indicate how the figures relate to the expected results.

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 6 The first sheet: Dashboard

Do the following:

1. In the assets panel to the left, click to open Charts.

2. Drag a KPI chart to the sheet. Place it to the right of the pie chart.
3. Click Add measure and under Measures, select Sales.
The sum of sales is added to the KPI.
4. In the properties panel to the right under Apperance > Color, set Conditional colors to On
and click Add limit.
5. Click the left part of the Value bar, select Color red and Symbol in the dialog.

6. Click the right part of the Value bar, select Color green and Symbol in the dialog.
7. Drag the value limit to the right, to display the sales value as red in the KPI.
8. In the assets panel to the left, click to open Master items.
9. Click Measures.
10. Click Create new and type Sum(Margin) in the Expression box.
11. Type the name Margin and click Create.
Margin is added to the master item measures.
12. In the properties panel, under Data > Measures, click Add and select Margin.
The sum of margin is added to the KPI.
13. In the properties panel to the right, under Apperance > Color, click Second.
14. Set the limit for Margin as you did for Sales, but this time drag the value limit to the left, to
display the sales value as green in the KPI.
15. In the properties panel, under Appearance > Presentation select Left in the Alignment
drop-down.
16. In the properties panel, under Appearance > Presentation set Show title to On.
17. Type the following into the Title text box:
Total Sales and Margin
18. Resize the KPI object according to the screenshot.
Dashboard sheet when editing (page 23)

If you are using Qlik Sense Desktop, click Save.

The KPI is complete and displays that total sales is below expectations, but still there is a sufficient
margin.

The different colors and symbols support the interpretation of the value. Red is worrying, whereas
green is good.

6.7 Adding the gauge

The gauge is used to visualize a single measure. Just like with the text & image chart, you do not
make any selections in the gauge.

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 6 The first sheet: Dashboard

Do the following:

1. In the assets panel to the left, click to open Charts.

2. Drag a gauge chart to the sheet and place it to the right of the KPI visualization.
3. Click Add measure.
4. Select the measure Margin Percent.
5. In the properties panel to the right, under Data > Measures > Margin Percent > Number
formatting, select Number, and in the Formatting list that is displayed, select 12%
6. Under Appearance > Presentation, select Bar to present the gauge as a bar.
7. Set Orientation to Custom and select Horizontal.
8. In the Range limits just above, set Min to -0.5 and Max to 0.5.
9. Still under Presentation, select Use segments.
10. Click Add limit.
11. In the text box that is displayed, enter 0.12, which sets the limit between the left and right
segment to 12%.
12. Press Enter.
13. Click the left segment and select the red color.
14. Click the right segment and select the green color.
15. At the very bottom of the properties panel, open Measure axis.
16. In Labels and title, select Labels only.
17. At the top of the visualization, add the title Profit Margin.
18. Resize the gauge according to the screenshot.
Dashboard sheet when editing (page 23)

The gauge is complete and displays a large profit margin.

The different gauge colors support the interpretation of the value. Red is worrying, whereas green
is good.

6.8 Adding the line chart

The line chart will be used to show the quarterly sales trend for the years 2012-2014. The figures
for 2014 are for the first half of the year.

Do the following:

1. In the assets panel to the left, click to open Charts.

2. Drag a line chart to the sheet.
3. In the assets panel to the left, click to open Fields.
4. Click Date.
5. Drag the field Quarter to the line chart and click Add at the top.

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 6 The first sheet: Dashboard

6. Click in the properties panel on the right-hand side to expand the dimension Date.Quarter
and change its Label to Quarter.
7. Click Add measure and select Sales from the list Measures.
8. In the assets panel to the left, click to open Fields.
9. Click Date.
10. Drag the field Year to the line chart and click Add at the top.
11. Click in the properties panel on the right-hand side to expand the dimension Date.Year and
change its Label to Year.
12. In the properties panel, click Appearance > Presentation and select the checkbox Show
data points.
13. At the top of the visualization, add the title Quarterly Trend.

You have completed the first sheet. In the top right corner, click to move to the sheet Product
Details.

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 7 The second sheet: Product Details

7 The second sheet: Product Details

This sheet focuses on the products.

Product Details sheet when editing sheet when editing

7.1 Adding the filter panes

You will now reuse the Period filter pane and the Region filter pane that you saved as master items.

Do the following:

1. In the assets panel, click to open Master items.

2. Click Visualizations.
3. Drag the filter pane Period to the sheet and resize it according to the screenshot.
The second sheet: Product Details (page 30).
4. Drag the filter pane Region to the area below Period and resize it in the same manner.

7.2 Adding the bar chart

The next visualization is a bar chart with the top sales.

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 7 The second sheet: Product Details

Do the following:

1. In the assets panel to the left, click to open Charts.

2. Drag a bar chart to the sheet and place it to the right of the Period filter pane.
3. Click Add dimension and select the field Product Group.
4. Click Add measure and select Sales from the list Measures.
5. In the assets panel to the left, click to open Master items.
6. Click Measures.
7. Drag the measure Margin to the bar chart and select Add at the top.
8. In the properties panel, click Appearance > Presentation and under Value labels select
Auto.
9. Resize the bar chart according to the screenshot.
The second sheet: Product Details (page 30).
10. Copy the following string, and paste it as a title for the bar chart:
='Total Sales: $'& Round(Sum(Sales)/1000000, 0.1) & 'M'

The bar chart is complete. By default, the measures are grouped when you add a second measure
to a bar chart.

7.3 Adding the treemap chart

Treemaps are used to show hierarchical data. In this treemap you will create a product hierarchy.

Do the following:

1. In the assets panel to the left, click to open Charts.

2. Drag a treemap to the empty space on the sheet.
3. Click Add dimension and select the field Product Group.
4. Click Add measure and select Sales from the list Measures.
5. In the properties panel to the right, under Data > Dimensions, click Add.
6. In the list, select Product Type.
7. Click Add again under Data > Dimensions and select Item Desc.
8. Under Appearance > Colors and legend, set Colors from Auto to Custom.
9. Select By measure in the list.
10. Resize the treemap according to the screenshot.
The second sheet: Product Details (page 30).
11. Add the title Product Treemap to the visualization.

The treemap and sheet are complete. The next sheet is the final one. In the top right corner, click
to move to the sheet Customer Details.

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 8 The third sheet: Customer Details

8 The third sheet: Customer Details

This sheet focuses on customers.

By now you have so much experience from creating dimensions, measures, and visualizations that
you do not need detailed procedures anymore. The only exception will be when you make changes
in the properties panel. If you need reminders of what you have learned so far, you can refer back to
the previous topics.

Customer Details sheet when editing

8.1 Adding filter panes

Do the following:

1. Add the filter pane Period.

2. Add a new filter pane with the dimension Manager.

8.2 Adding the scatter plot

The scatter plot uses the dimension Customer and the measures Sales and Quantity. You need to
create the measure Quantity, and then save it as a master item. Use the field Sales Qty and the
aggregation Sum. Because the field Sales Qty consists of two words, you need to enclose it with
brackets: [Sales Qty] in the expression. The expression should look like this: Sum ([Sales Qty])

In the properties panel, at the bottom of Appearance, use the Range setting for the Y-axis and X-
axis to exclude the negative part of the axes.

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 8 The third sheet: Customer Details

You probably noticed that two measures were added to the scatter plot. The scatter plot is used to
visualize the relationship between two or three measures. In this case the measures compared are
Sales and Quantity. Each bubble represents a Customer dimension value. The visualization should
be named Customer Sales and Quantity.

8.3 Adding the Customer KPIs table

The table named Customer KPIs uses the dimension Customer.

You add more columns to the table from Data in the properties panel: use the measures Sales,
Quantity, and Margin Percent that are available as master items. Add them in that order to get the
same order as in the screen shot.

The remaining measures, for the last two columns, need to be created:

l For the measure # of Invoices, use the following expression:

Count (Distinct [Invoice Number])
l For the measure Average Sales per Invoice, use the following expression:
Sum(Sales)/Count(Distinct [Invoice Number])

The qualifier Distinct is used in two of the expressions. By using Distinct, you ensure
that an invoice number is only counted once, even if it occurs several times in the data
source. Distinct sorts out unique numbers. Note that Distinct must be followed by a
space before the field name.

Adjusting the number formatting

To configure Number formatting for each measure in the chart, you first need to disable Master
measure formatting.

Do the following:

1. In the properties panel, click Data.

2. Click Sales and set Number formatting to Money. Close the measure.
3. Click Quantity and set Number formatting to Number (1,000). Close the measure.
4. Click Margin Percent and set Number formatting to Number (12.3%). Close the measure.
5. Click Average Sales per Invoice and set Number formatting to Money. Close the measure.

8.4 Converting the Customer KPIs table to a pivot table

Changing the Customer KPIs table into a pivot table enables you to include further dimensions or
measures and reorganize them to analyze the data in a more flexible and useful way.

The pivot table presents dimensions and measures as rows and columns in a table. In a pivot table
you can analyze data by multiple measures and in multiple dimensions at the same time. You can
rearrange the measures and dimensions to get different views of the data. The activity of moving
measures and dimensions interchangeably between rows and columns is known as 'pivoting'.

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 8 The third sheet: Customer Details

One of the advantages of a pivot table is the interchangeability, that is, the ability to move row
items to columns and column items to rows. This flexibility is very powerful and enables you to
rearrange the data and have several different views of the same data set. Depending on what you
want to focus on, you move the dimensions and measures to bring forward data of interest and hide
data that is either too detailed, or irrelevant for the analysis.

Customer Details sheet after conversion

Converting the table

Do the following:

1. In the assets panel, click to open Charts.

2. Drag a pivot table onto the center of the Customer KPIs table and select Convert to: Pivot
table.
3. In the properties panel to the right, under Data, click Add data and then Row.
4. In the list, select Product Group.
5. Select Add data again and add a Product Type row.
6. Add the title Customer KPIs to the visualization.
7. Click Done editing in the toolbar.

You are now able to look at the sales for individual customers by product group and type. By
clicking Customer, Product Group or Product Type, or selecting individual items in the table, you
can filter the selections viewed in the table. By moving Product Group or Product Type to
Measures and filtering you can achieve differing views of the data presented.

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 8 The third sheet: Customer Details

Further information on the use of pivot tables can be found in the Qlik Sense online help at
help.qlik.com.

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 9 The fourth sheet: Customer Location

9 The fourth sheet: Customer Location

This sheet focuses on customer location using a map.

You can create a map by adding point layers and area layers to display your data. You need to
select a base map to provide the context for the layer data. You can add a measure value or an
expression to the dimension values, and use the size of the points or color by measure to reflect the
size of the measure.

Customer Location sheet when editing

9.1 Adding filter panes

Let us begin with the filter panes.

Do the following:

1. Click Edit sheet in the toolbar.

2. Add the filter pane Region.
3. Add two new filter panes, one with the dimension City, the other with the dimension
Customer.

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 9 The fourth sheet: Customer Location

9.2 Adding the map

In Qlik Sense you can create two types of maps, point maps and area maps. In Qlik Sense you can
create maps that display data in point layers and area layers. The map we are using in this tutorial
contains a point layer. A point layer is created using point coordinates (latitude and longitude) or
location names to mark places of interest, for example cities.

Do the following:

1. Drag a map chart to the sheet.

2. In the properties panel, click Base map and select Pale.
3. In the assets panel, click and drag the field City onto the map.
4. Select Add as new layer.
5. Select Add as point layer.
6. In the properties panel, in Layers, click the City point layer.
7. In Location, after Location field, select the field Longitude_Latitude.
8. In the assets panel, click Master items.
9. Locate Sales in Measures and drag it onto the map.
10. Select Use in "City" (Point layer) and select Size by: Sales.
11. In the properties panel, in Size & Shape adjust the Bubble size range slider. Too small a
minimum and the bubble representing sales for one location may not be visible when
compared to a location with a large sales volume.
12. In Colors, set Colors from Auto to Custom.
13. Select By measure in the list and in Select measure, select Sales.
14. Add the title Location to the visualization.
15. Click Done editing in the toolbar.

The map size adjusts according to the selections made in the filters. For example, selecting Nordic
will zoom the map into the North European area showing the locations of sales in that area.

Specific areas of the map can be selected by holding down the shift key, while using the mouse to
draw a lasso around the area to be viewed. The selections in the filter panes then reflect the
selection made on the map.

Selecting a specific location on the map shows the customers at that location in the filter panes.
Selections in other sheets also affect the data shown in the Customer Location sheet.

Now you have finished the Building an App tutorial. Congratulations on your achievement of
building a Qlik Sense app!

Now you can complement the app with data storytelling.

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 10 The fifth and sixth sheets: Insights sheet and Manager

10 The fifth and sixth sheets: Insights sheet

and Manager dashboard
These sheets focus on alternative ways of creating visualizations with the assistance
of Insight Advisor. You will auto-generate three visualizations and a new sheet by
asking Insight Advisor questions.

Insight Advisor helps you quickly generate new charts or find existing charts in an app. If you are an
analyst, you can extend analysis in an app to charts not currently present in an app. If you are an
app creator, Insight Advisor helps you quickly build new charts and visualizations based on your
specifications.

Insights sheet

Insight Advisor can also create whole sheets containing multiple visualizations.

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 10 The fifth and sixth sheets: Insights sheet and Manager

Manager dashboard sheet

10.1 Creating a bar chart from a search

In the sheet, there is a search field labeled Ask Insight Advisor. You can enter a question here and
Insight Advisor Search looks at your data and generates charts that can answer your question.

Natural language searches work best when you use field and master item names.

Qlik Sense supports English natural language queries.

English is used by default for browsers not set to a supported language. The language
used for queries can be changed by selecting a new language from the Language
button. For more information, see Enabling multi-language natural language queries in
Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows.

If your Qlik Sense deployment includes access to a Qlik Sense SaaS tenant,
administrators can enable support for additional languages. For more information on
supported languages in Insight Advisor Search, see Supported languages.

Do the following:

1. In the Ask Insight Advisor search box, enter Who are the top five Manager for Sales and
click .
2. On the generated bar chart, click Add to sheet and select Insights.

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 10 The fifth and sixth sheets: Insights sheet and Manager

3. Click Insight Advisor to return to the sheet.

4. Click Edit sheet.
5. Select the bar chart.
6. At the top of the visualization, add the title Top 5 Managers for Sales.
7. Click Done editing.

10.2 Creating a Multi KPI from a search

You can alter properties from generated insights to change the chart type. In this case, we will
make a bar chart that shows the bottom 3 product groups for sales for the latest month compared
to the previous month.

Do the following:

1. In the Ask Insight Advisor search box, enter what are the lowest 3 product groups for sales
and click .
2. Select the bar chart.
3. In the Analysis properties panel, click Bar chart (grouped) and select Multi KPI.
4. Under Analysis period, select YearMonth-last sorted value.
5. Click Add to sheet and select Insights.
6. Click Insight Advisor to return to the sheet.
7. Click Edit sheet.
8. In the top right, toggle on Advanced options.
9. Select the multi KPI.
10. In the properties panel, select the measure Sales 2014-Jun.
11. Under Number formatting, select Money.
12. Select the measure Sales 2014-May.
13. Under Number formatting, select Money.
14. At the top of the visualization, add the title Bottom 3 product groups for sales.
15. Click Done editing.

10.3 Creating charts from analysis types

With Insight Advisor Analysis Types, you select the type of analysis and the fields to use. Insight
Advisor then generates charts that provide that analysis. Analysis types range from standard
analyses, such as breakdowns or trends over time, to more advanced analyses, such as calculating
mutual information between datasets or k-means clustering. This helps you quickly generate
visualizations, narrative interpretations, and whole dashboards.

Do the following:

1. Click Insight Advisor.

2. Click Create an analysis.

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 10 The fifth and sixth sheets: Insights sheet and Manager

3. Select Clustering (k-means).

4. Select Sales and change the aggregation to avg.
5. Select Cost and change the aggregation to avg.
6. Select Customer.
7. On the generated scatter plot, click Add to sheet and select Insights.
8. Click Insight Advisor.

Feel free to move and resize the visualizations to match the screen shot above.

10.4 Create a sheet from analysis types

Some Insight Advisor analysis types, labeled as smart sheets, generate whole sheets of
visualizations. Smart sheets help you quickly build dashboards for analysis. Some smart sheets
require that time periods be defined in your app's load script, logical model, or autocalendar.

Do the following:

1. Click Insight Advisor.

2. Click Create an analysis.
3. Select Period changes (detailed).
4. Select GrossSales.
5. Select Manager.
6. Select Date.
7. Click Open analysis.
8. In the analysis properties panel, under Parameters, change the almost limit to 100 and the
met limit to 105.
9. Click Add to new sheet.
10. Click Insight Advisor.
11. Click Sheets and select My new sheet.
12. Click Edit sheet.
13. Rename the sheet to: Manager dashboard.
14. Click Done editing.

These sheets are complete. Next, you will learn about filters. In the assets panel, click Sheets and
click Create new sheet. Name the new sheet Filters and open it.

You are done making visualizations. Now you will complement your app with data storytelling.

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 11 Data storytelling

11 Data storytelling
With data storytelling you can create a presentation based on the data in your app. You
can take snapshots of selected visualizations and use them in your narrative together
with text, shapes, and effects.

You create slides and design the story with your particular audience in mind. In your narrative you
focus on key elements and create a convincing story to make your message clear.

An additional, useful feature of data storytelling is that you can easily switch between a snapshot in
the presentation and its context in the app. In the app context, you can make new selections and
continue the analysis from where you left off in the presentation.

After the analysis, you can resume the presentation.

11.1 Taking snapshots

You will start the creation of your story by taking snapshots in the app. In the top right corner, use
to move to the sheet Dashboard.

In the presentation you will focus on the three largest regions and analyze the sales trends.

Do the following:

1. Right-click the visualization Sales per Region and select Storytelling snapshots > Take
snapshot.
2. In Region, select Nordic.
3. Right-click the visualization Top 5 Customers and select Storytelling snapshots > Take
snapshot.
4. In the annotation dialog that opens:
a. Type Nordic in the annotation text field.
b. Click outside the annotation dialog to close it.
5. Right-click the visualization Quarterly Trend and select Storytelling snapshots > Take
snapshot.
6. In the annotation dialog that opens:
a. Type Nordic in the annotation text field.
b. Click outside the annotation dialog to close it.
7. In Region, deselect Nordic and select USA.
8. Take snapshots from the same visualizations as for Nordic (Top 5 Customers and Quarterly
Trend) and annotate them with USA.
9. In Region, deselect USA and select Japan.
10. Take snapshots from the same visualizations as for Nordic (Top 5 Customers and Quarterly
Trend) and annotate them with Japan.

You have taken all the snapshots you need and can start creating your data storytelling slides.

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 11 Data storytelling

11.2 Creating a simple story

You will create a short and simple story, where the focus is on creating a few slides with snapshots
and titles. A screen shot of the slide is presented before the step-by-step instructions.

Slide 1
Slide with title 'Three largest regions' and three snapshots of pie charts

Do the following:

1. In the toolbar, click and click Create new story.

2. Enter the title Three largest regions.
Click the story Three largest regions.
The data storytelling editor is opened.
3. Click and drag a title to the slide.
4. Type the title Three largest regions.
5. Click to see the snapshots that you took previously.
6. Drag the pie chart Sales per Region snapshot to the slide.
7. Resize the pie chart and place it to the leftmost on the slide.
8. Click to open the Effect library.
9. Drag the option Any value to the pie chart.
The value USA is automatically highlighted.
10. Copy the pie chart and paste it next to the first one. You can either use Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V or
and in the toolbar.

11. In the new pie chart, click and select Nordic in the list Select data point.
12. In the same manner as for the second pie chart, create a third pie chart and highlight Japan.
13. Click Save (only if you are using Qlik Sense Desktop).

The slide is complete.

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 11 Data storytelling

Slide 2-4
Slide with title 'Nordic' and two snapshots of a bar chart and a line chart.

Slides 2-4 show the top five customers and the quarterly sales trend for the three regions. The
snapshots are stored in the library in the order they were taken, with the latest one at the top. If you
have followed the procedures when taking these snapshots, the two at the top should be Japan,
the two ones below, USA, and the remaining two, Nordic.

Do the following:

1. In the left-hand corner, click and add a blank slide.

2. Click to see the snapshots.

3. Drag the Top 5 Customers bar chart for Nordic to the slide.
4. Drag the Quarterly Trend line chart for Nordic to the slide.
5. Click and drag a title to the slide.
6. Type the title Nordic.
7. Resize and align title and snapshots according to the screenshots.
8. Right-click the sheet Nordic in the story timeline to the left and select Duplicate to create a
new sheet that can be used as a template for the next sheet.
9. Change the title to USA.
10. Select the Top 5 Customers snapshot and click to open the Replace snapshot dialog
where you select the second snapshot in the list. If you followed the instructions it has the
annotation USA.

You can right-click the snapshot and select Go to source, if you want to see the
selections in that version of the snapshot. Then, click Return to go back to the
story.

11. Replace the Quarterly Trend snapshot just as you did with the Top 5 Customers snapshot.

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 11 Data storytelling

12. Duplicate the USA sheet and adjust it to present Japan. Now use the snapshots in the top of
the list in the Replace snapshot dialog. If you followed the instructions they have the
annotation Japan.

When analyzing these slides it is important to know that the figures for 2014 are half-year figures.
Extrapolating the figures for the full year would then give different forecasts for the different
regions.

The story is complete. Click in the upper left corner to play your presentation. You can navigate
with the left and right arrow keys.

Close the story and make edits, if needed. Below the slide you have tools for cutting, copying, and
pasting that can be useful when you edit your presentation. And, of course, you can use the panel
to the right.

Switching between data storytelling and the app context

In data storytelling, you can switch any time from the presentation to the app context. Right-click
the snapshot and select Go to source to open the app sheet where the snapshot was taken. This
gives you a dynamic option to leave the presentation and make data analysis in response to
questions from the audience. When you have finished analyzing, you return to the presentation by
clicking in the toolbar.

The go to source option is also useful for the special purpose of verifying that the right bar charts
and line charts are used. When you select Go to source you will see which region is selected for
that specific snapshot.

Additional options
There are many options that have not been used in this story. Experiment on your own. Try and add
effects to the bar chart. Add a new slide and embed a complete app sheet where you can make
selections when you are in play mode. Add URLs or bookmarks to text strings. There is plenty more
to discover.

11.3 Thank you!

You have reached the end of this tutorial. We hope that you have learned a few things and realized
that app creation sometimes can be pretty easy and even somewhat fun. Qlik Sense is a powerful
tool that is capable of far more than what has been shown here. This is just the beginning!

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