Rename a Cycle Group

I often use Rob Wunderlich’s excellent Copy Groups utility to copy cycle groups from one QlikView document to another; or to copy a cycle group from a document back into the same document to make a duplicate (to see the utility and get your own copy, search on ”QlikView Cookbook Copy Groups Utility”). But, sometimes after copying the cycle group, the name of the group may not be ideal.

Author's note:  I removed the rest of this post after seeing Andre's comment. Thanks, Andre - that was something I didn't know... and it's much simpler than what I wrote.

Portion of Andre's comment:

A group can be renamed by going to Document Properties | Groups | Select Group | Edit | Enter New Name | OK

This changes where the group is used in a chart dimension as well

 

Utility That Can Extract and Show All of the Variables from Your QlikView Document

Some of our project teams at work are required to use a standard QlikView document for several clients and then use a client-specific loadscript .qvs file to configure custom variables for each client. The loadscript files define the variables with a set of Let statements and I often get questions about the syntax for the Let statements. Some of the variables define complex expressions and they include dollar signs and functions and quotes and some definitions use multiple lines so the Let statement syntax can get tricky.

I recommend that people do their development first so that they have a working document with all of the desired features and variables that are required. Then, they can use a QlikView document I wrote to be used as a utility program to help people with managing their variables.

You can download a working copy of the utility program, named List_Out_Variables.qvw, by clicking HERE

The utility program has a tab with some text instructions and an input box where people type in the complete pathname to the custom .qvw document that they’ve been working on. Then, they do a reload of the utility program and it extracts all of the variables from the custom document.

The input box stores the pathname in a variable named vDocumentPath. Part of the loadscript in the utility program looks like this:

VARIABLES:
LOAD
  [Name] as VARIABLE_NAME,
  [RawValue] as VARIABLE_VALUE
FROM  $(vDocumentPath) (XmlSimple, Table is [DocumentSummary/VariableDescription]);

That loadscript code extracts the variables from the document and makes the variable names and values available to be shown in charts. (I borrowed the loadscript code from a Rob Wunderlich comment I found in QlikCommunity.)

The second tab on the utility is pretty simple, it is table box showing the VARIABLE_NAME and VARIABLE_VALUE fields along with list boxes for those two fields so that people can select the variables they are interested in. The utility is pretty useful right there as a way to analyze variables, sort them, print them, copy and paste to other documents, etc.

There is a third tab with a chart that helps people with the Let statement syntax that I mentioned. The chart on that tab uses VARIABLE_NAME as the dimension but I found it helps to have the dimension column hidden. Then, there is one expression that converts the VARIABLE_VALUE into a Let statement. The expression looks like this:

'Let '&VARIABLE_NAME&'='&chr(39) &
Replace(Replace(Replace(VARIABLE_VALUE,vQUOTE,vQR),vDOLLAR,vDR),vCR,vCRR)
& chr(39)&';'

An example of how that looks in the actual chart is:

Let MoneyFormat=''&chr(36)&'#,##0.00;('&chr(36)&'#,##0.00)';

To make that work I had to define a few variables in the utility program. It made that text expression much simpler to write. The variables in the utility program are:

vDollar is a variable containing a single dollar sign

vQuote is a variable containing a single quote

vCR is a variable containing a carriage return (really simple, when defining this one just put your cursor in the variable definition window and click your Enter key).

vQR is  '&chr(39)&'

vDR is  '&chr(36)&'

vCRR is  '&chr(13)&'      

If you download a copy of the utility program then you don't have to worry about any of that coding as it is already done for you.

After loading a set of variables extracted from your special document, my instructions tell people to make their selections and then, from the chart, they can right-click and export the chart or copy the data to the Windows clipboard so it can be pasted into a .qvs file or pasted into a loadscript or pasted in some other document.

.

Having an easy method to define a set of variables as Let statements can be used to copy variables from document to document or to accompany a version control process where variables and their values need to be stored as text in a way that allows them to be analyzed or restored later.

Some folks familiar with this blog may remember that several years ago I wrote about an Excel spreadsheet containing a macro that could extract QlikView variable names and values. It worked great but is no longer useful in our corporate environment as the corporate anti-malware software considers it a “suspicious program” and refuses to let it run. The List_Out_Variables.qvw utility is a good replacement.

  ★★★

Have you got a function similar to SQL NVL ?

I work with a group of people who are all experts in SQL. They all also have varying levels of technical skills and QlikView skills. One question I get frequently is whether QlikView has a function like the SQL NVL function.

For those of you not familiar with relational database SQL language, the NVL function takes two arguments: a field name or expression and a default value to be returned if the first argument is null. For example, a SQL database query may include the function like this:

  NVL(ORD_DISCOUNT, 0) AS ORD_DISCOUNT

And that would tell the SQL processor to look at the value of ORD_DISCOUNT and if it is null then return 0 as the function value otherwise return ORD_DISCOUNT.

When people ask about achieving the same thing with QlikView, I usually start by telling them that they can code an “if” statement like this:

  If(IsNull(ORD_DISCOUNT), 0, ORD_DISCOUNT)

and then I explain that there is a built-in QlikView function that can be used similar to NVL as long as the field you are checking is supposed to be numeric. It is the Alt function.

The Alt function accepts any number of arguments and looks at each of them going from left to right and returns whichever one is a valid number. So, repeating our example, if ORD_DISCOUNT is null then the following function will return a zero but if ORD_DISCOUNT is a valid number then the function returns ORD_DISCOUNT:

  Alt(ORD_DISCOUNT, 0)   

The Alt function will treat the last or rightmost argument as an “else” condition and return that value if none of the preceding arguments are numeric. The rightmost value need not be numeric so you could code something like this:

  Alt(ORD_DISCOUNT, 'Discount is missing')

The Alt function may be used in the loadscript code or in chart expressions.

If you are interested, the QlikView Help (search in Help for Conditional Functions) shows an interesting example for how the Alt function can be used to identify a date when the date value may be any one of several different date formats.  

  ★★★

Straight Table with Different Expressions on Each Row

We had a requirement a few months back for a document that would show a table with different expressions on each row along with some subtotals and expressions that reference other rows and columns. It needed to be a single table that could be sent to Excel. It was obviously a requirement that grew out of existing, legacy reporting solutions using Excel but many corporations are wedded to Excel and the larger the corporation, the harder it is to find anyone who believes they have the authority to make changes or do something different.

The solution was to build a document with a straight table with a single dimension that is loaded in the loadscript with an inline load like this:

TBL_KPI_TYPE:

LOAD * INLINE [

KPI_NO, KPI_TYPE

1, Transportation:

2, Intermodal % of Miles

3, Sea %

4, LTL %

5, Avg Pallets/Truck

6,

7, Total Diesel Cost

8, Diesel $/Gallon

9, Diesel # of Gallons

10, Average distance to Customers

];

The straight table used KPI_TYPE as the dimension so those text values get listed in the leftmost column like any other dimension. The chart expression had to be slightly different for each column -- some columns were fiscal months, some fiscal quarters, one was a year-to-date column -- but they all looked something like this:

Pick(KPI_NO,

'  '.

$(v.intermodel_pcent_miles),

$(v.sea_pcent),

$(ltl_pcent),

$(avg_palletspertruck),

'    ',

$(total_diesel),

$(diesel_price),

$(diesel_tot_gallons),

$(avg_dist_to_cust)

)

This is simplified from the actual document.

• Note that the Pick function in the expression uses KPI_NO which is defined in the inline load. The Pick function avoids “if” statements that can affect speed performance for the table as users change their selections.

• The dimension isn’t a real data field. Each line in the expression must use the appropriate field names and set analysis to satisfy the requirement for the row. In the example above, variables are used for each row to help make the overall expression understandable at a glance.

• Because each row is a different expression, the formatting must be done within the expression in the variable using the Num function. Some of those rows are integers, some are in thousands, some are money and some are percentages.

• Because some of the expressions referred to other rows and columns (using the Above and RangeSum functions), I had to turn off the ability to drag and drop the columns. I also had to lock in the selection of all KPI_TYPE values so that the user wouldn’t accidentally make selections on KPI_TYPE. If the expressions were not using functions like Above then allowing the user to make selections on KPI_TYPE would make the chart more flexible.

• Note that some of the KPI_TYPE values can be labels and the corresponding row in the expression is just a blank line. (Make sure the chart properties are not going to hide a row of all blanks.)

• As Aaron mentions in a comment below, something similar can be achieved with a synthetic dimension using ValueList. I think ValueList is better suited to a small number of values but it offers the advantage that a user can't accidentally select one of the values by clicking on the chart; a downside is that it may consume more resources (versus an actual field dimension) when used with a large data model.

★★★

Is My KPI Getting Worse or Getting Better

We have a lot of QlikView documents that measure various kinds of business planning performance. The measures are usually a calculation of the difference between planned values and the actual values. Then the calculation is normalized by dividing it either by the planned or actual values so that the measure can be shown on a document as a percentage.

Key measures or key performance indicators (KPI) like that, if they are well chosen and well designed, give people an idea of how well a business process is performing. I believe that the measure can be even more useful if we add to it an indication of whether the measure has been getting “better” or getting “worse” over time.

Most of the performance measures we use are aggregation calculations that can be used with various dimensions like customer, product, or geographic region. When you show a measure like that in a line graph where the x-axis is time (for example, weeks or months) the line is usually jagged with up and down measures and maybe a “hump” or two. 

The first thing you can do to help someone figure out if the measure is getting better or worse is to use a trendline. In a line graph, go to the chart properties and pick the expression where you’d like to see the trend, find the trendlines section of the expression dialog and click the Linear check box. Now, click OK and you should see that QlikView has drawn a straight line across your jagged line graph. The upward or downward slope of the line can give a person some idea of whether the measure has been getting better or worse.
Note: I usually modify the Presentation tab of the chart properties and set Trendline Width to a narrow line (maybe 0.5) so it doesn’t compete with the main graph line for attention. 

If you stop reading this post at this point, then you’ve already picked up something useful.

Some users of these documents say that they would like the document to point out the areas where a particular measure is getting very bad so they know where to spend their time or resources. We can use a function already built in to QlikView to provide us with a number that would, if it was a trendline in a graph, be the slope of the line. 
If the line is going uphill from left to right, then that would be a positive slope and if it is going downhill then that would be a negative slope. A flat, level line would have a slope of zero. I’m going to describe here how to build a calculated dimension for a chart that can show the 20% of things where a measure has been deteriorating the worst over time.

First, to simplify the description, imagine that you have taken the performance measure expression from your straight table and put it into a variable. We’ll call the variable vKPI.
The time dimension field in the example is PWEEK.
And we are going to use this calculated dimension in a straight table where it will be labeled 20% of Projects Where KPI Has Deteriorated the Most
The linest function is used to calculate the slope of the imaginary graph line. 
The Rank function will help identify the 20% of worst performing PROJECTs. 
Aggr is used to create an array of PROJECT values for our chart dimension. In this example, the higher values indicate a deteriorating measure but you can flip the calculation around if your logic is reversed. 

=aggr(if((Rank(
  linest_m( 
  aggr(
  =$(vKPI)
  ,[PROJECT],PWEEK)
,PWEEK)
,1)-1) / Count(distinct total [PROJECT]) < 0.20, [PROJECT]), [PROJECT])

I know this is one of the more complex topics I’ve tackled in this blog but the result in a document that analyzes key performance indicators is valuable. In the documents where I’ve used this concept I usually provide a method for the user to choose what dimension field they would like to use, so it is not limited to PROJECT so the user could choose PRODUCT, SALESPERSON, or REGION, etc. And then for even more flexibility, I put the calculated dimension into a cycle group made up of other calculated dimensions that identify things that need attention.

In my next post, I’ll show how a related calculation could be used to color code items in a chart so that the items where performance has been getting worse are tagged with red and items where performance has been getting better are tagged with green.

  ★★★

Chart Adjusts to Whatever Fieldnames are Loaded

I’m often called on to validate a new data file from a client or to examine a new data extract. My first step is to load data into a copy of Steve Dark’s Data Profiler (search on quickintelligence data profiler). I’ve made a few modifications to Steve’s original document – here are a couple of the most useful.

I added a line to the loadscript that uses preceding load to add a record number to the rows being loaded. My line is added between the table label and the first line of the regular Load statement. It looks like this:

DATAFILE:  //table label
Load *, recno() as zrecno;  //this is the preceding load line
Load   //this is the beginning of your "regular" Load statement

For the second set of modifications, I added a new sheet or tab which I named Table.
On the new tab, I added a multibox and then I added, not fieldnames, but 20 expressions. You can add any number you like but 20 seemed like plenty. These are mostly copy and paste so they are not a lot of typing and you can start by copying the expression shown in this blog and pasting it into your document. The first multibox expression looks like this:

[$(=only({1<$FieldNo={1}>} $Field))]

That expression evaluates to the fieldname corresponding to field #1. Then I add a second expression to the multibox:

[$(=only({1<$FieldNo={2}>} $Field))]

You can see that in the second expression, I changed $FieldNo={1} to $FieldNo={2} so that the second expression evaluates to the fieldname corresponding to field #2. I did that for each of the 20 expressions so that the 20th expression in the multibox contains $FieldNo={20}

Then, I added a straight table chart. I used zrecno as the dimension. Then, I added 20 expressions. For the first expression, I typed this:

[$(=only({1<$FieldNo={1}>} $Field))]

And for the label, I typed this:

$(=only({1<$FieldNo={1}>} [$Field]))

Again, the rest of the expressions are similar, each time changing the $FieldNo={1} to be 2 for the second expression and its label, $FieldNo={3} for the third expression and its label and so on for each of the 20 expressions. Click OK when you’re done.

Now, you have a multibox and a straight table chart that appear as though you typed in the 20 fieldnames. But, these objects will adjust themselves to whatever fieldnames are loaded. If you load a file with less than 20 fieldnames, the “extra” ones will just be null.

You can copy and paste these objects into other QlikView documents and they will adjust themselves to whatever the first 20 fieldnames are in the document (see important info in first blog comment below). But, I think these are most useful in a document where different fieldnames can be loaded each time.

I checked Dropdown Select for all columns in the Presentation tab to make it easier for the document user to make selections on the chart. 

In order that we don’t burn up all of the memory on the computer, I added a calculation condition to the straight table chart with this expression =if(count(zrecno) < 200000,1,0) so that the chart will refuse to appear if there are more than 200,000 rows. I customized the error message for the calculation condition to say, “There’s more than 200k rows. You have to make some selections to reduce the amount of data in this chart.” A calculation condition like this is a good idea whenever you have an object that might try to show more data than is possible with the available memory.

  ★★★ 

Easy to Add Multivariate Analysis Feature

Here is a technique that I’ve used several times over the past year to quickly add a multivariate analysis feature to a document. We have numerous documents that have a multibox for selections and usually a graph and at least one chart; usually a straight table with a cycle group for the dimension. I usually start with one of these existing documents.

This feature uses QlikView alternate states. I normally steer people away from using alternate states in documents used by business users as it can be confusing. But, in this technique, it seems to be easily used and understood.

The first step, is to add an alternate state to the document. Using the menu, choose Settings->Document Properties, then choose the General tab and click the Alternate States… button (if you don’t see the button then you may be using an older version that doesn’t have the Alternate States functionality). On the Alternate States dialog box that appears, click Add and then simply type a  B  and then click OK. This defines an alternate state in the document named B. It’s not a very descriptive name but it is perfect for this technique.

Now, we’re going to duplicate the multibox. Right-click on the multibox and choose Copy to Clipboard -> Object. Then, from the menu choose Edit->Paste. QlikView will paste the new copy right on top of the old one so you need to drag the copy of the multibox off to the right. This is easiest if the multibox properties Show Caption option is checked so you can click on the title bar at the top of the multibox and drag it. Make the caption of the original multibox say Selections:   and make the caption on the new copy of the multibox say  B Selections:   It may help to make the caption font on the new copy in italics.

Easy, so far? Now, right-click on the new copy multibox and choose Properties. Choose the General tab and look for the Alternate State field at the top. Click the little down arrow on the Alternate State box and click to choose B and then click OK. You now have two multiboxes: one that controls the usual selections and one that controls an entirely different set of selections in alternate state B.

Here's the part that makes it useful. In your charts, you probably have a column something like this:   Sum( Sales )  with the label Sales on it. Add a new column, label it Sales B, and put it right next to the original column. For the expression, type  Sum({B} Sales) 

The syntax is the same as for set analysis. But, this is simpler, just use the {B} inside the argument for any aggregation function and it makes the aggregation use the selections that are defined in your B Selections multibox. No need to change the chart dimensions or change anything in the load script.

Now, you can compare the column for Sales with the Sales B column with the numbers side by side. I assume the fields most useful for the data were already defined in the multibox. So, you can change the B selections to easily compare, for example, June sales next to March sales; or compare tier 1 customers versus tier 2 customers; or profit from the 1kg size versus the 500g size, or inventory turns at the Memphis warehouse versus turns at the combined California warehouses or total cost of the cheesy-beans business versus costs with administrative costs unselected,… etc.

As quickly as you can add a new field to the two multiboxes, you can have a side by side comparison of data for different selections on that field.

I’ve found that graphs that use this technique should use a similar but noticeably different appearance for the two expressions. Using the example from above, a graph of Sales could use a red line in the line graph and use a dotted red line for Sales B.

You can use color in the chart to point out the biggest differences between the regular aggregation and the B aggregation. I’ve sometimes used the Colormix wizard to color the rows with the biggest differences in bright yellow and the smaller differences with less bright shades of yellow (the Colormix wizard is described in the manual and it is well worth your time to become familiar with it).

It would be just as easy to also add C Selections but, so far, I haven’t found a case where it adds value.

  ★★★

Testing the Aggr Function Used in an Expression

I’m often asked to take a look at someone's QlikView document with the explanation that “the expression doesn't work”. If it is a complex expression with multiple parts or multiple functions I suggest taking each part of the expression and testing it to make sure it is performing the expected function. When one of the parts is something simple like  sum(InvoiceAmt)  then most people get the idea that they can put that little part of the expression into a temporary chart column or text box and then, based on the current selections and/or chart dimension, check that the function is really showing the sum of the invoice amounts.

If the part of the expression that needs to be tested is an aggr function then you need to know how to check it because the aggr function does not return a single value like the sum function; it returns an array of one or more values. An array of multiple values will usually show up as a null in a chart expression or text expression. If the array happens to have only one value or if all of the values in the array are exactly the same then you will be able to see the result of the expression but its no guarantee that the function is working as intended.

In order to test the aggr function itself, I recommend surrounding the aggr function with a concat expression that will help you analyze the array of the values returned by aggr. For example, if you had a straight table chart with a dimension of geographic region, you might have an expression like this to calculate average sales rep invoice amount totals:
  Avg( Aggr( sum(InvoiceAmt), SalesRep) )

In order to view the values returned by the aggr function, you could create a temporary column and copy and paste the aggr portion of the original expression and surround it with a concat function that might look like this:
  Concat( Aggr( sum(invoiceamt), SalesRep), ' / ' )

That would create a text string showing the individual values in the array separated or delimited by ' / '
Another useful delimiter is ', ' which creates a text string showing the individual values separated by commas.

When using this technique with a chart column there might not be enough space to show all of the array values separated by the delimiter. If that happens, right-click on the chart cell you would like to examine and choose Copy to Clipboard - Cell Value (in a text box you may right-click and choose Copy to Clipboard - Text) and then paste the value into a text file or spreadsheet or other convenient place to review a long text string.

If the array of values you see using this method is what you expected then check out all of the other sections of your expression – if all of them are working as you expect then assembling them into a single expression should work in your application. I often recommend building and testing each of the parts as a development technique when building a complex expression.

One other method for examining the array of values returned by the aggr function is to use it in a temporary chart and use the aggr function as a calculated dimension. A calculated dimension is, by definition, an array of values and it may help you review the values. 

_______________ ___________________ ___________________

Note to Santhosh:   You can remove leading zeros from a numeric identifier like a SAP 18-digit material number in the loadscript with a line like this:
   replace(ltrim(replace(MATNR,'0',' ')),' ','0') as MATNR_NO_ZEROS,

If you foresee the need to do a left join load using the original identifier then keep it as a separate field. If you would like to turn this into a user-defined function like I wrote about three years ago (search on "qlikview maven user-defined function") then do this:

1. Create a variable named DropZeros
2. Paste this into the variable:  replace(ltrim(replace($1,'0',' ')),' ','0')
3. Now, you have something that works like a user-defined function. It could be used in your loadscript line like this:

   $(DropZeros(MATNR)) as MATNR_NO_ZEROS,

★★★

Problem: Drag and Drop Straight Table Columns Not Working

One of the other consultants at work came to me last week with a seemingly odd problem. She had a document with a straight table that originally had one dimension column. She added two more dimension columns and QlikView added the new columns on the right-hand side of the table. But, my co-worker wanted all three dimension columns to be on the left of the table which is the way we usually set up a straight table. Normally, dragging the new columns over to the left should be quick and easy… but, no matter how many times she tried, the new columns could not be dragged and stayed stubbornly on the right.

After close examination, some trial and error, and a bit of logical thinking; the source of the problem became clear. The thing that was interfering with the drag-and-drop of the dimension columns was the few columns in the chart that were not visible. In this case, there were two kinds: a hidden column, and three conditional columns that would only be visible under specific conditions.

The source of the problem suggested a solution:  right-click on the straight table, select Properties and choose the Presentation tab. One by one, click on each of the columns shown on the Presentation tab and make sure the Show Column radio button is selected for all columns (not Hidden or Conditional). Then, when all columns are visible, the drag-and-drop will work normally. After rearranging the columns as desired, use the chart Properties and Presentation tab again to restore the hidden columns and conditional columns.
One of the blog comments below suggests there is another type of non-visible column that would affect a Table Box: a column referring to a field no longer available in the document. You would have to edit properties for the Table Box and remove the field that no longer exists to restore drag-and-drop capability.

★★★

Note About Dollar-sign Expansion

Katrina, from the Marketing Group, came to me yesterday with a QlikView document she was working on. It had three scatter plot charts arranged side-by-side and she wanted to make the side-by-side comparison easier by making them all have a similar Y-axis. She knew she wanted something for the static max property of the charts so that each would have the same maximum value for the Y-axis. She knew the basic expression to calculate the maximum value but the charts have a cyclic or cycle-group in the dimension and she needed an expression that would work with the cycle group.

I knew that she needed a dollar sign expansion (to handle the cycle group) and an aggr function (to find the maximum value by dimension) so I scribbled an expression like this on a sheet of note paper and Katrina left to try it out:

Max( aggr( your-calculation-of-y-value, $(=getcurrentfield( your-cycle-group-name )))

An hour later, I got an email from Katrina saying that the expression wasn't working. I decided to take a closer look at her document. The cycle group dimension in the charts is named “Scatter ExErr”. It contains a space or blank in the middle of it—so when it is used in an expression it must be surrounded by square brackets like this [Scatter ExErr]    (Note that double-quotes should work as well as square brackets.)

But, the expression still wasn't working correctly and it returned a null value. When I examined the field names used in the cycle group I saw that some of those also contained a space inside the field name. When you use a dollar sign expansion with a getcurrentfield function in your expression you can think of it as though the dollar-sign expansion becomes the field name before QlikView calculates the expression. Since the field name contains an embedded space then it must also be surrounded by square brackets and in this expression that means surrounding the dollar-sign expansion in square brackets. Katrina’s expression now has two pairs of square brackets and looks something like this:

Max( aggr( your-calculation-of-y-value, [$(=getcurrentfield([Scatter ExErr] )] ))

In documents that I develop, I avoid putting embedded spaces into any names that are not actually visible in the charts and I use an underscore character if it is needed to make a field or object name easier to read. If you decide to name things with names containing embedded spaces remember that you usually have to surround the name with square brackets or double quotes when the name is used in a function or expression.

★★★

Maven's Sliding Window

Expanding on the example from last time about loading unstructured text data (to read about it, search on QlikView Maven Loading an Unstructured Text File); here’s one way to examine the data. I call it Maven’s Sliding Window. My requirement was to design a method that would allow a straight table to review the rows of text even though there may be a million rows or more. It had to work even though there may be a special selection applied (for example, a selection of all rows containing the word “program”). The straight table had to show just a very small subset of the rows at any one time to avoid the memory issue that would occur if the straight table tried to show many thousands of rows.

[If there was no selection already applied then this task is easy and no special object is required—just select a contiguous group of 20 rows and you can page though the data 20 rows at a time with the Page Up or Page Down keys on your keyboard.]

First, create a variable named vFinger with a current value of 1 and a constraint so that it contains positive integers. Now, create a Slider Object to update the value of vFinger. In the General tab set Mode to Single Value, set Min Value to =min(recno), set Max Value to =max(recno), click the static step box and put 1 in the static step box. I made the Caption tab title say “Window Pointer”. Make the slider have a vertical orientation to help make the usage a little more intuitive.

Now, set up a straight table object. Set up a calculated dimension named recno with an expression like this:
 =If(aggr(rank(-if(recno>$(vFinger),recno)),recno)<=20,recno) 

And set up one expression defined simply as  logtext  (remember that we are still working with the data loaded in the example from 6May2013)
On the Sort tab specify that the dimension recno is sorted ascending numeric.
In my simple example, I made the object title a text expression like this:
  ='Sliding Window Text from $(File_Pathname):'
so that the title uses the variable containing the file pathname to show where the data came from.

That gives us a straight table that is showing only the records surrounding the record number specified by the vFinger variable. Using the slider that controls vFinger controls which section of text appears in the straight table. You could make the “window” bigger by changing the numbers in the calculated dimension.

Add a Page Down button that updates the value of vFinger to move the window “down”. The metaphor of a sliding window means that sliding down goes toward larger recno values and sliding the window “up” goes toward the lower recno values. The button action would be Set Variable to update the vFinger variable. The action Value would be  =max(If(aggr(rank(-if(recno>$(vFinger),recno)),recno)<=20,recno)) 
That adds to the vFinger variable while staying within the recno values that are selected.
A similar Page Up button would contain a Set Variable action to update vFinger with a value like this  =min(If(aggr(rank(if(recno<$(vFinger),recno)),recno)<=20,recno)) 

If I’m working with long text records then I often set up slider objects to control which text columns appear in the straight table. For example, you could set up a slider with horizontal orientation to control the value of a variable named startcol and a slider to control a variable named endcol. Then, in the expression, instead of simply specifying logtext, code this text expression:  Mid(logtext,startcol,(endcol-startcol)+1)
That will allow you to control which text columns appear in the straight table and you can slide that part of the “window” left and right.

Note that you can save the document and later when you re-open it, the sliding window will still show the same group of records since it is driven by variable values that are saved along with the document.

My example here had a record number field to use as a dimension for the straight table. But, any data that forms a series would work just as well; for example, dates, time of day or timestamps, degree/minutes/seconds of longitude, hours of operation of a machine, measurements from the Hadron Collider, etc. 
The next blog post will discuss using the power of QlikView selection and set analysis to help us examine the text data.


★★★

Selecting Listbox Values Containing Either of Two Different Pieces of Text

Last week a coworker had a document loaded with data from a database job log table. It was over a million rows of log data that various batch jobs had written into. She wanted to select the rows that represented the start time of jobs and also the rows that represented the end time of jobs. Either one by itself would be easy. We knew that the LOGMESSAGE column contains the text ‘JOB START [‘ for log messages posted by jobs when they start up and the column contains the text ‘FINISH STATUS [‘ for messages posted by jobs when they end. To select either of those types of rows you would just click a listbox for the LOGMESSAGE column and start typing the text and QlikView would automatically select the rows. But, selecting both start message and end messages – that is different, how to do that?

The answer is to use an advanced search expression. For this example, you click on the LOGMESSAGE listbox and then start typing this:  =wildmatch(LOGMESSAGE,' *JOB START [*','*FINISH STATUS [*')

As soon as you type the equal sign, QlikView knows you are entering an advanced search expression. QlikView then tests the WildMatch function for each possible value of LOGMESSAGE and if the function is true then the column value is shown in the listbox and when you click [enter] the values are selected. It worked great for our log data problem- all of the start and end log messages were selected and shown in the chart along with their job start timestamps and job end timestamps.

The asterisks in the WildMatch expression are wild card characters that represent any series of characters. We could have added other wildcard matching strings too if we needed them. For example, if the job end messages had two different text layouts then we could have used the matching text to select both types of end messages. Despite the fact that the WildMatch expression contains the column name, LOGMESSAGE, it could be used with any of the columns or fields in the document and it would select the values that are associated with the LOGMESSAGE start and end messages.

★★★

Make a Copy of a Cycle Group

I sometimes build cycle groups with more than a dozen calculated dimension expressions and labels that are text expressions. It used to irritate me when I needed to make copies of those cycle groups (like when I need a very similar group for a chart with two or more dimensions or a separate group for a graph which may be a little different from a group used for a straight table). Copying the cycle group was a time-consuming chore going back and forth copying and pasting.

Here's a macro you can copy into the module code of a QlikView document that will allow you to easily make copies of a cycle group. I got the code for this macro originally on QlikCommunity and modified it to use input boxes to ask for the cycle group names. It has been been very useful - I usually just copy it into a document temporarily when I need to make duplicate cycle groups and remove the macro afterwards. As always, you should make a backup copy of your document before making major updates or running macros that do updates.

Sub RunCopyCycleGroup
'--------------------
CGName=inputbox("Enter name of cycle group to copy:")
if trim(CGName)="" then 'no entry or cancel
  exit sub
  end if
NewName=inputbox("Enter name for copy of "&CGName&":")
if trim(NewName)="" then 'no entry or cancel
  exit sub
  end if
Call CopyCycleGroup(CGName, NewName)
End Sub
'
Sub CopyCycleGroup(CGName, NewName)
'-----------------------------------
' /* Copy cycle group. OK if NewName exists. */
Set SrcGrp = ActiveDocument.GetGroup(CGName)
Set SrcProps = SrcGrp.GetProperties
Set NewGrp = ActiveDocument.GetGroup(NewName)
If NewGrp Is Nothing Then
  Set NewGrp = ActiveDocument.CreateGroup(NewName)
Else
  Set NewProps = NewGrp.GetProperties
  for i = 1 to NewProps.FieldDefs.Count
    NewGrp.RemoveField 0
    Next
  End If
Set NewProps = NewGrp.GetProperties
NewProps.FieldDefs.CopyFrom SrcProps.FieldDefs
NewProps.IsCyclic = SrcProps.IsCyclic
NewProps.Labels = SrcProps.Labels
NewProps.Present = SrcProps.Present
NewProps.SortCriterias.CopyFrom SrcProps.SortCriterias
NewGrp.SetProperties NewProps
msgbox CGName&" copied to "&NewName
End Sub

I have also posted a macro that will copy a cycle group from one document to another, separate document (search on "Macro to Copy a Cycle Group From One Document to Another").

★★★

Referring to a Column Label When the Label is a Text Expression

Last week, I added an enhancement to a QlikView document that had been in use for over two years. My task was simply to add a column to a straight table that would have an expression like this:  =[column1] - [column2]. It should be pretty simple. 
But the two columns I needed to refer to had text expressions using variables in their column labels. The two column labels looked like this:
=abv_PRICE&' '&lbl_Cmpr&' '&abv_EUAVG
=abv_COST&' '&lbl_Cmpr&' '&abv_EUSTD 

It took a few tries to get the syntax right. I didn't change the existing columns but I copy and pasted their label expressions into my column expression and then modified the syntax and added dollar sign expansion. The expression for my new column still refers to the two other columns using their column labels within square brackets; it looks like this: 
[$(='$(abv_PRICE) $(lbl_Cmpr) $(abv_EUAVG)')]-[$(='$(abv_COST) $(lbl_Cmpr) $(abv_EUSTD)')]

I hope this might help someone with a similar problem to solve. 

★ ★ ★

Macro Copies Value From a Chart into a Variable

Here's an example of a method that will allow a QlikView macro to look at a value inside a sheet object like a straight table and put the value into a variable. Then the variable can be used in an expression like a text box or small chart. Most of the time, something like this could be accomplished with an expression in the variable that produces the same value as what you see in the chart. But a macro would be useful when duplicating the chart value with an expression would be difficult because of varying sort sequences or calculated dimensions in the chart, etc.

This is the macro code:

Sub Get_XTOTAL
 Application.WaitForIdle
 set cell=ActiveDocument.GetSheetObject("CH45").GetCell(1,7)
 ActiveDocument.Variables("vXTOTAL").SetContent cell.text, True 
 set cell=nothing
End Sub

This example macro is extracting a value from the totals row of the chart where the object ID is CH45 (look in the General tab of the chart properties to find the object ID). The number arguments for the GetCell method are row and column; row 1 and column 7 in this example.
Then the macro updates the value in the document variable named vXTOTAL. When written as in this example, the variable must already exist, so create the variable before executing the macro.
When I use a macro like this, I set up a trigger to execute the macro as needed, usually when a selection changes.

★ ★ ★

Cool Idea for Simplifying Chart Expressions

I have an inventory reporting document that shows inventory quantities at the end of each month. The basic unit-of measure for inventory is “cases” but the material master table contains conversion factors for each product to convert quantities in cases into other units of measure like kilograms, pounds, pallets, or inventory cost in dollars.

Similar to what I’ve done in the past to help a user select date formats, or currency, or language; I set up a small inline table in the document loadscript that looks like this:

UOM_SELECTION:
Load * inline [
UOM_SELECTION, Abbrev, ConvFactor
Cases, CS, 1
Kilograms, KG, CONV1
Pounds, LB, CONV2
Pallets, PT, CONV3
US Dollars, USD, CONV4
];

In the document, the field UOM_SELECTION appears in a multibox and the user selects the unit of measure they want to see used in charts and calculations. The field is configured for “Always One Selected Value”. When the user has made a selection then the Abbrev or UOM_SELECTION fields can be used in titles or labels since there is only one possible value for those fields.

The ConvFactor field is interesting – it is not really a conversion factor in the little table, it is the field name of a field that appears in the material master. For example, each material in the material master has a CONV1 field whose value is the conversion factor to convert cases of that material to kilograms. In the chart expressions where the inventory quantity must be shown, the unit of measure is handled, not by a series of IF statements, but with the name of the conversion factor field. A typical expression would look like this:
Sum( cs_quantity * $(=ConvFactor) )

The ConvFactor is evaluated and the value, which is a field name, is used in the expression. In the inline table, the value of ConvFactor for cases is simply a 1 since no real conversion is necessary and multiplying by 1 works fine. You are not limited to a single field name in the inline table-- you could use something like CONV5/CONV6 or 1/CONV5 and it would be evaluated in the chart expression just like a single field name. The chart expression is faster and simpler without the IF statements that would otherwise be required to determine which unit-of-measure was selected.

* * *

Count of Rows in a Chart

Once in a while someone asks me if there's a way to count the rows in a chart and put the number of rows in the chart title. I usually respond by asking, "why would anyone want to do that?" Usually, an expression that counts the distinct values of the fields used as the chart dimension is close enough. If you want a method that actually counts the rows in a straight table chart, here's something I have used that counts the rows and puts the count into a variable named chart_row_count. It will need to be modified for your environment and tested. (***make sure you also see the suggestion near the end)

Create a macro in the module code that looks like this:

Sub Count_Rows

'-------------

'/* Put your chart object id in the next line */

Set CHRT=ActiveDocument.GetSheetObject("CH70")

On error resume next

'/* in the next line, put an upper limit on the */

'/* loop bigger than your expected chart row count */

For i=1 to 500

ccontent=CHRT.GetCell(i,0).text

If Err.Number <> 0 then

Err.Clear

On error goto 0

ActiveDocument.Variables("chart_row_count").SetContent i-1, True

Exit For

End If

Next

On error goto 0

Set CHRT=nothing

End sub

The count in the variable includes the total line if there is one. You can use the variable value in a text expression in your chart title. One thing you must do that will vary from document to document depending on your requirements-- you must figure out how to trigger the macro when the number of rows in the chart might have changed. Triggering when a selection changes is easy to do. Triggering when a cycle group is changed will be harder. For testing, use a button to trigger the macro.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

*** nrbhattad suggests this much simpler macro for finding row count:
set chart=ActiveDocument.GetSheetObject("CH01")

ActiveDocument.Variables("chart_row_count").SetContent chart.GetNoOfRows, true

.

A Chart Expression That Works Differently for Totals Row

I built a QlikView document last week with a straight table chart where I needed to have some of the expressions work differently on the totals row than on the regular rows. One of the dimensions on the chart was date -- but the totals row needed to aggregate data for the most recent date only. I wrote an expression that takes advantage of the fact that the RowNo function returns null for the totals row. So, leaving out the actual calculation part, the expression looked something like this:
if(IsNull(RowNo()),
/* do the totals row calculation */ ,
/* else, do the regular calculation */)

A similar idea can be used if you want to change the color or bold the totals row. For example, you could use an expression like this for background color:
if(IsNull(RowNo()),yellow())

and make the totals row look like it is emphasized with a highlighter color.

Important note: If you use the RowNo() function in your column expression you will not be able to re-sort the chart by double-clicking on a column title. If that is a problem for your application then use if(Dimensionality()=0,... as a substitute.

* * *