topic Layout container: Can you make chart objects and KPIs load faster? in App Development

Layout container: Can you make chart objects and KPIs load faster?

blipblopdk — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 08:11:52 GMT

Hello,

In general, I find that the layout container generates its content quite slowly. Can something be done about it - or is it just the way it is?

I have attached a video that shows how slowly a dashboard made with a layout container is generated. As you may notice in the video each sheet has several actions that selects specific values in five different fields that then has an effect on the values generated.

Is this normal behaviour of the layout container? Or can something be done to make it load faster?

I would like it to load a lot faster since many of our users need to see 3-5 versions of this dashboard with different values of the fields whose values are set by actions in each sheet.

BR Kim

Re: Layout container: Can you make chart objects and KPIs load faster?

Chanty4u — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 18:23:06 GMT

Use default bookmarks instead of sheet-level actions.

Bookmarks are applied once, and cached results are reused.

Re: Layout container: Can you make chart objects and KPIs load faster?

blipblopdk — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 04:56:38 GMT

Hi Chanty4u,

So you think / mean that default bookmarks would actually make the layout container load faster?

The default bookmark in this case needs to be dynamically set, and I can not seem to make it work. I need to set the value of 6 fields where the values of 5 of these fields will be different for different sheets for the same user.

The first field (where the value will be the same across the different sheets) is the initials of the user, where the field "Initials" needs to be set to: subfield(GetUserAttr('userEmail'),'@',1)

This expression gives me the right user.

I have made a variable: v_CurrentUser with the definition: subfield(GetUserAttr('userEmail'),'@',1)

I then have made a filter with the field "Initials" and in the search field of the filter I write "=Initials=$(v_CurrentUser)" - but no result comes up.

This is just the first of my problems with creating dynamic bookmarks.

Perhaps some one can help me out? But help is only needed if default bookmarks actually will make layout container load faster than by using sheet actions (where the field values currently are set - and it works).

BR Kim

Re: Layout container: Can you make chart objects and KPIs load faster?

robert_mika — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 05:17:23 GMT

@blipblopdk

Did it load faster without the container?

When the video was taken- what was the overall performance of you account?

How many users, any depended loads?

Are you using any extensions? What are the objects in your dashboards?

What are the expressions behind each of them

What is your data model etc.

There are 30? KPI opening at the same time - still(not sure how big is the data set) is pretty fast.

I believe once they are open they will be cashed and open faster next time

Maybe LC is not to blame?

I'm using container with 50-60 objects and performance are pretty fast

Re: Layout container: Can you make chart objects and KPIs load faster?

Lech_Miszkiewicz — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 05:33:07 GMT

Hi @blipblopdk

This is rather old subject I would say and I would not blame layout container for this behaviour.

What is causing this issue is number of individual objects you are loading on the page effectively creating web browser traffic. I suggest you open chrome developer tools and see load time of those objects. It is not based on calc time of actual KPIs and it is limited to your network speed + number of objects.

We used to have the same issue and solution was to smarter use other objects like tables instead of individual KPI or text objects.

cheers

Re: Layout container: Can you make chart objects and KPIs load faster?

blipblopdk — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 06:03:06 GMT

Hi robert_mika,

I have not tried it without the layout container as I need the exact placement of objects which is only avaliable in the layout container (AFAIK).

I can not answer all of your other questions, though of course they are very relevant for the performance.

I am looking for general input about whether there are issues with the performance of the layout container. This is also because we have general landing page for our BI solution made in a layout container where only button objects (70+) are used, so no KPI's and thus the load time does not depend on any data model. This landing page does not load super slow but you can still see and follow how each button (more or less) is generated. And this behaviour has led me to ask the original question, since I now have a more complex dashboard made with the layout container adn with a data model, KPI's and thus dynamic calculations which of course leads to more time for generating the dashboard.

I have attached a video that shows how the landing page loads. The layout container starts generating from around second 5 and is then finished around 3 seconds later.

BR Kim

Re: Layout container: Can you make chart objects and KPIs load faster?

Nagaraju_KCS — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 10:51:45 GMT

Hi @blipblopdk ,

The problem is usually not the layout container object. The container is just a shell. The slowdown you are seeing is because the Qlik engine recalculates the entire data model and each affected visualization multiple times for each click.

When you navigate to a sheet that runs several actions (which select specific values in five different fields)

Since your container's sheets likely many objects, five sequential recalculations are causing the noticeable lag.

If the case we used to apply bookmarks.

If each "sheet" (view) in your container is meant to represent a predefined set of selections (e.g., Year, Q$ Data, XYZ, etc.), the absolute fastest way to apply those filters is with a Bookmark.

The bookmark stores the state of all selections across all fields. Applying a bookmark is one single action that triggers only one engine calculation.

This is just an idea 🙂, I hope it helps.

Re: Layout container: Can you make chart objects and KPIs load faster?

Lech_Miszkiewicz — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 11:17:37 GMT

Hi @Nagaraju_KCS

I agree with your comment about each click and recalculating by engine, but...

In this particular case there is no lag on object calculation - you can see this on the short clip recorded. It is time of objects being loaded to the browser. Funny enough load time will also depend highly on object type you are loading. In some instances we were using button object instead of KPI object as there was significant difference in loading time of for example 50 kpi objects vs 50 button objects, despite each of them showing just a kpi value. In KPI object value would be shown as a measure and we had to use button object and have measure loaded as actual label of the button as that was loaded much faster. Strange, ain't it?

@blipblopdk - you can test this by simply creating a ctrl +0+0 app with super small dummy data model and 1 measure which you can put into 50 kpi objects and the same measures put as label into 50 button objects on another sheet. You can then measure your time in browser dev tools on how long it takes to load them and you will see the results. Also in dev tools you can enable/disable caching of objects loaded to browser so that you can have repetitive and comparative analysis done.

bottom line is - we have been there and have done this analysis already so we know that even with super simple data model the root cause of slow load is not in slow engine or calc time but actual web browser rendering time. I will be happy to be proved wrong 😑

cheers

Re: Layout container: Can you make chart objects and KPIs load faster?

Nagaraju_KCS — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 11:37:13 GMT

@Lech_Miszkiewicz - Yes, May be you're right that the lag isn't always in the computation (on the Qlik engine side), but in browser rendering and object initialization.

"The button is a simple object, when you place a measure in its label, Qlik can quickly display the result as basic text in the browser. This is much faster than loading a KPI object."

Re: Layout container: Can you make chart objects and KPIs load faster?

blipblopdk — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 11:49:05 GMT

@Nagaraju_KCS Interesting! I will try and replace the KPI objects that I am currently using with button objects to see how much faster the page loads.

Br Kim

Re: Layout container: Can you make chart objects and KPIs load faster?

blipblopdk — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 12:04:28 GMT

@Nagaraju_KCS

Now I have replaced all KPI objects with button objects that as the label makes the calculations that previous was in the KPI objects, and the page actually loads a little faster. The values in the button objects comes up a little faster, but overall it is seems like it is the rendering of the many objects that takes the most time, although many of the button objects only have simple text content (a fee of them must evaluate variables).

I have attached a video that shows the new behaviour. The version of the dashboard with white text in the objects is the one with button objects instead of KPI objects.

BR Kim

Re: Layout container: Can you make chart objects and KPIs load faster?

Nagaraju_KCS — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 12:16:08 GMT

I think it's better now.

the problem is entirely client-side rendering overhead. While button objects are lighter than KPI objects, loading 50+ individual objects - each requiring its own HTML/CSS and it takes time.

Re: Layout container: Can you make chart objects and KPIs load faster?

Lech_Miszkiewicz — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 13:16:22 GMT

Hi @blipblopdk

so my next question is whether you could use less objects, for instance:

* new table object for each row with hidden headers. You could use background colour of cells with kpis and possibly other cells with transparent background to mimick similar layout while maintaining a lot less objects

* or maybe new text object which has table functionality in it?

cheers

Re: Layout container: Can you make chart objects and KPIs load faster?

pablolabbe — Sat, 29 Nov 2025 20:49:36 GMT

Hi @Patric_Nordstrom , maybe this sounds interesting for your team

Re: Layout container: Can you make chart objects and KPIs load faster?

blipblopdk — Sun, 30 Nov 2025 04:32:29 GMT

Hi @Lech_Miszkiewicz,

Thank you for the suggestions.

Using a Qlik pivot table unfortunately does not meet our requirements. One particular issue with the pivot table (and many other objects in Qlik) is that it responds very badly to changes in browser zoom and screen resolution as the layout gets completely ruined. With the KPI object and Button object we can control it much better and actually control what the user sees regardless of browser zoom and screen resolution (unlike with the pivot table as an example).

I am going to go with the current solution where I use the Button object instead of the KPI object for the KPI's.

BR Kim