Why is there no Web File connector in Qlik Sense SaaS?

[stevedark]

Hi,

For some time there has been a discrepancy that Qlik Sense Client Managed and Qlik Sense Desktop have a Web File connector, but this is not present in Qlik Sense Cloud. For a time I put this down to no-one having gotten around to it yet, but years on that doesn't stack up any more.

Can someone give an indication as to why this connector is not present? @Michael_Tarallo @chrisbrain perhaps?

I've a demo that I am looking at publishing which pulls data from a Wikipedia page, and it seems simply weird to be saying that this demo works on Desktop but doesn't work in Cloud.

Incidentally, I've found this solution from @IvanBozov , which may work, but it still doesn't answer the question:
https://www.vizmind.eu/connecting-to-web-files-in-saas-editions-of-qlik-sense/

Thanks in advance!

Steve

[Ivan_Bozov]

Thanks for the mention, Steve! I brought this up in a Qlik webinar a while back and the response was that there are some security concerns. I hope this gets resolved soon, many of us miss the functionality. Fortunately, the workaround you refer to still works. 😉

[stevedark]

Thanks for working out the solution @Ivan_Bozov !

I think I have used it in the past, but in this case to put my Tennis demo on our tennant I have just created the QVD on Desktop and uploaded (just need to remember to re-upload after each slam).

The security concern excuse is an interesting one, given what else you can do on Cloud. Far more likely, I would have thought, to bring something nasty in via a file-sharing platform than a connector that can only bring in text. Even if they stripped out anything inside squiggly brackets to remove any javascript code it would be better than having nothing.

As you say, hopefully something that will get resolved soon.

[AdamBS]

Hi - this caught my eye "just need to remember to re-upload after each slam".

In QSE SaaS under profile, tools you see QS Desktop and Qlik DataTransfer.  Both are import aspects of QSE SaaS because they provide a mechanism to get any data not yet possible in SaaS into the SaaS tenant eg A Web Page or MS Access DB.  Remember that with Qlik DataTransfer you can set a folder watch so that as soon as your new or updated QVD arrives, it is pushed to SaaS and you can even trigger a SaaS reload.  Neat solution I think.

[stevedark]

Hi @AdamBS 

Thanks for the suggestion. Qlik Data Transfer is something that we have used for some clients, and as you say it works well.

In this case there isn't another server which we can run the extract on where it will run consistently (without going cap in hand to a client to ask if we can put our demo app on their server).

I have thought about having a common DropBox or Google Drive between the demo tenant we have this demo on and a machine that can do the extract, but we are not really wanting to put account details in to the demo tenant.

There are ways of achieving this, but the point is a Web Connector in SaaS would be nice all the same.

Steve