Navigating through Qlik Sense Desktop

[Charles_Bannon]

I am sure everyone has already downloaded Qlik Sense Desktop, so I wanted to help you get comfortable with navigating within an application. Understanding how to get to where you want to go is half of the battle.

Top left navigation

1.   Navigation Menu – This menu allows you to navigate to different areas of Qlik Sense desktop.

          a.    App Overview – Go back to the main screen within the current app and view the sheet layout of the app.

          b.    Data load editor – Create or modify the data load script.

          c.    Data model viewer – See how the tables are structured within the app and preview the data.

          d.    Open hub – Go back to the area where you can see all of the available apps.

2.    Menu – This menu offers options to learn more about Qlik Sense Desktop as well as the option for the Quick data load.

          a.    Quick data load – Allows you add new data to the app or add files to replace the existing data.

          b.    Help – This is where you can find answers to all Qlik Sense related questions.

          c.    About – This will tell you which version of Qlik Sense Desktop you are running.

3.    Save – Saves changes made to the app.

4.   Information about the app – View the app thumbnail, title, last loaded date, file name, and the app description.

5.    Step back – Reverse the last selection made within the app.

6.    Step forward – Reapply the last selection.

7.    Clear all selections – this will remove all current selections.

Top right navigation

8.   Take a snapshot – This allows you to  take a snapshot of the different objects within the app. Snapshots can be used within

        Storytelling.

9.    Storytelling – This area allows you build a story about your data. Use images, snapshots, objects and text to create a

        compelling story about your data.

10.   Bookmarks – This allows you to create and save different selection states to be used at a later time.

11.    Edit / Done – This button allows you to edit the sheet. Create visualizations, measures, etc. Once you are finished in edit

        mode, select done to see your how your changes respond to user interaction. 

12.   Sheets – This allows the user to move around from sheet to sheet within the app.

13.  Search Tool – Selecting this option will allow you to search your data for a particular value.

14.   Selections Tool – This option allows you to view and select from all of the data fields available as well as view the current

        selections.

15.    Sheet navigation - Navigate to the next sheet or the previous sheet.

Now that you know where the navigation options are located and what they allow you to do, go ahead start developing your Qlik Sense apps! Happy Qliking!

[Or]

I think the fact that we need this post to help us navigate within QlikSense says everything about lack of intuitiveness which was supposed to be one of its selling points...

[#3]

Good to read.

Thanks!

[philip_doyne]

I would be quite keen to start a discusson about "Gorgeous and Genius" which was a major plank of the design,    I am finding that when I show Qlik Sense to peope (colleagues at the moment) they do not see this and feel that we have made much more Gorgeous and Genius" stuff in QlikView.    How do you think this could be improved - my first suggestion with existing capabiity is to ensure you have added an image not only to the snapshot of every app but also to every sheet.   What else could we do and what else could the development team do?

[kouroshkarimi]

Re-work sheet navigation. At the moment it's absolutely dreadful.

I wish some apologists would stop trying to justify some of the design decisions made with this product. Arguing that objects such as pivot tables are 'on the roadmap' is a poor excuse. As is ignoring the 'app-development' ethos and culture which QlikView previously encouraged and which made it successful.

[hic]

We at Qlik very much appreciate your feedback. We need it to develop Qlik Sense further and make it a really good product. Experience from real-life users is the best feedback we can get!

However, what “intuitive” means, can be discussed… So I would like to tell you a little about my personal experience of Qlik Sense. First of all: I’m old school. Really, old school. I have worked with QlikView for 20 years, and my immediate reaction to anything new is “It can’t be good!” I still have problems finding my way around in Qlik Sense, whereas I know exactly where to find things in QlikView. So I have had many fights with the new UI…

But, it is to a large extent just what you are used to. I find it a painful process to change my behavior. But I learn, and I get accustomed. Further – start using the new UI on a touch device, and you will see that many things make sense, whereas the old QlikView UI is almost impossible to use.

The new UI is work in progress, but to talk about “lack of intuitiveness” isn’t fair. I have good hopes that the UI eventually will get really good. Meanwhile, I would appreciate constructive criticism – feedback that our developers can use to improve the product.

HIC

[Or]

Hey Henric,

I'm not as old school as you - I've only been using QlikView for 11 years. During that time span, I've never had or needed formal training, and most of my users don't require any, either - they're trained by a key user in their department during a short session that focuses on explaining the data and displays, rather than the software. I'm not here to bash QlikSense's intuitiveness in a vacuum - I'm just saying it's not as intuitive as QlikView (or for that matter, Tableau, which seems to be the competition, and which I've used before). QlikSense is a work in progress, which means it can be made more intuitive, but we can only refer to what we're seeing now, not to the end product - I'm sure it will be improved over time. Right now, QlikSense feels like Windows 8.0 - an attempt to force a mobile paradigm on PC users.

I do apologize if I seem snappy about this - I have to admit I was expecting something completely different from QlikSense (in my defense, the buildup suggested something significantly more, well, robust than what we're seeing right now), so perhaps the disappointment is showing. I'll keep my nose out of QlikSense posts from here on out and stick to the QlikView forums.

[hic]

Orsh

I would appreciate if you continued to look at Qlik Sense posts as well. Qlik Sense needs feedback from experienced QlikView developers like you.

I agree that there are many elements in Qlik Sense that can be improved, and to do that we need the viewpoints of real users and real developers. The purpose of my reply was merely to moderate the discussion so that we get the feedback on a constructive level.

HIC

[msteedle]

Design has gone a little "icon crazy" at the expense of clarity. Maybe the responsive design can provide more explicit menu options when viewed in a large window.