On-demand report generation to network folder

[colinhancox_wp]

I've been asked to come up with a solution to the following request.  The users want to be able to click on a button in a QlikView report and generate a report using NPrinting, that is saved to a network location rather than downloading locally.  They need to do this at random times and the report needs to use the selections they have made.  Essentially on-demand reporting, but to a network location.  I have considered having a button that exports their selections as a text file and then somehow picking that up and called the NPrinting API, passing the selections as a filter.

Has anyone attempted anything like this or have any suggestions?

If it is not possible in QlikView, Qlik Sense would also be an option, although most of the users have QlikView licences only.

Thanks.

[Ruggero_Piccoli]

Hi,

On-Demand for both QlikView and Qlik Sense download the generated report using the local brower. The user can manually select a different download folder or move the file after but there is not an option to set a default download folder also if you use the On-Demand APIs.

You could try to use APIs to trigger a publish task with a destination folder configured but Task Execution APIs do not allow you to pass a filter. 

Best Regards,

Ruggero

[F_B]

Hi @colinhancox_wp,

Qlik Application Automation allows you to store reports in Microsoft SharePoint, is this a solution that may apply to your request?

[JonnyPoole]

This feature existed in NPrinting 16:  on-demand task.  It does not  exist in NPrinting 17 unless you are able to code/integrate a solution that uses the on-demand API or carefully use the task API.  However,  it IS possible again in Qlik Cloud using App Automation to generate PDF/PPTX reports on demand through a button in the Qlik Sense sheet that passes selections to an automation to generate a report in web based storage folder. 

[colinhancox_wp]

Thanks Ruggero.  Unfortunately, for auditing and data integrity reasons, they want the reports to be saved directly to a network folder, saving locally and moving the files is not an option.  But they also want to be able to make selections and filter.  I'm familiar with the on-demand extension, I've used that a lot, but not so much with the APIs, I didn't know you couldn't pass filters on the fly.  I've downloaded some of @Lech_Miszkiewicz's impressive API examples and been looking through those to see if there's anything I can use, maybe by triggering a reload in another app that picks up the exported filters.

[colinhancox_wp]

No, this is a legacy QlikView setup on a server that doesn't have internet access, Qlik Application Automation is not an option.

[colinhancox_wp]

This is unfortunately not Qlik Cloud, it's not even Qlik Sense.  I feel like I've gone back in time 10 years 🙂

[Lech_Miszkiewicz]

Hi @colinhancox_wp 

If I am honest I dont see this working in the fully "safe" scenario. Assuming scenario easier to build would be Qlik Sense and assuming that you could build your own Qlik Sense extension:

• with use of Qlik Sense apis and NPrinting APIs
• to obtain field selections (QS API) and update exisiting NPrinitng filter (NPrinting API--> authenticate + update filter) attached to task or report
• trigger task (NPrinting API)

This process presents following problem - it does not guarantee that you are the only person updating filter and executing task at the time when you press button to execute it. So it is risky as you may have 2 users working on it and the update of the filter may be replaced by update from another user. I know this can take just seconds but still it is possible and report generated could pickup selection from other user. Otherwise that is the process I would follow.

Also you would need to ensure that users running those reports have access to update filters and trigger tasks in NPrinting.

Unfortunatelly for you all the API work i did was purely for execution from Qlik reload script and will have no use in this case I am afraid. It also did not cover filters as I started working on it and then realised that despite it being possible to write and achieve I would not use it and instead I would use import task. Here you would have to build your own solution completely from scratch. Is it worth the effort? - only you can tell!

If this needs to run of QlikView you would have to tap into QlikView API which I have not touched so I cannot comment on it.

[colinhancox_wp]

Thanks for the feedback @Lech_Miszkiewicz , very useful.  Multiple users is definitely something that I have identified as a risk with exporting the filters.  I did have a look at Import tasks yesterday, that is also something that could be useful, but again it needs some means of triggering it that would need to be built.  And it feels like a bit of a hack, although I think whatever I end up doing will be a bit of a hack.

If I come up up with good solution I'll update this thread.

[Lech_Miszkiewicz]

Hi @colinhancox_wp 

Yes - whatever you do will be some sort of hack. 

So, thinking about hacks - how about using some sort of browser extension to solve this issue. I dont know what the default browser is in your organization but lets assume it is Chrome. You could use tools like https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/downloads-router/fgkboeogiiklpklnjgdiaghaiehcknjo/ which will allow you to set different folder based on source domain and type of the file being downloaded and more.

From all the hacks - this could be the easiest one to test I think. You would retain default OnDemand behaviour of Qlik NPrinting and produced downloaded reports would be saved directly to shared drive.

Would that be an option?