Qlik Explorer for Developers

[Øystein_Kolsrud]

Qlik Explorer for Developers is a light weight tool designed to provide a simple way for developers to examine the contents of a Qlik Sense server. Typical use case include examining the properties or layout of a particular object, or to simply retrieve the ID of that object for use in an API based solution. The tool is attached as a zip-file to this post and requires no installation.

The tool provides a number of "templates" that are used to choose what type of information to display for the different nodes. Some examples are "id" which simply prints the ID of the node:

Another commonly used template is "json" which allows you to navigate to particular sections of the json structure of properties and layouts:

Qlik Explorer for Developers also exposes the new progress information provided by the engine for app open operations. The feature requires Qlik Sense Enterprise for Windows release May 2022 or later, and provides a breakdown of the time spent by the engine in different steps of the app open flow. This information can be very useful for instance when investigating app open performance issues:

 

Please use the Community forum "Integration, Extension & APIs" for any questions relating to this tool:

https://community.qlik.com/t5/Integration-Extension-APIs/bd-p/qlik-sense-integration-extension-api

Release notes:

## v2.7.0
* **NEW FEATURE:** It is now possible to cancel connection requests.
* **IMPROVEMENT:** Modernized icon graphics.
* **ENVIRONMENTAL:** Implemented support for the new csrf-token flow required by November 2024 and later version of Qlik Sense Client Managed.

## v2.6.0
* **NEW FEATURE:** Implemented new authentication method: OAuth to QCS.
* **IMPROVEMENT:** Changed layout of connection dialog. It's now organized according to product type (QCS, Client Managed or Desktop).

## v2.5.1
* **NEW FEATURE:** Added experimental feature: Action nodes.
* **NEW FEATURE:** Added experimental feature: Automation nodes.
* **IMPROVEMENT:** Improved user experience when populating streams with apps. A stream is now populated immediately when expanded.
* **IMPROVEMENT:** Added execution summary for progress information.
* **BUG FIX:** App layout and properties are now displayed as formatted JSON.
* **BUG FIX:** The layout template now correctly displays layout, not properties, for apps.

## v2.4.0
* **NEW FEATURE:** The app open progress information now includes percentage of total time and delta time between steps.
* **NEW FEATURE:** Server nodes now return snippets for the `info` template.
* **NEW FEATURE:** Field info now includes the "OneAndOnlyOne" flag. The information can be viewed using the `info` template.
* **IMPROVEMENT:** Improved re-connection flow. You will no longer be presented with dialogs to reconnect when connection is lost.
* **IMPROVEMENT:** Apps are now retrieved for the "My work" stream first instead of last.
* **IMPROVEMENT:** Filter search is now case insensitive.
* **BUG FIX:** Filter text is now cleared when a new connection is established.
* **BUG FIX:** Streams and apps are now fetched using paging. Previously a maximum of 10 entities were fetched.

## v2.3.2
* **BUG FIX:** Fixed issue preventing connections using header authentication.

## v2.3.1
* **BUG FIX:** Fixed issue with collecting streams when connecting to client managed through proxy.
* **BUG FIX:** Fixed issue when accessing app using section access for which you are not assigned access privileges.

## v2.3.0
* **NEW FEATURE:** Added options for connecting using certificates and header authentication.
* **NEW FEATURE:** It is now possible to delete connections from the connection history in the settings dialog.
* **NEW FEATURE:** Added experimental option to connect to client session.
* **BUG FIX:** Fixed problem listing apps when there are no streams or spaces.

## v2.2.1
* **NEW FEATURE:** Replaced app filter with functionality for choosing to filter on either title or ID.
* **NEW FEATURE:** Added button for clearing filter.
* **NEW FEATURE:** Added dialog for configuring settings.
* **IMPROVEMENT:** Nodes that are considered matched by filter are now highlighted in the tree.
* **IMPROVEMENT:** Added option to revert to default settings if settings file has been corrupted.
* **BUG FIX:** An app without a space ID would previously cause an exception to be throw and force a disconnect from QCS.
* **BUG FIX:** Fixed issue with listing apps in QCS spaces.

## v2.1.2
* **NEW FEATURE:** App open progress is now loaded dynamically while the open process is running.
* **NEW FEATURE:** The info template can now be used to display information about field and dimension nodes.
* **NEW FEATURE:** Added option to store key used for connection mode Api Key to QCS.
* **NEW FEATURE:** Added new connection type JWT to QCS.
* **IMPROVEMENT:** The connection type "API key to QCS" is now correctly denoted `ApiKeyToQcs` instead of `JwtToQcs`.
* **IMPROVEMENT:** Improved connection error messages.
* **COSMETIC:** Implemented use of black circle as password character.
* **DISABLED:** The preview tab has been disabled as IE11 is no longer supported by Qlik Sense.
* **BUG FIX:** Fixed tool tip for input field for connection type "Api key to QCS" and "JWT Key".

## v2.0.2
* **NEW FEATURE:** It is now possible to filter the set of apps that is displayed in the tree view.
* **NEW FEATURE:** It is now possible to display the ID of nodes in the tree view along with the title of the node.
* **NEW FEATURE:** The new info template makes it possible to view a detailed breakdown of how long each step of the app open process takes. 
* **IMPROVEMENT:** The tab panel is now position next to the tree view instead of below.

[Shohamgg]

Does this work for the Qlik Sense Cloud version?

[Øystein_Kolsrud]

@Shohamgg Yes it works with the cloud version as well. In fact the screenshots above show usage with QCS. You'll need an API key to be able to connect though.

[karthiksrqv]

Hi,

We are unable to connect to a Qlik box using this tool. We can open the Qlik hub using a browser. But when we try using this tool it simply does not work.

We even tried temporarily with anonymous mode, even then it simply fails.

---------------------------
Error
---------------------------
Can not connect to that server, check host and/or user information and try again!
---------------------------
OK
---------------------------

[Øystein_Kolsrud]

@karthiksrqv There were some improvements to the connection error messages done a couple of releases ago. Are you using the latest version of the tool? If you are, then one thing you could do is to turn on logging and see if there are any clues as to what is going wrong there. To activate logging, open the settings dialog and check the "Write logs" checkbox. A log file will then be created for each time you start the tool and it will contain among other things websocket traffic.

[giohb_]

Is there a way to track the usage of the sheets by user session and duration ?