How to populate an Excel template with data from a Qlik app in Qlik Cloud?
Hi everyone,
Our company is currently preparing to decommission our Qlik NPrinting environment, so we need to migrate our reporting processes to Qlik Cloud using the tools available there.
Today, we rely heavily on Excel-based reports generated by NPrinting. These reports are built using Excel templates that contain charts, pivot tables, formulas, and formatting. The workflow is simple: NPrinting opens the Excel template, fills the tags with data coming from Qlik objects, Excel recalculates everything, and the final file is distributed to recipients.
What we need in Qlik Cloud is a similar workflow as close as possible to what NPrinting provided.
The most important requirement for us is the following:
At minimum, we need Qlik to update the dataset inside an Excel template. If the data table in the Excel file is updated, we can configure Excel to refresh pivot tables and charts automatically when the file is opened, which would allow our existing templates to continue working.
So the key goal is not necessarily for Qlik to recreate the charts themselves, but at least to populate or update the data source used by the Excel template.
Ideally, the final process would:
Use an existing Excel template
Populate or update the dataset in the file with data from a Qlik app
Generate one file per recipient (for example per customer or region)
Send the file by email or upload it to SharePoint
I have already spent quite a lot of time researching this topic and going through the documentation, but I'm still struggling to clearly understand the best way to implement this in Qlik Cloud.
Since NPrinting will soon be turned off, we are looking for the closest possible architecture in Qlik Cloud to support this type of reporting.
Could someone explain or point to a step-by-step approach or best practice for implementing this type of Excel reporting in Qlik Cloud?
For example:
Which Qlik Cloud features should be used for this scenario?
Is it possible to populate an existing Excel template with data from a Qlik app?
How would you structure the process to generate and distribute these reports?
Any guidance, documentation, or real examples would be extremely helpful.
you can get as creative as you want with the Excel template.
Qlik is connected to excel via an add on. Once connected all apps / charts you have access to are available for you to add to the template, just like NPrinting.
It can be set up to run on Demand or on a schedule.
it can be delivered to Sharepoint and via Email on a schedule.
Thanks for the explanation, that helps clarify part of the process.
I have a follow-up question based on what you mentioned.
I created an Excel report template using the Qlik Reporting add-in for Excel and was able to successfully populate it with data from a Qlik app.
However, I ran into a limitation when trying to distribute the report.
When using the built-in report distribution (from the Report tab in the app), I couldn’t find an option to include CC (carbon copy) or BCC (blind carbon copy) recipients.
I also went through the Reporting documentation you shared, but I couldn’t find a clear solution for this specific scenario.
I understand that it’s possible to include CC and BCC when sending emails via Qlik Application Automation, but this is where I’m getting confused.
From what I see:
If I use Application Automation, I can control the email (including CC/BCC), but I don’t see a way to use Tabular Reporting to populate an existing Excel template created with the add-in.
Instead, it seems like automation only allows generating a more basic Excel output (e.g., simple tables), which means I would lose all the formatting, charts, and customization from my template.
On the other hand, if I use the report distribution from the app, I can properly populate my Excel template, but I lose flexibility in email distribution (no CC/BCC).
So it feels like I have to choose between:
Well-formatted Excel reports (using the template) without flexible email options or
Flexible email distribution (via automation) but without the ability to use my full Excel template
Am I misunderstanding something, or is this a current limitation?
What would be the recommended way to:
Populate a customized Excel template
And still have full control over email distribution (including CC and BCC)?
I do believe that CC and BCC on emails is a current limitation.
Could the recipients who would typically be CC'd and BCC'd just be part of the distribution list and get their own emails with the same filters applied?
Hi! Yes, in our case having CC and BCC is actually a requirement for the email distribution model.
As a workaround, I moved to a different approach in Qlik Cloud: instead of sending reports directly via email using the Report Distributor, I configured it to deliver the reports to SharePoint.
Now, I’m building a Qlik Application Automation flow to pick up those files from SharePoint and send the emails from there. This way, I can include CC and BCC recipients as needed.
It’s not as straightforward as native support would be, but it gives more flexibility for handling recipients.
