When I started with QlikView (V7), we sometimes wanted to operate on data other than the current selections. We accomplished this with the ALL keyword and complex if() functions. It usually did the job but slow, resource intensive and frequently complex to code.
Along came Set Analysis in QV8.5. Brilliant! Performance problem solved!
We still wanted to do comparative analysis, something not directly supported by Set Analysis. So we resorted to loading fields a second time in a data island. Once again, slow, complex if() functions.
Along came the Alternate States feature in QV11. Brilliant! Performance problem solved!
The Qlik Sense client does not yet support Alternate States. We know the backend QIX engine supports Alternate States, but accessing the feature outside the client is beyond the reach of most QS Developers.
Now going “back to the future”, we see very smart QS developers creating patterns for doing comparative analysis in QS using data islands.
It’s good work. But it’s coding gymnastics. Data islands come at a cost, inflating and complicating the data model and consuming additional server Cache and CPU.
So here is my pitch to the QS Product Team at Qlik: We know that data islands can be a performance pitfall. We’ve seen the problem and the solution in QlikView. Can we skip the “adversity will make you stronger and smarter” phase and just expose Alternate States in the QS Client? Now please?
-Rob
Hi Rob,
I agree that this is a much needed request. Sometimes I wonder whether or not Qlik actually wants to retire QV any time soon, because there are even simpler features that should also be made available in Sense for the non-programer as well (e.g., alarms; binding a scroll bar to a variable or field – I know there is a third party extension that attempts to do some of this).
Sense is supposed to be a self-service platform, but how can it fullfil this role if it requires web development skills to do simple things such as the ones mentioned above?
I agree 100% with the above. I feel very frustrated by Qliks stance on these issues.
Very well said Rob!
I am up for it.
Hello Rob. Yes, it is very demandable feature… There are a lot of things missing in Qlik Sense right now. But there is an excelent extension available we can use today to manage alternative states. http://branch.qlik.com/#!/project/569368a0fe261eb8649bf582
Anyway, it is “must have” feature and should be available in self-service client!
Hi Rob,
Kindly request QV type Alerts also in Qlik Sense. Because as time progress my users are spending less time on looking at charts :). If the request comes from you, Maybe Qlik will note it down.
I fully agree. Its one of the fundamentall features that is needed in Sense, and adding Alternate States in Sense would be adding a feature that competitors don’t have. So should be a marketing advantage. Though sometimes, to me it looks like Qlik mainly focus on adding new features that the competitors already have, rather than adding many of the great features existing in Qlikview that competitors don’t have.
Ugh, it’s so frustrating. Replying just to lend my support to this as well, Rob. @Guruprem, I especially agree with your alerts request given that Qlik’s competitor Tableau has just added really easy end-user-configurable business alerts to their product. Hard to believe we could set these up with View so many years ago but not with Sense now.
I know I m repeating myself but Qlik has frustrated me with Sense and NPrinting beyond belief and I am very happy to be retiring this year so I don’t have to deal with the fall out any more.
Thumbs up for Rob’s message and for all comments below !
Sempre fi