Some thoughts about password strength

By Stefan Walther 1 Comment
Posted in Nice Read

I wish you all a good start into a successfull and happy year 2012.

How do you choose your most secure passwords?
I just have to share this, this is brilliant: :)

Some thoughts about password strength

Source: xkcd.com/936/

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Published: January 3, 2012

Set Analysis Wizard for QlikView

By Stefan Walther 24 Comments
Posted in Creating Applications, QlikView-Online-Tools

Do you normally succeed CREATING and DOCUMENTING a Set Analysis expression/formula like the following one in less than two minutes?


Sum({$<Year=,Month=,CustomerCountry=P({1<CategoryName={'Confections'}>}SupplierCountry),Customer=P({1<Year={$(=max(Year)-1)}>}Customer)>}Sales)

I do normally not! And even if I would, after two weeks I cannot remember why I have created this statement like this …

That’s why I have created the “Set Analysis Wizard for QlikView” ;-)

Introducing the Set Analysis Wizard for QlikView

So let’s directly jump to the result in the “Set Analysis Wizard for QlikView”:

If you open the above mentioned expression in the wizard, you’ll see the following:

And if you click on the tab “Generated Expression (+ Comments)” you’ll see the following:

You are welcome to add/change set modifiers at any time:

So what’s happening here?

By using the “Set Analysis Wizard for QlikView” you’ll now have a tool which

  • enables you creating Set Analysis Expressions in WYSIWIG mode (!!!)
  • Event the most complex Set Analysis Expressions will be documented automatically
  • optionally you can save the expression on the server and edit/change/enhance it at any time
  • furthermore you can share the created expression with others

Step by Step Instructions

Hopefully a step by step instruction is not necessary.
I have worked hard to create a self explanatory user interface (but if I did not succeed in your opinion, please do not hesitate to tell me!)

So just give it a try:

Open the Set Analysis Wizard for QlikView

Load the example mentioned at the beginning of this article



Examples

I have added some examples which can be directly opened in the wizard:

All examples can be opened directly in the wizard

Sharing your Set Analysis Expressions

Feel free to share your results.
Just click on “Save result for later usage and sharing” and two things will happen:

  1. The Set Analysis Expression will be saved on the server and you can come back later an re-edit it at any time.(The link for re-opening the Set Analysis Expression will be added to the comment of the expression automatically)
  2. Furthermore you can share your expression with colleagues, in discussion forums, and so on …
Enable "Save result for later usage or sharing" and "Share Expression"

Enable "Save result for later usage or sharing" and "Share Expression"

Roadmap

So far this is the first beta version.
I have not included QlikView 11 support (Alternate States) so far, but for sure, this is the next update you can expect …

Feedback, Improvements, etc.

Please give me feedback:

  • Do you like the Set Analysis Wizard?
  • What is missing?
  • Is it easy to use?
  • etc.
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Published: December 3, 2011
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QlikTip #36: Loading a mapping table directly from a QVD file (QV10 SR2+)

By Stefan Walther 2 Comments
Posted in Development /QV Developer, Load Scripts, QlikTips, QlikView 10

In the past it was not possible to load a mapping table directly from a QVD file. We had to use some workarounds to break the optimized load like:

Mapping_Map:
Mapping
LOAD
    Field1,
    Field2
FROM qvdFile.qvd (qvd)
WHERE 1=1;

or

Mappping_Map:
Mapping
LOAD
    Field1,
    Field2,
    1 as Field_temp
FROM qvdFile.qvd (qvd);
DROP FIELD Field_temp FROM Mapping_Map;

or

just loading the fields to a temporary table and then using a RESIDENT LOAD.

Also have a look at the excellent article from Rob Wunderlich on several QVD-topics (“QVD Questions and answers”) where he also mentioned this issue.

Although I have not read any offiicial announcement on that topic a direct load from a QVD file into a mapping load is now possible in QV 10 SR2.

Just a little testing script, if you want to ensure if it really works:

Map:
LOAD * INLINE [
    F1, F2
    A, A-mapped
    B, B-mapped
    C, C-mapped
];
STORE Map INTO Map.qvd(qvd);

DROP TABLE Map;

// The real testing scenario starts here ...
Mapping_Map:
Mapping
Load *
FROM Map.qvd (qvd);

Transactions:
Load
 TransLineID,
 TransID,
 ApplyMap('Mapping_Map', Pick(Ceil(3*Rand1),'A','B','C'),'n/a') as Dim1,
 Pick(Ceil(6*Rand1),'a','b','c','d','e','f') as Dim2;
Load
 Rand() as Rand1,
 IterNo() as TransLineID,
 RecNo() as TransID
Autogenerate 1000
 While Rand()<=0.5 or IterNo()=1;




Good News! Although there is now some need to improve our existing scripts to improve the load time by some seconds :)



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Published: May 5, 2011
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QlikTip #35: Some hints on working with the QlikView Designer (Part 2 – Moving/Copying Objects)

By Stefan Walther Leave a comment
Posted in Creating Applications, Design & Layout, QlikTips

This is the second part of the series of articles summarizing some hints for working with the QlikView Designer. In this part I’ll show you what you need to know about “Moving/Copying objects” in QlikView.

This topics sound so easy and probably it is, but just for a complete series on working with the QlikView Designer I have to include this …

Moving/Copying objects in QlikView

First of all you can move single object by using your mouse:

Just click on the title bar of an objects and drag the object to the desired position:

Moving objects by using the mouse

If you hold the Ctrl key the object will be copied:

Copying objects by holding the Ctrl key

Copying/Moving an object can not only be done within a sheet but also to other sheets: Just drop the object onto the desired tab:

Moving or copying an object onto another sheet

Keyboard shortcuts for moving/sizing

If you want to use only the keyboard you can use the following shortcuts:

Shortcut Description
Ctrl + up/down/left/right arrows Move object by one pixel
Ctrl + Shift + up/down/left/right arrows Move object by 10 pixel
Ctrl + C Copy the object (like in any other Windows program)
Ctrl + V Paste the copied object either on the same sheet, another sheet, or even another QV-application (like in any other Windows program)
Using the shortcuts is also possible if the object is locked!

Locking objects

If you want to prevent that object can be moved/copied/sized you can lock an object by setting the following properties in the object’s properties:

Locking Objects

If you want to move/copy an object although it is locked, just press the Alt key. While pressing the Alt key the locking-restriction will be temporarily suspended.
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Published: May 2, 2011
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QlikTip #34: Some hints on working with the QlikView Designer (Part 1 – QlikView Designer)

By Stefan Walther 6 Comments
Posted in Creating Applications, Design & Layout, QlikTips

A colleague asked me today to promote the two blog-posts where the QV10 feature of moving objects while pressing the ALT-key is explained (see qlikboard.com and guerillabi.com).

I thought instead of just posting these two links I could deliver more value by starting a series of articles which cover most of the tipps & hints when working with the QlikView Designer. (Sure, if you are a QlikView addict this will not really tell you something new, but maybe this series of articles is a good starting point for QlikView Beginners …)

So this series of articles cover the following topics:

Using the design mode of QlikView

First of all it is important to mention that there is a special design mode in QlikView!

You can activate this by activating the “Design Grid” (Menu “View” => “Design Grid” or by using the shortcut Ctrl + G or using the icon for changing to the design grid: ).

Doing so, you will then see the design grid (layout raster), which may help you to align objects:

The Design Grid in QlikView

For further information how to change the layout raster, please have a look at the following article: QlikTip #14: Changing the Layout Raster.
Having the Design Grid enabled now, you do not just have a layout raster available to align your objects, furthermore you’ll also see which objects are selected, which is really usefull when you are resizing, moving your objects:

Selected Objects in Design Grid Mode

You can select one or more objects by

  • Clicking on the object or better clicking on the title bar …
  • Holding Shift + Clicking on the desired objects to select multiple objects
  • Pressing the left mouse-button and create a selection square form bottom-right to top-left (only those objects which are per 100% within the selection will be selected):

Selecting objects by creating a selection area

Last but not least it has to be mentioned that there is a very nice functionality of QlikView only available if your are in the “Design Grid” mode:

Custom Cell Formatting

As you know there are several possiblities to design rows, columns & cells in the QlikView designer, but the “Custom Formatting” functionality is probably the most convenient one:

If your are in the “Design Grid” mode and activate the context menu of a TableBox or Chart (Pivot Table or Straight Table) you’ll see an additional menu entry called ‘”Custom Format Cell”:

Calling this you’ll see a dialogue with a lot of nice and easy-to-use functionalities to format the underlaying table:

OK, that’s the first part of this series of articles, stay tuned and do not miss the other parts … :)

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Published: April 29, 2011
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QlikTips #33: Google Maps are not working anymore in QlikView 10 SR2 ???

By Stefan Walther 8 Comments
Posted in Charts, Design & Layout, Development /QV Developer, Integration, QlikTips

This week I have received some eMails and read some posts that Google maps do not work anymore after upgrading to QV 10 SR2.

So after upgrading to QlikView 10 SR2 these maps could look like the following screenshot:

Google maps are not working anymore?

I have digged into this “problem” and the solution is quite simple:

  • Just check the transparency of your dynamic background image; if this is set to 100% (like in the example above) the dynamic image will be shown, but with 100% transparency :)

Set the transparency of the dynamic image to 0% !!!

After changing the transparency again to 0%, the map should work again:

Google Maps integration is finally working again as expected

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Published: April 29, 2011
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News regarding QlikView 10.0 SR2

By Stefan Walther Leave a comment
Posted in QlikView News

QlikView 10.0 SR2 has been published recently.

This article contains a summary of the most important changes.

QlikView for iPad / Ajax Touch Client

The SR2 contains the new rendering engine optimized for touch feeling with the iPad client.

Have a look a the following articles/viedos:

Introducing QlikView on iPad

A “marketing” video in QlikView on iPad :)
YouTube Preview Image

Quick Tour on QlikView on iPad

YouTube Preview Image

QlikView on iPad: Full Tour

Video on YouTube with detailed explanation of all new features …
YouTube Preview Image

QlikView Mobile White Papers

Data Sheet: QlikView on Mobile

Technical Brief: Mobile Security

Technical Brief: Mobile User Interface Design Best Practices

The Ajax Client can be localized now

The Ajax client can be now be localized. Therefore you have just to change a section in the settings.ini file for the QlikView server.

A Proxy Page has been added to QlikView WebParts & QlikView Workbench

A proxy page has been added to both QlikView Web Parts and QlikView Workbench in order to help avoid cross-side scripting issues when the AccessPoint is located on a different machine than the website hosting the QlikView Objects.

Determine the client

To determine the current client a new function called ClientPlatform() has been introduced.

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Published: April 25, 2011
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