Working with the meta data

The extension metadata file (QEXT) is in fact a JSON file and is used by Qlik Sense to identify the visualization extension and it contains the meta data used for the Library or Assets panel. When deployed to Qlik Sense, the visualization extension is displayed in the Charts section of the Assets panel or Library panel.

See: JSON validator: http://jsonlint.com

All visualizations must contain at least one QEXT file and one JavaScript file.

Properties

Structure

The following properties can be defined in the QEXT file.

name

The name property is mandatory.

This is the name of the visualization extension and is displayed in the library as well as in the preview.

type

The type property is mandatory.

This defines the type of extension. Should always be visualization for visualization extensions.

description

This defines the description visible in the preview of the visualization extension.

icon

Default is extension.

This defines the icon displayed in the library. Can be:

preview

This defines which preview image to be used. The preview image is displayed in a pop-up when you select the visualization extension in the library.

You can define a custom preview image file. It must be of PNG format. For an example of how this is defined, see the Hello world code example.

Syntax:  

"icon": "<CustomImage>.png"

version

This defines your individual version handling of the visualization extension. This setting is manually defined. Semantic versioning is recommended.

author

This defines the author of the visualization extension. This setting is manually defined.

Examples

Example: Hello world QEXT file

{
	"name": "Hello World",
	"description": "Hello world example",
  	"preview": "helloworld.png",
	"type": "visualization",
	"version": 1,
	"author": "Qlik International"
}