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Creating buttons

You can use buttons to:

  • add quick links for easy selection and navigation in your app

  • reload data

Information note

Buttons can only be added in advanced edit mode.

You can create a button on the sheet you are editing. This shows how to create a button that makes a selection and then navigates to another sheet. It is also possible to create a button that just performs the action, or that navigates.

  1. Click Advanced options.
  2. In the Assets panel under Charts, drag a Button object to the sheet.
  3. Click Add action under Actions in the properties panel.
  4. Select the action you want to use.

    For some actions you need to provide details for the action. For example, for the Select values in a field action, you need to select a field, and which value to select in the field.

  5. Select which navigation option to use under Navigation. You can navigate to another sheet, a story or a website.
  6. Set the label of the button in Label under General in the properties panel.

You will now have a button that makes a data selection and then navigates to the place in the app you selected.

Setting the action

You can add one or more actions to be performed when the button is clicked. For some actions you need to provide details for the action.

The actions are performed in the order they are listed under Actions. You can change the order of an action by dragging it.

Tip noteYou do not have to add an action if you just want the button to perform navigation.

Apply bookmark

You can apply the selection that is defined in a bookmark that you choose.

Clear all selections

You can clear all selections in all states in the app. You can optionally overwrite locked selections.

Clear selections in other fields

You can clear selections from all fields except the one you specify. You can optionally overwrite locked selections.

Move forwards in your selections

You can move one step forwards in your selection history.

Move backwards in your selections

You can move one step backwards in your selection history.

Clear selections in field

You can clear all selections from a field that you specify.

Lock all selections

You can lock all selections in the app.

Lock a specific field

You can lock selections in a field that you specify.

Unlock all selections

You can unlock all selections in the app.

Unlock a specific field

You can unlock selections in a field that you specify.

Select all values in a field

You can select all values in a field that you specify. You can optionally overwrite locked selections.

Select values in a field

You can select a list of values in a field that you specify. Separate the values to select with a semi colon. You can optionally overwrite locked selections.

Information noteIt is not possible to use fields with date, timestamp, or money data type.

Select values matching search criteria

You can select all values that match the search results from a search criteria that you specify. You need to specify the search criteria as a string. You can optionally overwrite locked selections.

  • If you want to use an expression, you need to enclose it in single quotes, for example, ='=Sum([Sales Amount]) > 200000'.
  • If you want to search for a partial string, you need to use wild cards (*, ?,^). If you do not use wild cards, only strings that match exactly are selected.

Select alternatives

Select all alternative values in a field that you specify. You can optionally overwrite locked selections.

Select excluded

Select all excluded values in a field that you specify. You can optionally overwrite locked selections.

Select possible values in a field

Select all possible values in a field that you specify. You can optionally overwrite locked selections.

Toggle field selection

You can set the button to toggle between the current selection, and a selection that adds selections defined by a search string. You can use wild cards in the search string. If you want to define a list of values you need to use the format (A|B), where A and B are values to select.

Set variable value

You can assign a value to a variable.

Reload data

You can run the load script to reload data.

You can also select Partial reload. For more information, see Partial reload.

Refresh dynamic views

Refreshes the displays of all dynamic objects on the sheet based on the current selection.

Execute automation

You can execute your automations created with Qlik Application Automation from the sheet. You can include selections made in the app in the automation. You can also set whether any user can use the button or only those with access to the automation. To learn more about automations, see Qlik Application Automation.

Warning noteWhen Execute automation uses Run mode: triggered, everyone with access to the sheet and the button can run the automation using the button. When the button is clicked, the automation's Execution Token is visible in the browser's network traffic in the browser developer console. This token can only be used to run that automation and has no use for other automations or other APIs. A user could use this token to run the automation with a different payload than the one created through the button however.
Warning noteExecute automation runs using the credentials of the owner of the automation rather than the credentials of the user clicking the button. For apps using section access, this could expose data that the user clicking the button would not have access to in the section access rules.

Learn how to connect a button to an automation with the Active intelligence tutorial.

Execute automation limitations

Execute automation has the following limitations:

  • A maximum of 100 automations can be displayed for selection under Automation. If you have access to more than 100 automations and cannot find the automation you want, you can use the automation ID. The automation ID is in the segment after /editor/ in the URL before /edit or /history.

    For example, in qlik.com/automations/editor/6c201b49-cz2e-00dc-8040-464ca41457b0/edit?resourceName=Active%20Intelligence, the automation ID is 6c201b49-cz2e-00dc-8040-464ca41457b0.

  • Buttons using Execute automation are not supported in Qlik Sense Mobile.

  • When using Execute automation to run an automation containing Qlik Reporting blocks, selections are not passed through to the report in the automation. The session state of Qlik Application Automation cannot be transferred to the report composition definition that is passed to the Qlik Reporting Service. As a result, report composition and data will not reflect the selections.

    Warning noteFor apps using section access, automated reports are run using the credentials of the automation owner instead of the user triggering the report. This can expose data that users would not have access to in app section access rules.
  • The Execute automation is not supported for embedded buttons.

  • If the automation triggered by the button takes longer than 10 minutes to run, no notification will be sent when the automation finishes.

Navigation

You can choose to navigate to another sheet, a story, or a website when the button is clicked. You do not have to specify an action if you want to create a simple navigation button. A button can only have one navigation option at a time.

Information noteNavigation is not supported in stories.

Go to next sheet

Navigate to the next sheet sequentially.

Go to previous sheet

Navigate to the previous sheet sequentially.

Go to last sheet

Navigate to the last sheet.

Go to first sheet

Navigate to the first sheet .

Go to a sheet

Navigate to a specific sheet. Enter the name of the desired sheet, or select it from the list.

Go to a sheet defined by sheet ID

Navigate to a specific sheet. Enter the sheet ID of the desired sheet. You can find the ID of a sheet in the URL of the browser with the sheet open. The sheet ID follows after /sheet/ followed by /.

Example: Sheet URL

qlik.com/sense/app/8f8ffa0e-3fde-48a5-a127-59645923a1fc/sheet/7300b241-f221-43db-bb8b-8c8cc1887531/state/analysis

The ID of the sheet is 7300b241-f221-43db-bb8b-8c8cc1887531 in this example.

Go to a story

Navigate to a specific story. Enter the name of the desired story, or select it from the list.

Open a website or email

Open a specified website or email client. Enter the URL to navigate to. Optionally, select Open in same window to have the website or email client open in the same window.

Generate on-demand app

Creates an on-demand app based on the current selection. You must select an on-demand app navigation link (see Building an on-demand app). The status of the app is displayed as the app is created.

Application chaining

You can open another existing app with the current selection applied. Specify the app you want to open by app ID. Optionally, you can specify a sheet by sheet ID, and whether you want the new app to open in the same window.

Information noteApplications always open in the same window in Qlik Sense Mobile SaaS.

Styling the button

You have a number of styling options available under Appearance.

Click Styling under Appearance > Presentation to further customize the styling of the button. The styling panel contains various sections under the General and Chart tabs. You can reset your styles by clicking next to each section. Clicking Reset all resets styles in both General and Chart.

Adding an icon

You can add an icon to the button under AppearanceIcon. Choose from a number of preset options.

Customizing the text in the button

You can set the text for the title, subtitle, and footnote under Appearance > General. To hide these elements, switch the Show titles setting to off.

Additionally, you can set the text for the button Label.

You can style the text that appears in the chart.

  1. Under AppearancePresentation, click Styling.

  2. On the General tab, set the font, emphasis style, font size, and color for the following text elements:

    • Title

    • Subtitle

    • Footnote

  3. On the Chart tab, set the text properties for the button Label. Set the font, emphasis style, text alignment, font size, and color.

    You can also choose from a number of text layout options for this label under Layout behavior. The following options are available:

    • Responsive: You can adjust the font size of the Label, with additional text size adjustments being applied based on button size and text length. Adjustments are made to fit all text content into the button.

    • Fluid: You can adjust the font size of the Label, with additional text size adjustments being applied based on button size only. This re-scaling of the text is independent of text length. If the text is too long, an ellipsis is inserted at the end.

    • Fixed: You can adjust the font size of the Label in pixels. If the text is too long, an ellipsis is inserted at the end.

Customizing the background

You can customize the background of the outside frame of the button, as well as the background of the button itself. The background of each can be set by color or to an image. Background options can be configured by expanding AppearancePresentation in the properties panel, then clicking Styling.

Setting the background of the frame

On the General tab of the styling panel, select a background color (single color or expression) or set the background to an image from your media library.

When using a background image, you can adjust image sizing and position.

Setting the background of the button

On the Chart tab of the styling panel, select a background color (single color or expression) or set the background to an image from your media library.

When using a background image, you can adjust image sizing and position.

Adjusting the border

You can adjust the border of the button.

  1. Under AppearancePresentation, click Styling.

  2. On the Chart tab, under Border, switch the border On to display it on the button.

  3. Adjust the corner radius and width.

  4. Set the color of the border, either a single color or with an expression.

Disabling and enabling the button

You can set a calculation condition to enable the chart under Enable chart. If the condition is evaluated to 0, the button is disabled.

Converting from the Button for navigation in the Dashboard bundle

You can convert an existing Button for navigation control into a button. There are some limitations when you do the conversion.

  • The navigation option to switch to edit mode (Switch to edit mode) is not supported.
  • The action to select a value and then lock the field (Select a value and lock field) is not supported. This will be converted into two consecutive actions, Select values in a field and Lock a specific field.

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