Connecting to QlikView documents

You can connect to any QlikView documents on QlikView servers that you have permission to access.

Unsupported QlikView objects

The following objects are not supported in Qlik NPrinting:

• Alternate states
• Triggers: sheet, document, and within objects
• Always one selected list box and multi box property

• AND-mode (calculated) fields in filters, cycles, levels, pages

• Buttons that contain "actions" work as triggers

• Containers within a container

• Any third party extension objects

• Alternate identities: such as qvp://<servername>/qwvs/salesdemo.qvw

• Bundled qmem packages

• WebView mode

  See: AJAX/WebView

If you create connections to QlikView documents that contain these objects, the connection will not work.

For more information on unsupported objects, see Qlik objects that are not supported.

On-Demand reporting

On-Demand reports cannot connect to multiple QlikView documents.

You cannot create connections to QlikView documents that use the following if you are generating On-Demand reports:

• Variable selections used from input buttons as triggers to select data
• Input boxes
• Calculated dimensions
• Hidden tabs

Troubleshooting

Qlik NPrinting cannot modify or remove these options. As a result, Qlik NPrinting may not have access to the entire data set of the connected QlikView document during cache and report generation.

If you want to use QlikView documents with unsupported features, create a copy with the features removed:

Do the following:

1. Create a copy of the QlikView document.
2. Remove all unsupported features from the new QlikView document. Make sure that WebView mode is turned off.
3. Use the copied QlikView document for reporting purposes.

Requirements

Qlik NPrinting Server and at least one Qlik NPrinting Engine must be installed and activated.

Qlik NPrinting QlikView connections requires a QlikView Server deployment that was installed with the "QlikView Administrators" group option.

Connection rules for QlikView documents

The following rules apply to connections to QlikView documents:

• You can create connections from a single Qlik NPrinting app to multiple QlikView documents.
• Connections are not shared between Qlik NPrinting apps. If you want to connect the same QlikView document to multiple Qlik NPrinting apps, you must create a connection for each.

• To create connections, your QlikView documents must be stored in one of the following locations:

• your local computer
• a shared network folder
• a QlikView server that you have permission to access
• a QlikView cluster

Types of connection status

The Cache status column shows one of the following values for each configured connection:

• Never generated: the connection has never been opened.
• Pending: Qlik NPrinting is attempting to connect.
• Generating: Qlik NPrinting is connected and importing metadata.
• Generated: connection successful on all Qlik NPrinting engines.
• Error: the connection is failing on all available engines. The Qlik NPrinting scheduler service will try to connect again two minutes after a failure.

The Connection status column shows one of the following values for each configured connection:

• Connection successful on all NPrinting engines.
• Warning: One or more engines are not working.
• Connection failed on all NPrinting engines.

To learn more about connection status and reloading connection metadata, see: Reloading connection metadata.

Testing and troubleshooting

You can use our QlikView sample files, Sales Demo.qvw and Budget.qvw, to test your connections. To download these files, visit Sample files.

There are several way to resolve a Warning, Error, or Connection failed status. To start, open the connection you want to troubleshoot, and click the Run verification button. This will give you a list of possible issues. Here is an example where verification failed because the Document path is incorrect:

You can also check the following:

• Connection properties: For example, verify the QlikView document path, username, and password.
• Qlik NPrinting Engine installation and configuration: For example, an engine with QlikView Desktop 12 cannot open a document on a QlikView 11.2 server. Check also that QlikView Desktop has an active license for the Windows user who runs the service.

After resolving any issues, re-launch cache generation, or run a task.

Here are some common causes of connection errors:

• Verify connection errors when setting up a connection to QlikView documents
• Connection status error
• Connection status not shown in Qlik NPrinting web console
• Connection timeouts and long running tasks

Connecting to a local QlikView document

Do the following:

1. From the Apps menu, click Connections.

   The Connections page appears.

2. Click Create connection to open a new connection window.
3. In the Name field, enter a name for the connection.

   For example, enter Sales Demo.

4. In the App drop-down list, select the Qlik NPrinting app that you want create the connection from.
5. In the Document path field, enter the path to the QlikView document that you want to connect to.

   For example, enter C:\NPrintingServer\QlikViewDocuments\Samples\Sales Demo.qvw.

   Use the path on the computer where Qlik NPrinting is installed.

   Warning noteMapped network drives, like Z:\NPrintingServer\QlikViewDocuments, are not supported by Qlik NPrinting. You must use Universal Naming Convention (UNC) paths, such as \\ServerName\NPrintingServer\QlikViewDocuments.
6. Ensure that Type is set to Local.
7. If prompted, enter the user name and password for the QlikView document.

   If you are connecting to a local QlikView document with Section Access you must enter the credentials of a user with the ADMIN role, otherwise the cache generation will end with an error. Windows domain users are not supported. Section Access users must be defined in the script. We suggest you use a user without filters so the cache will be complete.

8. Click the Run verification button. This ensures your connection is valid.

   If the connection is valid, you will see a "Verification successful" message. If not, you will see the following message: "Errors detected. Check details below."

9. Under Notifications, you can select Send email notification when metadata reload finishes. An email will be sent to the addresses specified under Settings > Tasks. See: Task execution notifications.
10. Once your connection settings have been verified, click Create. You will be automatically moved back to the Connections menu.

11. Click on your new connection. You will see the status Cache status - Generating. This means that Qlik NPrinting is connecting to QlikView and importing metadata. If you have a large QlikView document, this may take several minutes.

    

12. Once the cache status shows Generated, you can create a new report template. If you get an Error status, check your connection information.

    

You will now be able to see your new connection on the Connections screen.

Prerequisites for QlikView Server and QlikView Cluster connections

To generate reports using QlikView Server or QlikView Cluster connections, the following are required:

• Access to at least one QlikView Server.
• The Windows user that runs the Qlik NPrinting Engine Windows service must belong to the QlikView Administrators Windows group on the QlikView Server computer.
• To configure Qlik NPrinting for NTFS authorization, it must be configured in the Qlik Management Console. This means that the Windows operating system controls the file (document) access for users and groups through the NTFS security settings.
• To configure Qlik NPrinting for DMS authorization QlikView controlled file access, see DMS for Qlik NPrinting.

If you are using section access as well, the following are also required:

• Connections must be configured to use server authentication.
• A domain account must be configured in user settings, independent of the authentication type enabled in the Qlik NPrinting general settings.

Connecting to QlikView documents on the QlikView Server

Do the following:

1. From the Apps menu, click Connections.

   The Connections page appears.

2. Click Create connection.

3. In the Name field, enter a name for the connection.

   For example, enter Sales Demo from Server.

4. In the App drop-down list, select the Qlik NPrinting app that you want to create the connection from.

   For example, select Sales Demo.

5. Click the Server button in the Type row.

   The qvp:// form appears.

6. In the qvp:// form, insert the QlikView Server address followed by the .qvw file name.

   For example, ServerAddress/DocumentName.qvw.

7. If required, select the Connection requires authentication check-box, then select either Server authentication or Document authentication.
   • Server authentication: Enter the domain user credentials that will be used to connect to the server. Use the following format:

     Domain\ Username

     Enable the flag for Apply user section access for reports if you want to apply specific users' section access when generating reports for them.

   • Document authentication: Enter the Username and Password of a user with administrative privileges on the document.

8. Click the Run verification button. This ensures your connection is valid.

   If the connection is valid, you will see a "Verification successful" message. If not, you will see the following message: "Errors detected. Check details below."

9. Once your connection settings have been verified, click Create. You will be automatically moved back to the Connections menu.

10. Click on your new connection. You will see the status: Cache status - Generating. This means that Qlik NPrinting is connecting to QlikView and importing metadata. If you have a large QlikView document, this may take several minutes.

11. Once the cache status shows Generated, you can create a new report template. If you get an Error status, check your connection information.

You will now be able to see your new connection on the Connections screen.

Troubleshooting QlikView Server connections

1. Make sure that both QlikView Desktop and QlikView Server are the same version, including SR.
2. In the QlikView Management Console, make sure that the mounted folder is browsable.
3. Using pseudo-URLs in the format qvp://[[username][@]]hostname[:port|;protocol]/docname is not supported in Qlik NPrinting connections.
4. Check the credentials:
   1. Make note of the service account used to run the Qlik NPrinting Engine service.
   2. On the machine running the Qlik NPrinting Engine, browse to the QlikView folder.
   3. Hold Shift and right-click on Qv.exe.
   4. Select Run as different user.
   5. Enter the service account credentials noted above.
   6. Make sure QlikView Desktop does not open as Personal Edition.
   7. Click File > Open in QlikView Server. Open your QlikView document.
   8. Note the path and file name in the QlikView Desktop header and use that in the Qlik NPrinting connection settings.

Connecting to QlikView documents on the QlikView Cluster

Qlik NPrinting can be connected to clusters of QlikView Servers. This enables report production optimization by balancing the workload between Qlik NPrinting Engines and clusters of QlikView Servers.

Requirements

To create a connection to a cluster of QlikView Servers you need:

• At least one active cluster of QlikView Servers.

  If you have more than one cluster, you will be able to select the one you want to use.

• QMS and QVS computers that can be reached from Qlik NPrinting Engines.
• Qlik NPrinting Engine services run by a user that is:
  • a domain user
  • part of a QlikView Administrators security group on all nodes of the cluster

  • part of a QlikView Management API security group on the computer where QMS runs.

    Warning noteQlikView Management API security groups are not created during installation, they must be created and populated manually.

To configure a QlikView Cluster connection, you need the following information that can be found in the Qlik Management Console:

• Cluster address and ID found under System > Setup.
  • The cluster address is on the Management service > Summary tab.
  • The cluster ID can be found by selecting the QVWS server under QlikView Web Servers. The cluster ID is in the Name field of the General tab.

You will also need the Full document path. This can be found in QlikView Desktop.

Do the following:

1. Launch QlikView Desktop and open your document by selecting File > Open in server. Do not use local path to open the document.
2. Select Help > Document support info.
3. Under Document Info, find Document. You will see text that begins with qvp://.

4. Remove qvp:// and the server name to get the Full document path.

   • If it says qvp://<servername>/SalesDemo2017.qvw, then the Full document path is SalesDemo2017.qvw.
   • If your document is inside sub-folders, they must be part of the Full document path. For example, if it says qvp://<servername>/AppDemo/Sales/SalesDemo2017.qvw, then the Full document path is AppDemo/Sales/SalesDemo2017.qvw.

Do the following:

1. From the Apps menu, click Connections.

   The Connections page appears.

2. Click Create connection.

3. In the Name field, enter a name for the connection.
4. Entering a Description is optional.
5. In the App drop-down list, select the Qlik NPrinting app that you want to create the connection from.
6. Click the Cluster button in the Type row.

   Related forms appear.

7. Insert the address of the QMS in the Address form.
8. Enter the name of the cluster you want to connect to in the Cluster ID.

9. Enter the case-sensitive Full document path.

10. If required, activate the Connection requires authentication flag and enter your Identity.
11. Activate the Apply user section access for reports flag if you want to apply specific users' section access when generating reports for them.

12. Click the Run verification button. This ensures your connection is valid.

    If the connection is valid, you will see a "Verification successful" message. If not, you will see the following message: "Errors detected. Check details below."

13. Once your connection settings have been verified, click Create. You will be automatically moved back to the Connections menu.

14. Click on your new connection. You will see the status: Cache status - Generating. This means that Qlik NPrinting is connecting to QlikView and importing metadata. If you have a large QlikView document, this may take several minutes.

15. Once the cache status shows Generated, you can create a new report template. If you get an Error status, check your connection information.

You will now be able to see your new connection on the Connections screen.

Modifying or deleting a connection

Do the following:

1. From the Apps menu, click Connections.

2. Click on the connection that you want to modify or delete.

3. 1. To modify, make the desired changes and click Save.

   2. To delete, click .

      Warning noteThis action cannot be undone.