User Documents
A user document is the document that an end user sees when accessing a document on QlikView Server (QVS). To fully identify a user document, both the QVS server/cluster and the path relative to the server have to be known. Technically, a user document consists of three files:
- QlikView document file (.qvf or .qvw) that contains the data and layout.
- .META file that contains:
- AccessPoint attributes
- Pre-load options
- Authorization (Document Metadata Service – that is, DMS – mode only)
- Shared file (.Shared or .TShared, see below)
The access to user documents is controlled by QlikView Server.
Shared Files
There are multiple objects available for user collaboration and sharing through QlikView Server:
- Bookmarks
- Sheet objects, including charts
- Reports
- Annotations
Each of these objects may be defined as a user object, available to authenticated users, regardless of access method or location, or a shared object, available to all users of the document through QVS.
The objects are configured and managed using QlikView Management Console (QMC).
Once QVS is enabled for server objects, any of the QVS object settings are checked, and the document is opened in QVS, a special database file is created and maintained in the same location as the QlikView document. The file has the same name as the QlikView document, but a shared file extension (.Shared or .TShared).
Example:
- QlikView document: Presidents.qvw
- QVS share file: Presidents.qvw.TShared
If the name of the QlikView document is changed, the shared file has to be manually renamed to match before opening the renamed QlikView document in QVS. This preserves the shared objects attached to the document.
When updating a Server object, report, bookmark, or input field data, the file is exclusively locked. Making a selection or simply activating the object does not lock the file and any number of servers can read the file at the same time. A partial lock is implemented so that different sections of the file may be updated simultaneously by different servers in a cluster.
The file is read once when the server opens the document, but it is not read again unless there are changes. All sessions share the same internal copy of the shared file (that is, opening a session generally does not require the file to be read from disk).
The server objects can be managed (for example, change of ownership or delete) on the Documents>User Documents>Server>Server Objects tab in QMC.
Source Data
Source data is any external data used to populate the data within a QlikView document file. The source data is loaded to the QlikView document at reload time, which can be done:
- Through the QlikView Distribution Service
- Through the Reload Engine
- Manually by the developer
Access to source data is not required for end users to use the QlikView document through QVS once the QlikView document file is populated.
Source Documents
Source documents are only applicable when a Publisher license is applied. Most source documents originate from a developer, others are created by the QlikView Distribution Service as part of the distribution process. QlikView Data files (QVD) can also be created as part of the distribution process as an intermediate step. A QVD file is a table of data stored in format that is optimized for speed when read by QlikView.
The access to source documents is governed by NTFS.
Tasks
Tasks can be used to perform a wide variety of operations and be chained together in any arbitrary pattern. The starting point when describing tasks is the transformation of a source document into a user document.
Transforming Source Document into User Document
The transformation starts with a source document and ends in one or many user documents.
Source
A task is always tied to a source document, so the source is given.
Layout
The source document contains the layout, which is copied unchanged all the way to the user documents. The server side layout is associated with the user document and is also unchanged.
Reload
The data can be:
- Used as stored in the document (that is, no reload)
- Partly reloaded from the source (that is, require script preparation)
- Fully reloaded from the source, discarding any old data
- Reloaded in parts by use of “Script Parameters” (which require script preparation)
Reduce
The document can be reduced after reload. The reduction can either reduce the input into a smaller document (simple reduce) or split it up into several smaller documents (loop and reduce).
The reduction is based on a selection, either done directly in QMC or using bookmarks.
Distribution
Distribution requires a QlikView Publisher license.
The destination is defined as:
- A list of users and a folder on a QlikView Server
- A list of users and a folder in the file system
- A list of users (assuming their e-mail addresses are known)
Information
Information can be associated with the document as part of the distribution to a server. The information is not moved with the document, if it is distributed to another location. The information is used in QlikView AccessPoint.
The following information can be associated with the document:
- Description
- Category
- Arbitrary name value pairs
Server Settings
The settings for the document are distributed to a server. The settings are not moved with the document, if it is distributed to another location. The settings are enforced by QlikView Server.
Authorization enforced by the server (equal to all servers):
- The users authorized to create server objects
- The users authorized to download the document
- The users authorized to print and export the document to Microsoft Excel
Preferences applied by QlikView AccessPoint (equal to all servers):
- QlikView plugin is recommended
- Mobile client is recommended
- AJAX client is recommended
Performance enforced by the server (equal to all servers):
- Audit logging
- Maximum open sessions
- Document timeout
- Session timeout
Availability (per server):
- Never
- On-demand
- Pre-loaded
