The associative selection model
Making selections is the main interaction method in Qlik Sense. Selections filter out a subset of the data that is loaded into Qlik Sense. You use selections to focus on something you want to know more about. Qlik Sense responds by color coding values according to their different states.
You can think of your selections as an input for Qlik Sense. Qlik Sense evaluates the input and displays the color codes on data values as the output.
- The input state: the selection that you have made – whether the field value is selected or not.
- The output state: whether the field value is possible or not, given the logical inference of the selection.
Selection states
When you make selections, the colors of the values change accordingly. Color-coding is used in filter panes, selections list items, and the selections tool, with the characteristic Qlik Sense colors green, white, and gray. The colors bring you information about which field values are selected, alternative, possible and excluded, respectively.
The following table lists which colors are used for the different states.
Color | State |
---|---|
Green, with a check mark as a selection indicator | Selected |
White | Possible |
Light gray | Alternative |
Dark gray | Excluded |
Dark gray with a check mark as a selection indicator | Selected excluded |
The selected state
When you select one or more values in a filter pane and the values turn green, they are in the selected state. In the following image, the value 1910s has been selected. The selection filters out a subset of the data that is loaded, and the filter panes Decade and Year are updated according to the selection.
The filter panes have four states altogether. Apart from the selected state (green), there are possible values (white), light gray values (alternative), and dark gray values (excluded). These states are explained in the following sections.
The possible state
In the
In the following image, such a refinement has been made. The value
With selections in two filter panes, the possible values are only those that are associated both with
In the
The alternative state
In the
All the other values in the filter pane
Logically, the alternative values are excluded, but they are only excluded by a single selection (of one or more values), in the same filter pane. If you would clear the selection of
Even if a value is alternative, you can still select it, but that means that you are, partly, making a new selection rather than refining your original selection. What is useful with alternative values is that you know that there are alternatives available for the same set of selections. If you have a list of sales persons, the alternative values constitute sales persons that may be able to help or replace the selected person.
The excluded state
When a selection is made, values in other filter panes may automatically be excluded, because they are not associated. In the following image,
But if you select one of the possible values in the filter pane
The values that are alternative in
The selected excluded state
When you make selections in more than one filter pane, you might run into a fifth state: selected excluded.
As mentioned previously, there are two different states for each field value:
- The input state: the selection that you have made – whether the field value is selected or not.
- The output state: whether the field value is possible or not, given the logical inference of the selection.
A value enters the selected excluded state because the value was first selected, and then excluded by a selection in another field.
For the selected excluded state, the check mark is an indicator that the value was first selected and then excluded, in contrast to excluded values that have never been selected. A dark gray field with a check mark indicates that the value was previously a selected value, but a new selection has then rendered it selected excluded.
Example:
In the following image, the first selection was of the values