Build a simple mashup using capability APIs

Note: Where possible, use qlik-embed rather than this framework. Review the tutorial embedding Qlik Analytics using qlik-embed web components.

Third-party cookies: This tutorial leverages cookies for auth, which are blocked by some browser vendors. Please use an OAuth solution where possible, which doesn’t leverage cookies.

This guide shows you how to create a simple mashup that connects to Qlik Cloud and visualizes some data.

Prerequisites

Development environment requirements:

  • node.js v10.0.0+ installed on your machine.
  • A text editor, such as VS Code.

Before you can integrate with Qlik Cloud, you need to perform the following steps:

  1. Register for a subscription on Qlik Cloud.
  2. Configure your deployment.
  3. Create a new web integration from the Management console.
    1. You later run the mashup from your local machine. To allow this connection to happen, you should add http://127.0.0.1:8080 to the whitelist of origins.
    2. Once the web integration has been created, an ID has been assigned to it. This is the qlik-web-integration-id you need later on.

Note: Alternatively, you can use an OAuth flows for authentication. To learn more on how to create an OAuth client please refer to Create an OAuth2 client.

  1. Upload an app If you don’t have an app or data already prepared, you can download the movies dataset from the GitHub repository and upload it to the cloud. Each app on Qlik Sense SaaS has a global unique identifier (GUID), which you need later on. The GUID can be extracted from the URL and is the part that follows /app. For example, if the URL is https://your-tenant.us.qlikcloud.com/sense/app/7fc4d85c-0e07-4160-90a9-c2ca4a45fd81 , then the GUID of the app is 7fc4d85c-0e07-4160-90a9-c2ca4a45fd81.

Create the container

Create a folder named myMashup to contain your assets.

Create the main script file

Create the main JavaScript file index.js and place it in the myMashup folder. To configure the connection, you need the following:

  • The Qlik Cloud tenant URL.
  • The qlik-web-integration-id.
  • the GUID of the app you want to open.

Configure your tenant

The tenant must be configured in your mashup. This is needed for the following reasons:

  • To define the actual Qlik associative engine connection, which is used when you open an app or get a list of apps. This is covered by the config JavaScript object, used as a parameter in the openApp call.
  • To define where the Qlik Sense client-side software and files should be loaded from. This is achieved by configuring RequireJS with the require.config call and setting the baseUrl.
  • To define the web integration ID, which is necessary to enable cross-domain resource sharing.
const config = {
  host: "your-tenant.us.qlikcloud.com", //for example, 'abc.us.example.com'
  prefix: "/",
  port: 443,
  isSecure: true,
  webIntegrationId: "web-integration-id-here",
};
require.config({
  baseUrl: `https://${config.host}/resources`,
  webIntegrationId: config.webIntegrationId,
});

For OAuth authorization flow use clientId instead.

const config = {
  host: "your-tenant.us.qlikcloud.com", //for example, 'abc.us.example.com'
  prefix: "/",
  port: 443,
  isSecure: true,
-  webIntegrationId: "web-integration-id-here",
+  clientId: "OAuthClientId",
};
require.config({
  baseUrl: `https://${config.host}/resources`,
-  webIntegrationId: config.webIntegrationId,
+  clientId: config.clientId,
});

Set the global require and error handling

The JavaScript file is loaded in the browser when your mashup is used. RequireJS is used as a module loader.

require(["js/qlik"], (qlik) => {
  qlik.on("error", (error) => console.error(error));
});

Note: don’t use different versions of RequireJS on the same web page. You can find out which version of RequireJS is being used by typing require.version in the browser console while viewing the mashup in the browser.

Connect to the Qlik Sense app

Connect to the Qlik Sense app containing the objects you want to display on your web page.

const app = qlik.openApp("AppId", config); // Replace 'AppId' with the movies app ID

Note: add this code within the scope of the require() method.

Retrieve the Qlik Sense objects

Fetch the objects you want to display.

app.visualization.get("ObjectId").then((vis) => vis.show("QV01"));

Note: add this code within the scope of the require() method. You can obtain the ObjectId by right-clicking the visualization in Qlik Sense then select Share then choose Embed link (see Embedding a visualization)

Create the main HTML file

Create an HTML file and name it index.html. Save the file in the myMashup folder.

Define the relationships

The relationship between the current document and the linked Qlik Sense defined style sheet is specified in a <link/> rel tag inside the <head/> of the HTML file.

<link
  rel="stylesheet"
  href="https://your-tenant.us.qlikcloud.com/resources/autogenerated/qlik-styles.css"
/>
<script src="https://your-tenant.us.qlikcloud.com/resources/assets/external/requirejs/require.js"></script>
<script src="index.js"></script>

Add an internal style sheet tag

Add some internal styling inside the head of the HTML file to organize the presentation of the charts.

<style>
  div.flex-container {
    display: flex;
    flex-wrap: wrap;
    margin: 0 45px 45px 0;
  }
  div.qvobject {
    flex: 1 1 auto;
    height: 300px;
    min-width: 400px;
    margin: 45px 0 0 45px;
  }
</style>

Place the Qlik Sense objects

The movies dataset you uploaded earlier has a bar chart on the first sheet with the ID EAjjuyE. You can render that same bar chart in your mashup by providing the ID and an element into which you can render the visualization. Qlik Sense objects that have been defined in the JavaScript file are placed inside div tags inside the body of the HTML file.

<div class="flex-container">
  <div id="QV01" class="qvobject"></div>
</div>

Set up a web server

To serve your mashup locally, you’ll need an HTTP web server.

  1. Navigate to the myMashup folder.

  2. Open a command line window on your local machine and run:

    npx live-server

    You should see the following message:

    Serving ..."myMashup" at http://127.0.0.1:8080
Ready for changes

Test the mashup

  1. Log into the tenant.

  2. Open a browser to access the mashup. Enter the following URL:

    http://127.0.0.1:8080

You should see the movies dataset visualized in a bar chart.

Bar chart representing 'Top grossing movies of all time'

The visualization is fully interactive, any selections you make are reflected in the current app selections toolbar at the top.

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