Rethinking Pop-Ups in Qlik Cloud: A Simple Yet Effective Solution

The Challenge: No native pop-ups in Qlik Cloud

One of our clients needed pop-up functionality in Qlik Cloud. However, as of now, Qlik Cloud does not support native pop-ups. We explored several available extensions, but they introduced unwanted side effects. For example, unexpected changes to the layout due to hidden HTML tags.

This prompted us to rethink our approach. Instead of forcing a pop-up into Qlik, we devised a workaround that achieves the same result without affecting the user experience negatively.

The Solution: A guided sheet transition

Rather than creating an actual pop-up, we designed an alternative approach using Qlik’s built-in navigation capabilities. Here’s how it works:

Creating an introduction sheet:

We designed a separate sheet to serve as an informational pop-up. This sheet displays the key details a user needs before proceeding to the main analysis. We added a close button (styled as an exit or dismissal action) that triggers two actions:

Using a variable for conditional visibility

We introduced a variable, vSheetHide, which controls whether the introduction sheet remains visible. The value of this variable is adjusted via a button action.

Navigating to the main sheet

When the user clicks a close button (styled as an exit or dismissal action), the variable changes and the button triggers a navigation action to redirect them to the actual main sheet.

The result

You can see the result in the animation below (click for larger size).

Why this works

No external dependencies:

Since this method relies only on native Qlik Cloud functionality, there are no risks of unexpected behavior from third-party extensions. This ensures stability, compatibility, and easier long-term maintenance.

Enhanced user experience:

Users still get the effect of a pop-up, but without interruptions. The guided transition ensures they see relevant information first before seamlessly proceeding to their intended analysis.

Flexible & scalable:

This approach can be extended to various use cases, such as guided navigation, onboarding flows, or step by step analysis. Additionally, it can be customized further based on business needs, without relying on third party tools.

A consideration: users can bypass the introduction sheet

One limitation of this approach is that users can still manually navigate around the introduction sheet using Qlik’s default sheet navigation. While this does not break functionality, it does mean that the pop-up experience is not strictly enforced.

A second limitation is that a user will always directly to the pop-up sheet. The step to start at the default sheet overview from Qlik will be skipped.

Final Thoughts

Sometimes, the best solution is not to force a missing feature but to rethink the approach. By leveraging Qlik’s built-in navigation and variable handling, we were able to achieve the intended functionality without the drawbacks of traditional pop-ups. If you’re looking for a similar workaround in your Qlik Cloud environment, give this method a try!

Tom Maarsen

Tom joined Bitmetric in April 2023, bringing with him years of experience in returns logistics, including extensive work with Qlik. Over the years, he has developed dashboards for productivity tracking and near-real-time inventory insights. At Bitmetric, Tom has deepened his expertise in Qlik, TimeXtender, and Qlik Automate. As an automation expert, he spoke at the Masters Summit for Qlik, sharing insights on optimizing workflows. In his free time, Tom enjoys gardening and spending time on the water on his boat.

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