This article will cover how to interact with Qlik Sense apps by filtering the data down to your exact requirements. Filters can be set using a filter pane provided by the developer, by interacting directly with visualisations or by using the selections tool. This article covers:
- Using the filter pane
- Using the selections tool
- Filtering in visualisations
- Filtering must knows
Using the filer pane
When a new Qlik Sense app is built, a developer may choose to include a filter pane for users to narrow down the data in the app. Note that not every app will have a filter pane. If you’re unsure whether your app contains a filter pane, speak to your Qlik Sense developer. If a filter pane exists, it will look similar to this:
Note that depending on your Qlik Sense theme and appearance chosen by the developer, it may look slightly different. However, every filter pane has ‘boxes’ you can click on to choose options.
In the above filter pane, there are two types of filters: a date range picker tool and dimension filters.
The date range picker
The date range picker tool lets you choose a specific date or date range to narrow down your data. To use the tool, click on it. On the pop-up, you can type the from and to date into the top boxes. Alternatively, you can use one of the preset date ranges or scroll through the calendar and click on the from and to dates. Note that the ‘to’ date is inclusive. Thus, if you want to filter by one date only, you can either type in the same date in both boxes or click on the same date in the calendar twice.
Dimension filters
The dimension filters are the boxes you click on. When you click on the dimension you want to filter, a pop-up with the possible values appears. Note the background colour of each value. If it’s white, this means the value is a possible selection you can make. If it’s green, this is a selection already made in this field. If it’s light grey, it means some selections have already been made in this field (the green ones) but these can be added. If it’s dark grey, it means that the value is not a possible selection given other selections already made.
There are a few ways you can interact with the values:
- Click on the values in the list and hit the tick.
- Type in the value you want in the search box to see the possibilities, click on the results and hit the tick.
- Click on the ellipsis to see four shortcut options.
The shortcut options are:
- Select all: selects all the values.
- Select possible: selects only the applicable values given selections in other fields already made.
- Select alternative: select the values that are grey due to what is currently selected in this field.
- Select excluded: select the values that are grey due to what is currently selected in this field OR another field.
Using the selections tool
The selection tool can be found in any sheet top bar. Click on the button to be taken to the selections screen.
The selection screen shows your current selections and the dimensions and fields in the app. You can interact with the selections as you would normally. Note that by default, the bottom section shows only dimensions specified by your developer. If you want to see all fields in the app, make sure to tick the ‘show fields’ box. A word of caution about using the fields instead of dimensions – the fields may not be named in the most user-friendly way, so make sure to check with the app’s developer that you’re using the correct field for what you intend to filter by.
Filtering in visualisations
A great feature of Qlik Sense is that you can filter the data directly from within a visualisation without looking for the required field in the filter pane or the selection tool. The way you filter will vary slightly depending on what visualisation type you’re looking at but generally, you can filter by:
- Clicking and dragging on the axis
- Clicking on a dimension in the chart
- Using the lasso tool
Clicking and dragging on the axis
To filter by the axis, just click the mouse on the axis label and then drag as far as you want to filter. This can be possible on the Y and X axis. When you’re happy with the selection, click on the tick in the small right side pop-up.
Clicking on a dimension in the chart
To filter by specific values of a dimension in a chart, just click on these values. When you’re happy with the selection, click on the tick in the small right side pop-up.
Using the lasso tool
The steps to using the lasso tool are as follows:
- Click anywhere on the chart background
- In the selections menu, click on the lasso symbol to activate the tool
- Draw the area on the chart you want to filter by
- Click the tick to confirm the selections
Filtering must knows
There are a few essential things to know when working with filters in Qlik Sense:
- Depending on how the app is built, filters may or may not apply to all visualisations in all sheets. To check, apply your desired filter and see whether the visualisation values change. If you aren’t sure still, check with your app developer.
- Filters only stay in place as long as you’re in the app. If you close the app and re-open it, it will have reset to the default view. However, if your developer has set it as such, this default view may include applied filters.
- You can get Qlik Sense to remember your filter by using ‘bookmarks’.
