Category: javascript

Qlik Sense Generic Object IV: The lists

A Qlik Sense Generic Object can also be used to list objects in the Qlik Sense app to which it belongs. You can use it to list things like:

  • fields
  • dimensions
  • measures
  • bookmarks
  • snapshots
  • media (that is images controlled by Qlik Sense)
  • sheets
  • master objects
  • variables
  • stories

The javascript APIs provide the app.getList method, which is a wrapper that helps you get theses lists. It will create a session object for you with the list you are requesting, get that actual data in the list and call your callback function once the data is available.

List are live – your callbacks might be called several times

Just like with other Generic Objects the data might be invalidated. If you are using the javascript APIs it will then be automatically revalidated and your callback function will be called again, so you should be prepared that your callback might be called multiple times. But unlike the Hypercube and List Object the lists are not affected by the users selections. Instead they will be invalidated when the underlying data changes:

  • if the user adds a bookmark, you will get a new bookmarklist
  • if the user adds a measure, you will get a new measurelist
  • if the user adds a dimension, you will get a new dimensionlist
  • etc….

Configure the data you get in your list

The data you get in your lists is configurable. If you use the API method, you will get a default set of fields for each item in the list, but you can set the list up to suite your needs.

As an example, if you use the api method getList(‘measure’, callback), you will get a list where records look like this:

The first and second part, qInfo and qMeta, will always be there. They contain the id to use when refering to this measure and title and description use ful in a list of measures. The third part however, qData, is configurable. The default configuration just gives you tags and title one more time, but if you instead want more data about the measure, you can use your own measure list definition like this:

Under qData you provide your own mapping of the properties you want. In this case I have just specified that I want everything under qMeasure included. You can also specify individual fields.

And get output that includes more data for the measures:

And the same goes for the other lists, you can supply your own definitions and get more data included.