BI-Qlikview Compared to other BI tools

I came across the discussion about compare Qlikview features with other BI tools.

Brief View about the Qlikview:

>>Qlikview is a new kind of business intelligence software that changes your world. Its BI software that lets you stop guessing and start knowing how to make faster and smarter decisions

>>QlikView is an in memory BI tool with a limitation of the amount of data based on the RAM size; where as other tools are highly scalable.

>>The performance of QlikView is mind blowing, and works best for users looking for instant analysis.

>>QlikView has a unique drill feature which is called Associative Search

>>Best tool for doing What If Analysis.Users can actually start doing the analysis with limited trainings

>>The concept of QVDs (QlikView Data files) is amazing for replacing ETL tools.

>>QlikView is User & Insight Driven and not IT & Data Driven.Supports Heterogeneous Data Sources Enforce group, role-based and individual user policies from individual documents to granular row and value restrictions.

>>Offline Analysis – Once data is refreshed, users can do their analysis offline also.

>>Set Analysis – logics which takes months to implement in other tools takes minutes in QlikView

>>QlikView Scripting – gives you the power to transform your data the way you want and incorporate the Outside objects into Qliview.

>>It is very User friendly and Installation is in minutes of time,Other tools takes time to install.


>>If you are looking for pure adhoc reporting where users would be using the tool just to extract/fetch data in excel format BusinessObjects serves the purpose.

>>I know Business Objects is capable of doing a lot more, but most of the users use it just to extract/fetch data and feed it into their charts.

>>Complicated logics can be put on to the BusinessObjects Universe (Meta data Layer) making it easy for users just to select the objects and creating their own reports. These reports can be saved, scheduled or used in a dashboard.

>>If the users have licenses of Xcelsius, then they can leverage the Query as a web service to feed data to Xcelsius from the already existing BusinessObjects Universe.

>>Business Objects also has LiveOffice as a plugin which enables users to Import WebI report into excel without actually logging into Info View.

>>QlikView is a completely different tool. There is no comparison between QlikView and BusinessObjects.

>>In QlikView the dashboard would be pre built by the developers, users can change the filters to do their analysis.

>>They cant really add more data on the fly as QlikView scripting is not that easy when large volumes of data and complicated logic comes in.

How to display current Date and Time in Crystal Xcelsius

Xcelsius is a nice presentation tool to design and display dashboards. I was recently working on a the requirement of showing current time on the dashboard.At Finally I discover solution to this.

First I tried using Excel's NOW() function.The problem with now function is that it only displays the static time when you first open the dashboard. The time won't change after that even when you refresh dashboard connections.

There is a trick using History component to achieve this functionality.

>> Use now() function to populate current date and time in a cell (say A1) and format the cell to display time in HH:MM:SS format

>> In another cell (say E1) put the formula "=A1". Now E1 displays the current time as A1.
>> Drag history component (under other) on to the canvas

>> Put the formula "=E1+TIME(0,0,1)" in a cell say C1

>> Map data filed of history component to C1 and map Data Insertion field to E1 and select on interval 1 second option.

>> The E1 cell displays the current time. Map E1 cell to a text label component to display it on the dashboard.

Fixed Issues in Fix Pack 3.2

I hope this would be helpful for who`s working on Xcelsius
Total 17 issues was fixed in this Fix Pack,All issues are listed here for reference.
Fixed Issues in Fix Pack 3.2

1 ADAPT01306450 (Parent dashboard page is refreshed when calling openDocument
sWindow=New)
Description:
The parent dashboard page is refreshed when calling openDocument sWindow=New.
New Behavior:
This issue is resolved.

2 ADAPT01337432 (Horizontal axis labels end with zeros)
Description:
Horizontal axis labels might end with 0s (zeros) in Combination chart components.
New Behavior:
This issue is resolved.

3 ADAPT01360615 (Leading zeros removed in chart labels)
Description:
In a text input box or text area component, when you type a number that begins with a 0 (zero), the 0
is removed when the number is inserted. This issue also affects Chart titles or legends.
New Behavior:
This issue is resolved.

4 ADAPT01369545 & ADAPT01388980 (Tool-tip text for charts is truncated when
the < symbol is present)
Description:
Tool-tip text for charts is truncated when the < symbol is present.
New Behavior:
This issue is resolved.

5 ADAPT01369835 (Leading blank spaces are removed)
Description:
Leading blank spaces are removed.
New Behavior:
This issue is resolved.

6 ADAPT01373899 (Web Service stream error 2032)
Description:
If an input parameter is an XML string, a Web Stream error 2032 occurs.
New Behavior:
This issue is resolved.

7 ADAPT01375859 (Read right causes error when accessing dashboard in Sharepoint
2007)
Description:
Users who have Read rights in Xcelsius receive an error when they try to access the Xcelsius dashboard
in Sharepoint 2007.

New Behavior:
This issue is resolved.

8 ADAPT01387214 (External Interface Connection table ranges cannot be set from javascript)
Description:
External Interface Connection table ranges cannot be set from javascript.
New Behavior:
This issue is resolved.

9 ADAPT01388901 (BICS web service returns only 100 company codes)
Description:
BICS web service returns only 100 company codes.
New Behavior:
This issue is resolved.

10 ADAPT01388975 (Set Refresh Button does not trigger on first attempt)
Description:
The Set Refresh Button trigger does not trigger connectivity when displayed for the first time.
New Behavior:
This issue is resolved.

11 ADAPT01392534 (COM exception in Vista when you log on to an SAP system)
Description:
A COM exception appears in Vista when you try to log on to an SAP system in Xcelsius FP3.1.
New Behavior:
This issue is resolved.

12 ADAPT01393352 (Extra session validation required in Xcelsius 2008 SP3)
Description:
The number of HTTP requests sent for a QAAWS connection in Xcelsius 2008 SP3 is more than was
required in previous versions.
New Behavior:
This issue is resolved.

13 ADAPT01394663 (Dashboard could not be initialized)
Description:
In BI Query, the dashboard could not be initialized if the data that was returned from a query was bound
to fewer columns than the server allowed.
New Behavior:
This issue is resolved.

14 ADAPT01394920 (Refresh options removed when migrating XLF files to Xcelsius
2008 SP3)
Description:
The Enable Auto Refresh and Auto Refresh Interval options are removed from the dashboard when
you migrate XLF files Xcelsius 4.5 to Xcelsius 2008 SP3.
New Behavior:
This issue is resolved.

15 ADAPT01395086 (URL reference not updated after migration)
Description:
After migrating a dashboard from Xcelsius 4.5 to Xcelsius 2008, and updating a URL reference cell to
a new address, the dashboard continues to use the old address for an Excel MAPS Connection that
was created in Xcelsius 4.5.
New Behavior:
This issue is resolved.

16 ADAPT01401001 (Bindings are not retained when a query's structure is changed)
Description:
Some bindings are not retained when a query's structure is changed and you browse the query again
after the change.
New Behavior:
This issue is resolved.

17 ADAPT01403420 (Translated text is not stored with the dashboard)
Description:
Translated text is not stored with the dashboard.
New Behavior:
This issue is resolved.