In partnership with

⚒️ Cool Tool - The Rundown AI

⚔️ The Master Plan (Part 1): Entering the Overworld of Master Items in Qlik Sense

You start your journey in Qlik like most adventurers do - raw fields in hand, building visuals one chart at a time.

It works. It gets the job done.

But everything feels… manual. A little fragile.

Then, one day, you find it.

A single item - glowing quietly in the Assets panel.

"Add to Master Items."

And just like that, your build process changes.

From here on out, your expressions are reusable. Your dimensions, governed. Your charts, consistent and clean.

You didn’t just organize your app. You drew the Master Sword.

Welcome to the Overworld

Before we head into the deeper dungeons of formatting strategy and dashboard governance, we need to understand the lay of the land.

This first part of our Master Items deep dive is your Overworld map - a guide to the essential tools you'll be using again and again: Master Dimensions and Master Measures.

These are the early-game power-ups. They don’t just help you fight off inconsistencies and duplication - they change how you build.

And yes, it really is that big of a shift.

What Are Master Items, Really?

At their core, Master Items in Qlik Sense are reusable definitions. They let you create a central list of dimensions, measures, and visualizations that you can reference throughout your app.

Instead of rewriting the same expression ten different ways, or dragging a raw field into a chart and formatting it manually every time, you create a Master Item once.

From then on, it’s just drag, drop, done.

There are three main types:

• Master Dimensions (single fields, calculated dimensions, or drill-downs)

• Master Measures (expressions, often aggregations)

• Master Visualizations (complete charts, covered in Part 2)

But in this phase of the journey, it’s all about the core items: dimensions and measures. Think of them as your sword and shield. Your build fundamentals.

Why Use Them? (Spoiler: They're Not Just for Developers)

Let’s address the obvious question: why bother?

If you’ve ever had to manually update a KPI expression across five different charts because the logic changed, you already know the pain.

✅ Master Items solve that.

If you’ve had a stakeholder ask why a measure looks different between two sheets, only to discover one uses a raw field and the other a slightly tweaked formula...

✅ Master Items solve that too.

If you're building governed self-service dashboards and you want business users to explore without wrecking the underlying logic...

✅ You guessed it: Master Items.

Here’s what they unlock:

• Consistency: Define once, reuse everywhere

• Governance: Lock in naming, descriptions, formatting, and colors

• Speed: No more re-writing expressions or hunting through charts

• Clarity: Replace technical field names with business-friendly labels

• Maintainability: Update logic in one place and it propagates automatically

And just like the Master Sword, once you start using them, it becomes hard to imagine building without them.

Master Dimensions: From Raw Fields to Reusable Building Blocks

A Master Dimension is any field (or calculated field) you want to standardize across your app.

🔑 Key Use Cases:

• Renaming technical fields for clarity

• Enabling drill-down dimensions (e.g. Region → Country → City)

• Defining label expressions that change dynamically

• Applying consistent colors to dimension values

  

  Setting the Dimension Value colour in Master Dimensions

One of the best features here is drill-downs, and here’s the kicker: you can’t build drill-down hierarchies unless you create them as Master Dimensions.

So if you want users to be able to click into charts and progressively zoom from Year → Month → Date, Master Items aren’t optional — they’re required.

🛡️ Master Dimension Tips:

• Use readable names ("Customer Name" instead of "cust_nm")

• Add descriptions to guide end users

• Tag them with synonyms (Insight Advisor will thank you)

• Set colors for values when relevant (especially for maps and KPIs)

• Always check the label expression - it’s now respected properly in the selection bar (a long-awaited fix!)

Yes, that last one is worth repeating:

Master Measures: Lock In Your Logic

This is where the real power starts to show.

Master Measures allow you to define expressions (e.g. Sum(Sales), Avg(Margin), Count(Distinct CustomerID)) once and reuse them everywhere.

You can also:

• Set number formatting (money, percent, custom)

• Assign a default color (great for consistent UI themes)

• Define segment colors (e.g. red for negative growth, green for positive)

• Add descriptions, tags, and even use them inside other expressions

🧠 Why They Matter:

• They reduce errors (especially in complex set analysis)

• They centralize your KPIs (no more formula drift)

• They make onboarding easier (new developers can explore your Master Items to understand key metrics)

Think of your Master Measures as enchanted scrolls.

You write the logic once, imbue it with context, formatting, and metadata - and then anyone who drags it into a chart wields it exactly as intended.

🧩 What About Variables?

Variables are useful, but they serve a different purpose.

Variables let you define a piece of logic that can be reused across multiple expressions using the $(VariableName) syntax. This is great for things like currency conversion rates, thresholds, or base conditions.

But here’s where Master Measures have an advantage:

• Variables are invisible to end users. Master Measures are visible, selectable, and tagged.

• Variables don’t carry formatting. Master Measures can define number formats, colors, and segment rules.

• Variables are more flexible. They’re ideal when you want dynamic logic that users can input or change.

• Master Measures are more governed. They’re the right choice when you need consistency and UI integration.

In many apps, the two work together: use variables inside Master Measures when you need reusable parameters. But expose your key metrics as Master Measures so they show up cleanly and consistently across the UI.

Field vs. Master: Why Bother?

Sometimes, you can. Not every field needs to be a Master Item.

But if you care about naming, formatting, descriptions, governance, reuse, or enabling users to build charts safely...

You want to use Master Items.

Here’s a quick comparison:

In short: raw fields are fine for exploration. Master Dimensions are for real builds.

Coming Up in Part 2: Into the Dungeon

Master Dimensions and Measures are your core kit.

But you haven’t explored the full map yet.

In Part 2, we will descend into the dungeon:

• Master Visualizations

• Maintenance and refactoring

• Formatting tips for color, number, and label control

• Advanced governance patterns

• Tips for handling large libraries and multi-app ecosystems

We’ll also talk about how to build your Master Item library so it scales with you - whether you're a solo dev or a whole team of analysts.

Until then, check your inventory.

You might already be holding the Master Sword.

You just haven’t swung it yet.