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📊 Your Qlik Visual Toolbox: 230+ Native Charts Inside

📊 Your Qlik Visual Toolbox: 230+ Native Charts Inside

Brian Booden
April 09, 2025

In partnership with

Hey, it’s Brian again 👋

Last week, we tackled how to make Qlik dashboards easier to navigate - this week, we’re doing something bigger.

I’m talking about the single most requested resource I’ve ever shared.

Over the past few months, I’ve spent 100+ hours curating, testing, rebuilding, and reorganizing what started as a 100-chart challenge... and turned into something much more powerful:

👉 230+ Custom Qlik Native Visualizations
👉 No extensions. No fluff. All built using the native Qlik engine.

The 230+ Qlik Custom Viz Playbook took me over 100 hours to build!

The response has blown me away.

Since sharing the post on LinkedIn, nearly 300 people have downloaded the guide, and the feedback’s been incredible. If you’ve already got it - thank you. If you haven’t yet - today’s issue is for you.

As a Data Mix subscriber, you’re getting the inside track on exactly how it works, how it was built, and how to use it in your own dashboards.

We’re diving into:

Why I built the 230+ Viz Playbook (and how it started as a 100-chart drop)
How to build the Apple Watch-style radial gauge in Qlik - no extensions needed
How to create cartograms using native Qlik map objects and scripting
Where to find the original QVF files from Patric Nordström’s legendary viz tips
Why this changes the game for anyone designing in Qlik

If you’re ready to make dashboards that don’t look like anyone else’s - this is your kit.

Let’s get into it.

In Today’s Issue

I’m going to cover these things with you today!

But First… - Qlik Connect is approaching fast!!
Cool Tool - Superhuman AI – Master AI tools, tutorials, and news in just 3 minutes a day
Deep Dive - Apple Watch and Cartograms - How to build 2 of the coolest Viz.
Before You Go - Other ways that I can help and work with you

Finally - at the end of my newsletter, you’ll get a poll to tell me how I did and feedback what you’d like to see in the future and do for YOU! Let’s hope it’s not a 🥧 chart!

First time reading? ⏬⏬

But First…Qlik Connect is on May 13-15

🎟️ Qlik Connect is 5 Weeks Away - And You Need to Be There

We’re less than five weeks out from Qlik Connect - and if you're in the world of analytics, automation, or data storytelling, this is the place to be.

📍 Orlando, Florida - May 13-15
🏨 Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
📅 Block the calendar now

Here’s why I think you should be there:

🖐️ Top 5 Reasons to Attend Qlik Connect 2024

1. It’s where the biggest shifts in the Qlik ecosystem are revealed
From major product launches to new AI capabilities - this is where roadmaps go public.

2. You get to learn directly from the people building the future of Qlik
The engineers, designers, and visionaries are on stage - and often hanging around the coffee stations too.

3. Hands-on sessions that go way beyond the Help site
Build, break, and explore the new features with the people who actually use them.

4. Everyone you’ve been tagging, messaging, and following?
They’ll be there. If we’ve talked on LinkedIn or in the comments - I want to meet you in person.

5. I’ve got something big to share
Yep - I’ll be at Qlik Connect this year, and I’ve got an announcement coming in the next week or two. If you’re a Data Mix subscriber, you’ll hear it here first.

If you’re serious about what you build in Qlik - this is the one event that ties it all together.

Can’t wait to see you in Orlando!

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🔍 Deep Dive

The 230+ Chart Playbook: Breaking the Qlik Mold with 2 Must-Know Visuals

What started as a simple 100-chart challenge exploded into something much bigger: 231 fully native Qlik visualizations, no extensions needed.

This playbook pulls from some of Qlik’s sharpest community work - especially the incredible tips originally shared by Patric Nordström - and repackages them into a curated resource you can use directly in Qlik apps.

This week’s spotlight is on two standout charts from the collection:

The Apple Watch-style Radial Gauge
The Cartogram Grid Map

Here’s how they work - and how to build them.

⌚ Apple Watch-style Radial Gauge

📂 Found in: Top 10 Viz Tips Part IV QVF (Radial bar chart / Activity gauge)

What it solves:
Displays multiple KPIs (like Revenue, Margin, Engagement) as clean, circular progress rings - all in one visual.

Why it matters:
Stakeholders instantly grasp how KPIs are tracking. It’s bold, compact, and highly visual - perfect for exec dashboards or performance scorecards.

🔧 How to Build It

Script (Backend):

Create circle segments:

circle_segments:
Load (RecNo()-1)/100*2*pi() as r, RecNo()/100 as rp autogenerate 100;

Generates 100 data points around a full circle in radians and percentage.

Set control variables:

let vOffset = 0.05;
let vMax = 0.15;
let vTarget = 0.7;

Sort your data:

load distinct ProductName as P, CategoryName as C ... ;
load recno() as PID ... ;

Front-End (Map Object):

Add a map object with no basemap.
Add an area layer using the polygon field.
Fix shape size so all regions are equal.
Color by measure (sales, population, etc.).
Optionally, add state abbreviations as a point layer.

✅ Fully native
✅ Responsive to selections
✅ Works great with up to 3 concentric KPIs

🎯 Use case: Multi-KPI dashboards, health checks, and circular scorecards

🗺️ Cartogram (Grid-Based Map)

📂 Found in: Top 10 Viz Tips Part V QVF (Cartograms)

What it solves:
Shows regional performance using equal-sized tiles instead of distorted geographic proportions.

Why it matters:
Lets users compare values - not land size - to highlight real performance drivers.

🔧 How to Build It

Script (Backend):

Square grid version:

Use a crosstable load from Excel to capture layout:

num(concat(col)) as g_col, -num(concat(row)) as g_row

Build square polygons from coordinates:

'[[' & g_col & ',' & g_row & '], ... ]' as shape

Hex grid option:

Calculate hex center points:

h_row*1.5 as h_y, h_col*1.73 + mod(h_row,2)*1.73/2 as h_x

Build hexagon shapes with simple math offsets

Front-End (Map Object):

Add a map object with no basemap.
Add an area layer using the polygon field.
Fix shape size so all regions are equal.
Color by measure (sales, population, etc.).
Optionally, add state abbreviations as a point layer.

✅ Square, hex, or circle layouts
✅ Fully dynamic using data model
✅ Great for regional fairness and visual clarity

🎯 Use case: State-by-state dashboards, performance maps, survey reach summaries

💬 Final Thoughts

These two visuals are just the beginning.

They show what’s possible when you combine native Qlik objects with some creative scripting. You’re not just building visuals - you’re unlocking entirely new ways to tell stories in Qlik.

And with 231 native charts to choose from, you’ll never run out of inspiration.

No extensions. Just creativity, Qlik, and a growing community of builders pushing the limits.

Before you go - here’s 3 ways I can help you

LinkedIn - I’m always talking about Data, Qlik on there and would love to connect with you!
WhatsApp for Qlik - Want to talk to your data in Qlik using WhatsApp? I built that as a service and you can check out the demo.
The Data Mix Podcast on YouTube - Every fortnight, I deliver a cordial interview with the best guests in the world of Data and Analytics.

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