One of many things I like about Qlikview is its simplicity. I am an ardent fan of Warren Buffett because of the simple life he lives amidst the ocean of wealth; I am an ardent fan of Qlikview for its simple data types amidst the ocean of data it explores.

Qlikview stores field values as dual values in string and number: String is used for displaying values to the user, and number is used for calculations and data sorting. Qlikview has uncanny ability to use string or number depending on the context where the field gets referenced.

Enter dual function in Qlikview. This function allows you to associate a string with a number so that you can display meaningful values for your users instead of displaying geeky 1’s and 0’s that your users don’t care about.

In this tutorial, we will explore a simple example of a budget category with the intent to display Recurring and Non-Recurring expenses.

Step 1: identify each category as Recurring or Non-Recurring expense in the data set.

2.  Create a [Category Type] flag in Qlikview script to segregate recurring and non-recurring expenses.

3.  Add power of dual function to associate a meaningful text for 0 and 1 so that your user can easily understand each expense type.

4.   Your data is ready for consumption. Spruce it up by creating pretty chart and a yummy list box.

That’s it.

photo by: isayx3