Getting Started with Qlik Web Connectors

Bjorn_Wedbratt · Jan 20, 2021 8:39:23 AM

Prerequisites

Since December 2020 Qlik Web Connectors requires .NET Framework 4.7.2.
Windows 8.1 or later and Windows Server 2012 and later. Note: Running Qlik Web Connectors as a service is only supported on Windows Server editions.
A modern browser, Qlik Web Connectors should run on IE9 and later, Chrome, Firefox and Apple Safari 6.1 and later. In general, expect the same browsers supported by QlikView / Qlik Sense
Qlik Web Connectors should currently work with any supported version of QlikView or Qlik Sense If you are using Qlik Sense please make sure you read this page.
Note, for all of the connectors available so far (excluding MongoDB and the General Web Connector if connecting to an internal web service), Qlik Web Connectors requires connection to the internet in order to download data from whichever API you are interested in. A personal or corporate firewall may prevent access to the API(s), however some settings might help you configure this, see Qlik Connectors Web Package - an introduction for Enterprise Users?

Installing & Running Qlik Web Connectors

NOTE: These instructions are for running Qlik Web Connectors in 'desktop' mode which is the recommended mode when you start using the product for the first time.
For instructions on running Qlik Web Connectors on a server (so that it is always up and available) see Setting Up The Qlik Web Connectors Windows Service.

Troubleshooting

For troubleshooting, see:

Installing Qlik Web Connectors

The following steps show how to run Qlik Web Connectors in localhost mode only with no authentication. See the deploy.config section in Qlik Connectors Web Package - Advanced Config With deploy.config on how to open up remote access and authentication.

Qlik Connectors Web Package is delivered as a zipped folder, there is no installer and Qlik Connectors Web Package installs no additional components on your systems. This makes it very small, lightweight and trivial to 'install' or remove.

To allow for easy upgrading, we suggest taking the following approach.

Read Unblocking the Qlik Connectors Web Package zip distribution regarding unblocking the downloaded files contained in the zip, particularly if you have followed these instructions once and are experiencing issues.
In a root drive, create a folder called 'Qlik Web Connectors' (e.g. c:\QlikWebConnectors. We would specifically not recommend placing it under 'Program Files' due to the reasons mentioned in the notes on the page above. Also, please do not run the program from a shared network drive or mapped folder you might experience issues.
Unzip the Qlik Web Connectors folder that you have downloaded.
Copy the contents of the unzipped folder to your new Qlik Web Connectors folder

You should now have a folder structure that looks something like this:

You can now run the Qlik WebConnectors.exe file.

Note also that if you are using the processParams[Sync|Async|Batch|Auto] parameter in any of your load scripts you will need to ensure that QlikView/Qlik Sense AND Qlik Connectors Web Package have access to a folder where QlikView/Qlik Sense can store intermediate CSV parameter files and Qlik Connectors Web Package can read them (typically c:\QlikWebConnectors\Temp). This is explained fully on Qlik Connectors Web Package Synchronous, Asynchronous and Batch Requests Explained.

If you experience any issues running Qlik Connectors Web Package we would recommend ensuring that you are running it as an administrator - this is done on Windows 7 and other Windows versions by right clicking on the executable and selecting the option highlighted below. You may only need to run Qlik Connectors Web Package the first time as admin so that it can reserve the URL it runs on, although this will probably only be necessary when you start using more advanced configurations (see Qlik Connectors Web Package - Advanced Config With deploy.config).

You should now see the following window appear indicating that Qlik Connectors Web Package is running.

PLEASE NOTE : The exe should be run from your local hard drive - if you run the program from a shared network drive or mapped folder you might experience issues.
Qlik Connectors Web Package runs as a small webserver, by default on port 5555. If you minimize the window shown above you will see this indicated by the balloon tip and icon in the status bar.

This port can be easily changed using deploy.config (explained below). In most cases this should not be necessary, if you do alter this be sure to restart Qlik Connectors Web Package.

You can now click the 'open in default browser' link to view the Qlik Connectors Web Package Web UI.

Startup Log Files

Note, at this point, Qlik Connectors Web Package should have generated either 'Startup_Log.txt' or 'Service_Startup_Log.txt' (if running as windows service) in the root folder. If you are experiencing any issues starting Qlik Connectors Web Package, please first check the contents of this log file. We would also recommend you send it if you are contacting us for support about this.

Installing the Licence File

You should now see something like the following in your default browser, note that the connectors are not licensed:

Rewrite for Qlik Connectors Web Package

?You should go to the 'Licence' tab in QlikWebConnectors and:

Enter the name you used when registering the license number were given when purchasing Qlik Web Connectors.
Click the " Apply new LEF" button.

Verify the LEF details are applied correctly, including the connectors covered by your subscription.
It's also usually a good idea at this point to check the 'data endpoint' is up and running by browsing to:
http://localhost:5555/web

Which should show something like:

You can also request this as XML by appending ?format=xml to the url::
http://localhost:5555/web?format=xml

This also gives you a way of checking that Qlik Connectors Web Package is running correctly, is licensed and has the expected minimum version number from your QlikView or Qlik Sense load script before proceeding with the reminder of the load - you can see an example here: Checking the status of Qlik Connectors Web Package. Note that the above path will be different if you are accessing the Qlik Web Connectors server from another machine (see above article).

Using a specific connector

Selecting a Connector

On the 'Connectors' tab, select a connector you wish to use and click it to bring up its configuration form. In this example we use the Twitter Connector.

Each connector should have a link to an associated help page on its 'Support' tab:

Note that at present, most of the connector help pages will still have screen shots of the Qlik Web Connectors WinForms edition. However, the connectors are 99% identical in both editions in terms of available tables, input parameters and behavior so the information on the help pages is still relevant.

Working With A Connector

Each connector will have a list of tables which it supports, underneath which appears a description for the currently selected table:

Some connectors will also have tables grouped into particular categories for easier discovery:

In this example we will select the Twitter Search table:

Click on Parameters button.
Next click the 'Authenticate' button:

A new browser window or tab should now open where you authenticate with Twitter.

Please ensure that your browser will allow Pop-Ups for the purpose of authenticating.
Once you have done this you should receive a code which you should copy:

And paste back in to the connector: Use the code you provided. The code in the image does not match with the above code.

You should find you now have an authentication token saved with your settings and are able to enter some parameters for the table.
You can now copy and paste the generated load script into your QlikView or Qlik Sense application:

Common Connector Configuration

Each connector has its own 'Settings' tab. This is where you can delete any settings associated with the connector (i.e. input parameters saved in the table's UI) as well as clear any cached data (a small number of connectors cache some data to improve performance and/or minimize API calls).

Change Log

Each connector should also have a change log where you can see changes made over each version. We would recommend you read this each time you upgrade Qlik Connectors Web Package.

Upgrading

Upgrading Qlik Connectors Web Package is relatively easy, but by following some simple steps you'll be able to continue using any data which connectors may have cached, as well as continue using your existing connector settings.

IMPORTANT: Please note however that you should read the change logs for Qlik Connectors Web Package as well as any connectors you are using. In particular because, very occasionally due to API changes out of our control, we have to introduce breaking changes which might affect your QlikView or Qlik Sense applications. Therefore it is important to check the change logs for any items which might apply to you and update your applications and test where necessary.

Stop running Qlik Connectors Web Package (note - if you are running Qlik Connectors Web Package as a service you should stop the service).
Take a back up of your Qlik Web Connector WebEdition folder, which you created, by zipping it up and keeping it somewhere safe.
On downloading the latest version of Qlik Connectors Web Package, you will have received a zip file - unzip this file somewhere. Note you should also unblock this file (Unblocking the Qlik Connectors Web Package zip distribution).
Copy and paste its contents into the Qlik Web Connector WebEdition folder (i.e. over the top of the existing contents which you have just backed up) EXCLUDING the deploy.config and logins.xml files.
IMPORTANT - Because you have likely edited both deploy.config and logins.xml, you will want to retain these settings rather than overwriting them with the 'master version from the latest download. You therefore have two options (and we hope to improve this situation in time):
- 1) [Recommended] Copy across your just backed up versions of deploy.config and logins.xml into your Qlik Web Connector WebEdition directory and then check the deploy.config and logins.xml files from the latest download zip and add any additional elements which may have been made (which should happen rarely).
  OR
- 2) Also copy the deploy.config and logins.xml files from the latest download over your existing files AND THEN manually copy any changes you had made to these files from the just backed up version of your site.
When prompted overwrite all files and folders. NOTE - It has been seen very occasionally that when you unzip Qlik Connectors Web Package (or any zip for that matter) to your machine the files/folders sometimes do not pick up or inherit the correct users/permissions which might result in a WinIOError when you try to run Qlik Web Connector. You should check that your user account and/or whichever user account you have configured to run Qlik Connectors Web Package still has full access to this folder.
Your cached data in the \Qlik Web Connector WebEdition\App_Data folder should still be there. If it's not, go to your backed up zip file and copy its App_Data folder's contents into your 'live' App_Data folder.
Start Qlik Connectors Web Package again (note - if you are running Qlik Connectors Web Package as a service you should re-start the service).

Running Qlik Connectors Web Package As A Service

You can setup Qlik Connectors Web Package to run as a windows service, see Setting up the Qlik Connectors Web Package Windows Service. This is the recommended method when using in conjunction with a QlikView or Qlik Sense server as it will ensure Qlik Connectors Web Package is always up and running to provide data to the QlikView or Qlik Sense reloads.

Advanced Usage

This page explains how to run Qlik Connectors Web Package in localhost mode only with no authentication. You can also configure Qlik Connectors Web Package to run on a server and be accessible other machines. Please see the deploy.config section, Qlik Connectors Web Package - Advanced . Config With deploy.config for further details.

Qlik Connectors Web Package also has some enterprise features which help users further secure their Qlik Connectors Web Package installation, see Qlik Connectors Web Package - an introduction for Enterprise Users

Support & Troubleshooting

If you are having trouble getting Qlik Connectors Web Package running, first ensure you have carefully read the above page and then consulted the troubleshooting page, Troubleshooting Qlik Connectors Web Package

If you are still experiencing issues we recommend submitting a support request.

Getting Started with Qlik Web Connectors