Manually creating a Writeback Table

The quickest way to get started with Writeback tables is using the Wizard; we also have a comprehensive guide to creating a Vizlib Writeback Table in our article Getting started with Writeback Table. 

These instructions provide the details of manually creating your Writeback Table. If you're happy to create and configure your columns, then this page may be for you. All the styling and advanced features are available in the property panel - so you can tailor the tables to your needs as part of the setup.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Manually creating a Writeback Table
  • Creating a Table with Setup Dialog
  • Adding New Data with Manual Configuration
• Using Freeze columns when working with large tables

Creating a Table with Setup Dialog

1. Click on Custom Objects in the far-left panel to open the custom objects menu.
2. Select VizLib Collaboration.
3. Click and hold the cursor on Vizlib Writeback Table.
4. Drag and drop the cursor into the sheet. 
5. Drag the corner of the table view (highlighted in orange) to change the table size. Writeback Set up
6. Once the table initializes, you will see buttons for Set up and Manual Configuration. 
7. Click Set up to open the setup dialog. You can find instructions on Set up in our article here or click Manual Configuration to complete setup using Writeback Settings.

Figure 1: Create New Writeback Table (Set up)

Please note: Once you've created a new writeback table, you can click Done to save it in the app.

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Extending your Table structure using the Property panel

Vizlib Writeback Table also uses Manual Configuration to add new data to your writeback table. You can add columns in the property panel on the right-hand side of the screen. 

You'll see a dropdown with three options when you click on Add Column. 

Figure 2: Adding a new column using the dropdown list.

• Dimension - Dimensions organize data into groups, e.g., a list of product types or countries. They are defined in the data model loaded by the application hosting the writeback table and can be added using Setup or Manual Configuration. You can select a dimension already linked to a column in the data model, or you can link to one of the Fields in the lower half of the dropdown. 
• Measure - Measures are used for calculating data, e.g., the total sales for a product type sold or the number of units sold per country. Like dimensions, they are also defined in the data model using Qlik Sense aggregations and can be added using Setup or Manual Configuration. You can select a measure that has an aggregation defined for a particular field or select a field and add your own aggregation. 
• Column - Columns can be added to display new data which hasn't been held in the data model, for example, a comments section for each row. You can add a column using Setup or Manual Configuration and select data or utility types from the list.

Once you've added a column, define the column properties in Columns. You can find more detailed information by reading the articles in the Properties category, which you can find on the homepage here. 

Note on Column Order: With the current version of Vizlib Writeback Table, you'll need to disable touch screen mode in Qlik Sense if you'd like to use drag and drop to re-order columns in the property panel.

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Using Freeze columns when working with large tables

Use the Freeze columns option to make reviewing and editing table data faster by ensuring relevant columns are always visible. All the columns to the left freeze, so you can keep scrolling through the columns on the right. 

Figure 3: Icon column with freeze columns applied

1. Select the column you want to freeze.
2. From the property panel, scroll down to Other Settings.
3. Click the box to Freeze column. 
4. Scroll to the right, and check that all columns to the left of the selected column are now frozen in place. On the property panel, a snowflake icon displays on the left beside the name of any frozen columns.  

Please note: the freeze column setting is saved during your Writeback table session. However, when you open a new browser session, the default setting in the property panel is re-applied.

You can also apply freeze columns when you're using Form View. Please see our article: Vizlib Writeback Table - Using Form View with large data sets.

Figure 4: Showing Form View and Frozen columns