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Alerting

Keep track of any significant changes or anomalies in your Qlik Sense data. When new incidents arise, share them immediately with teams by setting up unique rules and timings for alerts. This documentation helps User get started with Alerting.

Prerequisite

  • Local Admin right with user credentials
  • Postgres DB and nodeJs need installed
  • QS Postgres Repository Username & Password (if PG DB Already installed)
  • SMTP details (app password)
  • Qlik Sense PEM file-type Certificates (Path)
  • Domain URL/System Name for QS Hub
  • Domain SSL Certificate with .pfx format and password (If User need to access as https)
  • SenseOps Alerting Installer (Zip file)

  • The following ports need to be opened in the firewall

    • 3001 (for serverApi)

Alerting Installation

  • Login to the https://account.senseops.com/login portal and download the SenseOpsAlerting_ (Version_month) package. It will be downloaded in a zip format. Following files will be available upon unzipping.

  • SenseOpsAlerting.zip - SenseOps Alerting extension file

  • SenseOpsServerApi.zip - SenseOps Alerting server file
  • Alerting-Scheduler.zip - SenseOps Alerting scheduler file

Create a Alerting folder and move the extracted folder to it. Refer the below path:

  • Go to \SenseOps\Altering\ (create folder if it does not exist) file path and within that paste all the copied zip folders here.

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Extension Configuration

Step 1: Navigate to the SenseOpsAlerting extracted folder and open config.json in a text editor such as Notepad or VS Code.

  • Add the server_name with the port number (e.g., "https://senseops.com:3001") and excludeObjects in the configuration. Then, zip the folder.

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Step 2: SenseOps Alerting - Extension Installation

Enterprise Installation

  1. Log in to the Qlik Management Console (QMC) and navigate to Extensions.
  2. Import the SenseOpsAlerting.zip file from the path \\SenseOps\Alerting\.

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User will now see the Alerting extension in the Qlik hub under SenseOps extensions.

Saas Installation

  1. Log in to Qlik SaaS Administration and navigate to Extensions.
  2. Click Add, import the SenseOpsAlerting.zip file, and click Upload.

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Now User can open any dashboard and see the Alerting extension in SenseOps Extensions.

ServerApi Configuration

  • Unzip the SenseOpsServerApi folder. Open the folder in command prompt with administrator privileges. Run the command node index.js. User will receive a local server [default server: http://localhost:3001]. Open that server in a browser.

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Now open the following link http://localhost:3001/api/config

Step 1. Database Configuration

  • The above URL will take User to a database configuration form. User can use an existing Postgres database with Qlik Repository to construct a database, or use a different Postgres instance aviable. Fill in the following details:

    • Database Host Name - localhost/Custom hostname
    • Database Port No - 4432/Custom port
    • Datbase Username - Username of postgres
    • Datbase Password - QS Repository Password/Postgres Password
  • After entering the necessary information, click on the Test Connection button. Once the connection is successful, click on the Save button.

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Step 2. Proxy Configuration

Without SSL Certificate

  • Add the server port. User can access alerting through http (local network) by unchecking the IsSecure option.

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  • Save the Proxy configuration and restart ServerApi in command prompt.

With SSL Certificate

  • Add the server port and Check IsSecure as shown in below image.
  • If alerting needs to be accessed via https (outside the network), upload the SSL certificate along with the key or password for that certificate. Additionally, open server_port in the firewall.

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  • Once SSL certificate is added, Save the Proxy configuration and restart ServerApi in the command prompt.
  • Manually change the protocal from http to https. Now User can access alerting outside the network.

Step 3. Other Configuration

  • Add the scheduler port and mention the domains that needs to be allowed for Contacts.

Note

User can add ' * ' to allow all the domains.

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  • After saving all configurations, it's important to restart the service to apply the changes. This ensures that the service picks up the updated configurations and operates with the newly configured settings.

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Scheduler Configuration

  • Unzip the Alerting-Scheduler folder. Open the folder in the command prompt with administrator privileges. Install the WhatsApp Web API using npm install whatsapp-web.js.
  • After installing whatsapp package, now run the command node index.js.

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Now open the following link: http://localhost:5010/api/config

Step 1: Proxy Configuration

  • User needs to add the scheduler port and Save to move for further steps.

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Step 1: Database Configuration

To set up the database, follow these steps:

  1. Fill in the necessary information in the form. User can either:
    • Use an existing Postgres database with Qlik Repository to construct a database, or
    • Use a different Postgres instance if available.
  2. Once user entered the information, click on the Test Connection button to verify that the connection to the database is successful.
  3. If the test connection is successful, click on the Save button to save the database configuration.
    • Database Host Name: localhost/Custom hostname
    • Database Port No: 4432/Custom port
    • Database Username: Username of Postgres
    • Database Password: QS Repository Password/Postgres Password

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Step 2. Qlik Configuration Configuring Qlik can be done in two ways: Qlik Enterprise or Qlik Saas.

Qlik Enterprise Configuration

To configure Qlik Enterprise, follow these steps:

  1. Click on the Qlik Configuration tab to access the Qlik Sense configuration details.
  2. Click Enterprise to configure Qlik enterprise side.
  3. Fill in the following information:
    • Host Name: Enter the hostname or IP address of your Qlik Sense server.
    • Virtual Proxy: Provide the virtual proxy used for alerting.
    • Qlik User ID: Enter the user ID used for authentication with Qlik Sense.
    • User Directory: Specify the user directory associated with the Qlik User ID.
  4. In the Advanced section, provide the proxy URL in the format: https://<Host>:4243, where <Host> is the hostname or IP address of the Qlik Sense server.
  5. After entering all the necessary information, click on the Test Connection to verify the connection to Qlik Sense.
  6. If the test connection is successful, click on the Save button to save the Qlik Enterprise configuration.

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Qlik Saas Configuration

For Qlik SaaS configuration, User will need an API Key and Client Secret.

API Key Generation

To generate an API Key, follow these steps:

1. Log in to Qlik SaaS Administration.

2. Go to Administration, then click API Keys.

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3. Select Generate Now in the top right corner, then click Generate new key.

4. Enter an API key description and select an Expire time. Click Generate. your API Key will be generated.

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Client Secret Generation

To generate a Client Secret, follow these steps:

1. Log in to Qlik SaaS Administration.

2. Go to Administration, then click on OAuth.

3. Select Create new on top right corner.

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4. Fill in the details below,

  • Client type: Since it is a web integration - select Web, other available types "Single-page app".
  • Name: Give a appropriate name of OAuth.
  • Description: Add the description for the OAuth.
  • Scope: Specifically select user_default, apps, app.data:export,users scopes.
  • Add redirectURLs: Add the redirecting URLs for the OAuth.
  • Add allowed origins: Add the path that are allowed to access thig OAuth. For example - http://localhost:5010.
  • Check Allow Machine to Machine (M2M) and Allow M2M user impersonation.
  • Finally click on Create button to create web integration and get Client Id and one time generation Client Secret (Store the Client Secret)

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Proceed to Configure Qlik Saas by following these steps:

  1. Click on the Qlik Configuration tab to access the Qlik Sense configuration details.
  2. Click Saas to configure Qlik Saas side.
  3. Fill in the following information:
    • Tenent: Enter the hostname of your Qlik Saas server.
    • API Key: Enter the Key that has been generated in above API Key generation.
    • Client Id: Enter the Client Id which has been created during Client Secret Generation.
    • Client Secret: Enter the Client Secret which has been created during web integration.
  4. After entering all the necessary information, click on the Test Connection button to verify the connection to Qlik Sense.
  5. If the test connection is successful, click on the Save button to save the Qlik Saas configuration.

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Step 3. SMTP Configuration

Once user generated app password, proceed to configure SMTP settings by following these steps:

  1. Click on the SMTP Configuration tab to access the SMTP configuration details.
  2. Fill in the following information:
    • Host: Enter the hostname or IP address of your SMTP server.
    • Port: Specify the port number used for SMTP communication.
    • Email: Provide the email address that as used as from email Id.
    • Password or App Password: Enter the password or app-specific password associated with the email account. If using two-factor authentication, generate and use an app-specific password.
    • Is Secure: Specify whether the SMTP connection should be secure (e.g., SSL/TLS).
    • TLS Reject Unauthorized: Indicate whether to reject unauthorized connections when using TLS.
  3. After entering all the necessary information, click on the Test Connection button to verify the SMTP details.
  4. If the test connection is successful, click on the Save button to save the SMTP configuration.

Ensure that User have the correct SMTP server details and authentication credentials to successfully send emails from the SenseOps Alerting.

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  • After saving all configurations, it's important to restart the service to apply the changes.This ensures that the service picks up the updated configurations and operates with the newly configured settings.

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Installation is successful. Now User're all set to Create your alerts.

Accessing Alerting Extension

Step 1. Open Qlik Sense Application: Launch your Qlik Sense application where User want to work with the Alerting Extension

Step 2. Enter Edit Mode: Navigate to the sheet or create a new sheet where User plan to use the Sheet Controller. Enter the edit mode to make changes to the sheet.

Step 3. Access Custom Objects: In the left panel, click on "Custom Objects" to open the custom objects menu.

Step 4. Select SenseOps Extension: Locate and select "SenseOps" from the custom objects menu.

Step 5. Add SenseOps Alerting Extension: Find the "SenseOps Alerting Extension" extension within the SenseOps category. Click and hold the Alerting Extension, then drag and drop it onto the sheet canvas.

Creating the Alert

Creation Page

Step 1: To access Senseops alerting, Click the Alert icon in sheet, as shown below.

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Step 2: The Alerting slider screen will appear. Click the (+) Create Alert button to begin creating a new alert.

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Step 3: Once the (+) Create Alert button is clicked, the slider will reload, and the Alert creation pop-up will appear, as shown below.

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Step 4: In the top-right corner of the slider, enter the desired name for the alert.

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Selecting the Alert Type

Step 5: Select the alert type as either Qlik Visualisation or Qlik Sheet, then choose the specific visualizations or sheets from the + Add button below.

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Step 6: User can either select a bookmark filter or enable the current filter, as shown below.

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Adding Rules

Step 7: To add rules to the alert, click on (+) Add rules and specify the condition for the alert.

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Adding Recipents

Step 8:To add recipients, click on Add Recipients. If recipients are already created, they will appear in the list.

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Creating recipent from creation pop-up

  • To create a new recipient, click on + Create new user. A pop-up titled Create contact will appear. Fill in the user's details and click Save to add the contact.

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Attachment Options

Step 9: Choose the media channels through which the alert will be sent (Email and WhatsApp). User can compose the message for the recipient and select the file attachments (Image, PDF, or Excel).

Note

User can select multiple file formats if needed.

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Schedules

Step 10: User can set up one of the following types of schedules:

  • On app reload: The alert will be sent to the recipient each time the app is reloaded.

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  • Trigger now: The alert will be sent immediately when the Trigger button is clicked in the main alerting pop-up.

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  • Schedule: User can schedule the alert to be sent at specific times (hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly) by setting start and end dates with corresponding times.

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Step 11: After configuring the alert, review the settings and click Save. A confirmation message "Alert Saved Successfully" will appear at the bottom-left corner.

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Ready to send Alert

  • After saving, the alert will be listed in the slider, showing the following details: S.No, Alert Name, Recipient, Next Schedule, Status, Trigger Now, and Action. Click Trigger to send the alert to the recipient.

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Viewing or Adding Contacts

  • Navigate to the main alerting pop-up and click the settings icon in the top-right corner. From the options, select Contacts to view contacts page.

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  • In the Contacts page, click on Create Contact in the top-right corner. Fill in the contact details and click Save to add the new contact.

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Alerting Icon using properties

Settings Functionality
Button label Allows users to add a label for the alerting button.
Show as button Enables the display of the alerting button inside the sheet or selection menu.
Tooltip text Allows users to add a tooltip to the alerting button.
Button size Customizes the size of the alerting button.
Tooltip Text Enables fixed or auto tooltip mode for the alerting button.
Padding Adjusts padding around the alerting button.
Custom fonts Customizes the font color, family, and style for the alerting button.
Background layout Allows users to set a background color for the alerting button.
Button Icon Enables or disables the icon in the alerting button.
Custom Icon Allows users to select an icon based on the sheet for the alerting button.
Show as image Provides the option to show or hide the icon within the alerting button.
Icon custom Enables customization of the icon's color, size, and position in the alerting button.
Border custom Allows users to define the border radius, width, and color for the alerting button.
Enable Shadow Allows users to apply a shadow (box-shadow or drop-shadow) to the alerting button.
Layout property Customizes the background color of the alerting button layout.

Deployment

If user wish to utilise SenseOps Alerting in a production environment, user need to run it under PM2. Click on below link to go through PM2 deployment.

PM2 deployment for Alerting

Quick video - How to use the SenseOps alerting ?

The short video below will explain how to utilize the alerting feature in Qlik Sense.