A neat little feature of QlikView business intelligence software that we happened across one day is the ability to copy and paste expressions within and between objects. It sounds so simple but in complex applications where you are reusing the same expressions many times, or using slight variations of the same one, it can save a huge amount of time.

Simply right click on an expression in QlikView under the expressions tab of the object properties window, select copy, right click in the space beneath the last expression and select paste… This can be done within the same object or the expression can be pasted into a different object.

I know it doesn’t sound like the labour saving tip you were possibly expecting BUT the expression will copy all of the number, presentation, visual cues and other formatting which will save a huge amount of re-clicking and effort.

As an example:

You have a complex set analysis expression for sales quantity and want to create one for order quantity. The only difference will be the field name so why not copy the whole expression and simply change the fieldname. You know the formula works and now you don’t even have to think about the formatting as it’s all done for you…

The smallest things make the biggest differences!