Here we will review the 10 most popular Livingqlik posts of the year (as determined by Google Analytics).

Sometimes in life, you have to commit.

In 2016, I committed to being there for my family after the sudden loss of my father. Business-wise, I made a commitment to really listen to clients. I committed and expanded the relationship with my loyal business partners at Visual Data Group. And I recommitted to the Qlik community. Around August of 2016 I began writing articles regularly again and have since committed to creating one post per week with the aim of making LivingQlik a valuable resource for Qlik developers of all skill levels.

And determined commitment reaps rewards. I am more closely in-tune with my family, helping many new customers at Visual Data Group and getting lot’s of positive feedback from the LivingQlik audience. This has all culminated in my first entry into the Qlik Luminary Program. But as shiny as that award is (that would be cool if there was an actual trophy), the real rewards are the connections made with new friends and the deeper connections shared with close family and friends.

So let’s reminisce, shall we, on the most popular posts on LivingQlik from 2016. These are the articles that were most viewed on the site that happened to be published in 2016.

10.  Utility: QlikView Color Sequence Generator

http://livingqlikview.com/color-sequence-generator/

You know how once in a while, you get obsessed with something and you end up going all the way down the rabbit hole? I was determined to write a script that converted RGB colors to XYZ and CIE-L*ab stabilized colors. Need I say more?

9.  LivingQlik Roots: The Complete Guide to QlikView Mapping Load

http://livingqlikview.com/livingqlik-roots-the-complete-guide-to-qlikview-mapping-load/

Late this year, I began a series called Qlik Roots. These posts provide fundamental material to newer developers. Although these are not the latest cutting edge techniques, it is part of LivingQlik’s mission to help all QlikView and Qlik Sense developers, new and old alike. Besides, mapping load is one of those techniques that is just so darned useful.

Insider Secret:   I really love the featured image for this post. The water slides feeding into the pool are supposed to represent the data being mapped into a table. A little abstract, maybe?

8.  How To: Simple Qlik Sense Branding

http://livingqlikview.com/simple-qlik-sense-branding/

This was the first post on LivingQlik to feature techniques specific to Qlik Sense which might explain its popularity. Users are always eager to add the “company identity” to their products and tools. Qlik Sense is no exception and with the features added in 3.0, branding became easier than ever.

7.  How To Perfect Your Qlik Sense Master Items Library

http://livingqlikview.com/perfect-qlik-sense-master-items-library/

This article also focused on Qlik Sense. Governed libraries of dimensions and expressions is a breakthrough for the Qlik platform. In researching the post, I came up with several “wishlist” items that could be added to improve this new feature. Be sure to read the comments as LivingQlik readers also had much to say about possible future improvements.

6.  Learn How To Create a Layered QlikView Architecture

http://livingqlikview.com/create-layered-qlik-architecture/

As part of the Qlik Roots series, this is one of those fundamental concepts that I get many questions about. In fact, I refer to this post sometimes when training new Qlik developers on this topic.

Insider Secret: Crafting the diagram images for this post was somewhat challenging. I finally settled on MS Powerpoint to lay out the icons. Maybe there was a better way.

5.  11 Realities of Being an Independent Consultant

http://livingqlikview.com/11-realities-of-being-an-independent-consultant/

Sometimes, I like to step away from the technical writing to break up the content for the readers and allow me to write a little more creatively. The 11 Realities of Being an Independent Consultant was one of those times. I would dare say it is funny, but the article also quite fairly lays out some real challenges of this crazy business. It is a worthy read.

The comments on this post were also very lively (at least for this humble blog).

4.  6 Common QlikView Script Errors

http://livingqlikview.com/common-pitfalls-qlik-scripting/

This was a great post that details the most frequent errors us Qlik developers make. There are a dozen more mistakes I make, so maybe this post deserves a follow up.

Insider Secret: Pitfall is definitely my favorite Atari 2600 game of all time.

3.  17 Qlik Experts Reveal Their Favorite Tips

http://livingqlikview.com/17-qlik-experts-reveal-favorite-tips/

This is MY favorite post of the year by far. I created an excuse to interact with several Qlik Luminaries, bloggers and Qlik community contributors to come up with 17 expert developer tips. And boy, did they deliver. Ranging from technical to prophetic, this post is a journey through the minds of our platform’s top developers.

This post also created the most social media buzz and was shared extensively (again, relatively speaking).

Insider Secret: This post also represented a huge effort even though I contributed very little of the content myself!

2.  9 More Must-Have Qlik Sense Extensions

http://livingqlikview.com/9-must-qlik-sense-extensions/

The follow up to the first installment of Must Have Qlik Sense Extensions generated tons of traffic. For some reason, this post also generated the most comments for the year (15).

1.  7 Must-Have Qlik Sense Extensions

http://livingqlikview.com/7-must-have-qlik-sense-extensions/

It is no surprise that the number 1 and 2 posts were devoted to Qlik Sense Extensions. Extensions are fun, new and interesting. Many developers have explored the limits of “in-the-box” Qlik Sense and are eager to know what is happening in the larger Qlik ecosystem. Other posts that explore the topic of extensions are in the works.

Final Thoughts

What does 2017 hold for LivingQlik? You will continue to see weekly content for the foreseeable future. My goal is to keep it informative, topical and fun. I also have loose plans to develop course work for new developers, but we will see what happens with that as I have a day job in addition to pumping out content for LivingQlik.

You are appreciated!

I have read and absorbed every comment, every mention, every retweet and put that energy back into quality content. This doesn’t work in a vacuum. Please continue to spread worthy posts to your network. It makes you look smart and it brings readers to this little site.

I would encourage you to sign up for the Living Qlik semi-monthly email newsletter so you won’t miss a single post in 2017.

Happy Qliking!