Qlik to Power BI: Visualization Migration¶

Audience: Report developers, UX designers, BI leads Purpose: Map every Qlik Sense chart type and interaction pattern to its Power BI equivalent Reading time: 15-20 minutes

1. Chart type mapping¶

1.1 Native Qlik charts to Power BI visuals¶

1.2 Custom/advanced Qlik visuals¶

2. Selection model adaptation¶

The Qlik selection model (green/white/gray) is one of the hardest UX patterns to replicate in Power BI. This section provides practical alternatives.

2.1 Selection state comparison¶

2.2 Recreating the selection experience¶

Strategy 1: Slicer panels

Create a slicer panel on the left or top of the report with slicers for each dimension. Use slicer sync to propagate selections across pages.

Strategy 2: Cross-filtering and cross-highlighting

Power BI's default interaction behavior is cross-highlighting: clicking a bar in a chart highlights related data in other visuals. Configure via "Edit Interactions" to switch between filter and highlight modes.

Strategy 3: Filter pane

The Power BI filter pane shows all active filters at visual, page, and report levels. This replaces the Qlik selection bar for showing "what is currently filtered."

Strategy 4: Reset button

Add a "Clear All Filters" bookmark button to reset the report to its default state, similar to Qlik's "Clear All" selection button.

// To create a reset button:
// 1. Set all slicers to default state
// 2. Create a bookmark "Default State" capturing this state
// 3. Add a Button visual, set Action = Bookmark, choose "Default State"

Strategy 5: Selection display visual

For users who miss the Qlik current-selections bar, create a card or text visual with a DAX measure that shows active filter context:

Active Filters Text =
VAR SelectedRegion = IF(ISFILTERED(Geography[Region]),
    "Region: " & SELECTEDVALUE(Geography[Region], "Multiple"),
    "")
VAR SelectedYear = IF(ISFILTERED(Calendar[Year]),
    "Year: " & SELECTEDVALUE(Calendar[Year], "Multiple"),
    "")
RETURN
COMBINEVALUES(" | ", SelectedRegion, SelectedYear)

3. Container and conditional visibility¶

Qlik containers¶

Qlik containers allow multiple objects to occupy the same space, with tabs or conditions controlling which is visible. Common patterns:

• Tabbed containers (show different charts in the same area)
• Conditional show (show/hide based on selections)

Power BI equivalents¶

Bookmarks + buttons (tabbed container replacement):

1. Create visual A and visual B in the same position on the canvas
2. Create Bookmark "Show A" with visual A visible, visual B hidden
3. Create Bookmark "Show B" with visual A hidden, visual B visible
4. Add Button visuals labeled "View A" and "View B" that navigate to the respective bookmarks
5. Uncheck "Data" in each bookmark to preserve filter state when toggling

Conditional formatting (conditional show replacement):

Use the "Title" or entire visual's visibility based on a measure:

1. Select the visual
2. In Format pane, go to General > Properties
3. Set visibility to "Based on a field" and reference a DAX measure that returns TRUE/FALSE

4. Alternate states to bookmarks¶

Qlik alternate states¶

Qlik alternate states allow a single sheet to show the same visualization with two different selection states side-by-side (for example, comparing Region A vs Region B).

Power BI comparison patterns¶

Pattern 1: What-If parameter + duplicate measure

// Create a What-If parameter "Comparison Region" with region values
// Then create a comparison measure:
Comparison Sales =
CALCULATE(
    SUM(Sales[Amount]),
    Geography[Region] = SELECTEDVALUE('Comparison Region'[Comparison Region])
)

Pattern 2: Field parameters (2023+)

Field parameters allow users to dynamically switch which measure or dimension a visual displays, providing some of the flexibility of alternate states.

Pattern 3: Bookmarks for snapshot comparison

Create two bookmarks with different slicer states and use a toggle button to switch between them.

5. Storytelling to report navigation¶

Qlik storytelling¶

Qlik's storytelling feature lets users create guided narratives by arranging snapshots of visualizations with annotations into a sequential story format.

Power BI equivalents¶

Recommended approach: Use PowerPoint with live Power BI visuals for presentation scenarios. Visuals update in real-time during the presentation -- no snapshots needed.

6. Responsive design and mobile¶

Qlik responsive layouts¶

Qlik Sense uses a responsive grid layout that adapts to screen size automatically. Visualizations resize within the grid.

Power BI mobile layout¶

Power BI has a dedicated mobile layout editor:

1. In Power BI Desktop, select View > Mobile Layout
2. Drag visuals from the desktop layout onto the phone canvas
3. Resize and arrange for optimal mobile viewing
4. Publish -- mobile users automatically see the mobile layout

Power BI Mobile app features not available in Qlik:

• Offline access to reports (configured per report)
• QR code scanning to open specific reports
• Annotate and share screenshots from mobile
• Push notifications for data alerts

7. Formatting and theming¶

Qlik themes¶

Qlik uses JSON-based themes that control colors, fonts, and visual styling across an app.

Power BI themes¶

Power BI also uses JSON-based themes with broader customization:

{
    "name": "Corporate Theme",
    "dataColors": ["#0078D4", "#50E6FF", "#FFB900", "#E74856", "#00CC6A"],
    "background": "#FFFFFF",
    "foreground": "#252423",
    "tableAccent": "#0078D4",
    "textClasses": {
        "callout": { "fontSize": 36, "fontFace": "Segoe UI" },
        "title": { "fontSize": 16, "fontFace": "Segoe UI Semibold" },
        "header": { "fontSize": 12, "fontFace": "Segoe UI" },
        "label": { "fontSize": 10, "fontFace": "Segoe UI" }
    }
}

Apply themes in Power BI Desktop via View > Themes > Browse for Themes.

Conditional formatting¶

Power BI's conditional formatting is more granular than Qlik's:

8. Visualization migration checklist¶

• Inventory all sheet objects -- list every visualization, its type, its expressions, and its dimensions
• Map to Power BI visual types -- use the chart mapping table in Section 1
• Identify custom extensions -- check AppSource for equivalents; plan custom visual development if needed
• Plan the selection model -- decide how to replace green/white/gray with slicers + cross-filtering
• Design the page layout -- Power BI uses a fixed canvas (16:9 or custom); plan layout before building
• Build from semantic model measures -- all calculations should be in the semantic model, not the visual
• Apply corporate theme -- create a Power BI JSON theme matching organizational branding
• Configure interactions -- set Edit Interactions (filter vs highlight) for each visual pair
• Create mobile layout -- design the mobile view for each report page
• Validate visual accuracy -- compare Qlik and Power BI visuals side-by-side with same data and filters

Cross-references¶

Maintainers: CSA-in-a-Box core team Last updated: 2026-04-30