Configure a workbook

Prerequisites

You have logged on to the Quick BI console and created a workbook. For more information, see Create a workbook.

Top menu bar

You can perform the following operations in the top menu bar:

• ① Customize the workbook name.

• ② Add the workbook to your favorites.

• ③ Switch between PC and mobile view.

• ④ Lock or unlock the workbook.

• ⑤ Replace the dataset.

• ⑥ Configure global parameters for the workbook.

• ⑦ Page settings.

  

  • Display watermarks: Select this option to show watermarks.

  • Display analysis mode switch: Enables analysis mode in Preview.

  • When selected, formulas are recalculated after all data from query controls is retrieved.

  • Allow download: Allows users to export the workbook and configures how hidden rows and columns are handled during export. You can choose one of the following three options:

    • Export hidden rows, columns, and formulas: Exports hidden rows and columns, including their calculation formulas.

    • Export hidden rows and columns, values only: Exports hidden rows and columns, but converts formulas to their resulting values.

    • Do not export hidden rows and columns: Does not export hidden rows and columns.

  • Deferred formula calculation: If selected, formula calculation waits until all dependent datasets have finished loading. You can apply this setting to the initial sheet or the entire workbook.

  • Remember query conditions: If selected, the system remembers the query conditions.

  • Display row and column headers: If selected, row numbers and column letters are visible in Preview mode.

  • Dark mode: When enabled, a dark theme is applied to the workbook area and charts.

  • Allow submission only through data entry tasks: When enabled, users can only submit data through data entry tasks. They cannot submit data if they open the workbook directly from the workspace.

  • Global parameters: Configure global parameters for the workbook.

• ⑧ Switch between Preview and Edit modes.

  • Click Preview to enter Preview mode, which supports both PC and mobile layouts.

  • If you have configured group settings, you can view them in Preview mode and show or hide them as needed.

    

• ⑨ Save

• ⑩ Save and publish or republish the workbook.

• ⑪ Export the workbook: Export the current workbook as an Excel or PDF file to your local computer for offline viewing. Click the icon to configure the following settings in the Export dialog box.

  Parameter	Description
  Export name	The name of the exported workbook file. This name is automatically generated and cannot be modified. The naming convention is determined by the settings in Export Control. For more information, see Export Control.
  File format	Set the format of the exported file. You can select EXCEL or PDF. EXCEL: Only data from chart components can be exported in Excel format. For best compatibility, we recommend opening the exported file with Microsoft Excel. PDF: Embedded pages and images that do not allow cross-origin access cannot be exported. Text gradients are not supported and are rendered as solid colors.
  Export scope	Select the range of sheets to export from the current workbook. All sheets: Export all sheets in the current workbook. Current sheet: Export only the currently active sheet. Custom range: Select specific sheets to export from the drop-down list.
  Content scope	Select the content range to export from the workbook. General: Export the raw data from the workbook without any filter information. With Filter Condition Markers: Export with a screenshot of the query control information from the current sheet, such as date filters and product type filters.
  Export channel	Specifies the destination for the exported file. The available channels are determined by the settings in Export Control. For more information, see Export Control.

• ⑫ Save As, Restore Historical Version, Open in New Tab, Grant Permissions, Take Offline, and switch between light and dark modes.

Menu

In the menu, you can perform the following operations on the workbook:

① Import an .xlsx file

② Edit

③ Format

④ Data

⑤ View

Toolbar

You can use the toolbar to perform the following operations on the data in a workbook:

① Undo, Redo, Format Painter, and Clear Formats.

② Set data format.

③ Set text format.

④ Set cell style (such as fill color and merge cells).

⑤ Set cell themes.

⑥ Set conditional formatting.

⑦ Set filter, sort, freeze, and create pagination.

⑧ Create a card view.

⑨ More functions (pivot table, Image, drop-down list, Hyperlink, Comment, block alignment, and Search).

⑩ Insert a dataset, which supports inserting a dataset table and a freestyle cell. For more information, see Create a workbook.

⑪ Set up data entry.

⑫ Add a query control.

⑬ Use AI functions.

Sheet settings

Cell themes

• You can apply built-in system themes.

  

• You can also set custom themes.

  

Conditional formatting

You can create rules to automatically format cells that meet specific conditions. Follow these steps:

Sort

Supports ascending, descending, and custom sorting.

• For ascending and descending sorts, you can choose to expand the selection or sort only the current selection.

  

  Note

  Expanding the selection is not supported for ranges that contain vertically merged cells. To sort an expanded selection, unmerge the cells first.

• Custom sort

  

  ① You can choose whether the first row is included in the sort. If selected, the first row is treated as a header and not sorted.

  ② Set a primary sort key and add multiple secondary keys. You can drag to reorder the sort keys.

Pagination

• Click the icon on the toolbar to configure pagination.

  Parameter	Description
  Select dataset	Select the dataset for which to create pagination.
  Rows per page	Set the number of rows to display per page. Options are 10, 20, 30, 50, 80, and 100.
  Display position	Set the display to Always show or Show on hover. Always show effect: Show on hover effect:

• You can edit the paginator as shown in the figure.

• You can also delete the paginator as shown in the figure.

Insert a drop-down list

A drop-down list can be used to quickly filter and populate categories. Follow these steps to add a drop-down list:

① On the workbook editing toolbar, click Drop-down list.

② On the Drop-down list settings page, add labels for the data items.

③ Click OK.

The effect is as follows:

Block alignment

In many business scenarios, data for a single domain is spread across multiple datasets. To display this related data on one sheet, you may need to combine blocks from different datasets. You can use block alignment to match different blocks based on alignment rules. After alignment, the values displayed in the reference block remain unchanged. The row order and content in the matching blocks are adjusted to align with the reference block. This gives you a cleaner layout.

Example use case: Assume you have two datasets. Dataset A contains some employees' names, employee IDs, departments, and ages. Dataset B contains all employees' IDs and performance scores. You want to show names, IDs, and departments from dataset A, along with the corresponding performance scores from dataset B, on the same sheet.

First, insert both datasets into the sheet by using a dataset table (as shown on the left). Block A contains employee name, ID, and department from dataset A. Block B contains employee ID and performance score from dataset B.

After the data loads, you may notice a problem: data in the same row in block A and block B may not belong to the same employee. Also, block B contains more employees than block A, but you only care about employees that exist in dataset A.

Use block alignment to fix this. Use the employee ID in block A to find the matching records in block B. Then place the scores in the corresponding rows and remove extra rows that do not exist in block A. The result is shown on the right.

1. On the workbook editing page, choose More > Block alignment on the toolbar.

   You can also go to the dataset table configuration panel and choose Analysis > Advanced configuration. Click the icon to the right of Cross-block alignment configuration.

2. In the Cross-block alignment configuration dialog box, select the sheet (①). The available dataset blocks (②) change with the selected sheet.

   Note

   • You can select only sheets that are not hidden.

   • You can select only dataset blocks that have row dimensions configured.

3. Select the target dataset block and drag it onto the canvas. In this example, first drag block A (which is Sheet1!A1[A1:C6]).

4. Drag the dataset block you want to align. You can place it in one of the following areas.

   • Area 1: The new block becomes the base block for the existing block. The existing block will be aligned to the new block.

   • Area 2: The new block is not associated with any blocks already on the canvas. It becomes a new, independent base block.

   • Area 3: The new block becomes the matching block for the existing block. The new block will be aligned to the existing block.

     Note

     • You can configure alignment for a maximum of five blocks per sheet.

     • A maximum of three levels of alignment relationships are supported. This means an alignment chain can contain a maximum of three blocks.

   In this example, block B is the matching block. Drag block B (that is, Sheet1!E1[E1:F10]) into Area 3.

5. Click the icon on the connecting line between the blocks. In the Alignment rule matching area on the right, set the linking fields for the block alignment. In this example, select Employee ID as the common field for both the reference column and matching column.

   Note

   • If the matching block has two or more dimension fields, you can add up to two alignment rules.

   • If you configure two rules and the first-level field values are the same, alignment uses the field in the second rule.

   

6. Click OK to complete the configuration. The content of Block B is now aligned with Block A, displaying the performance scores for the corresponding five employees. Extra data is automatically removed.

7. (Optional) Select the duplicate Employee ID column in block B, right-click, and choose Hide selected columns. This hides the duplicate column and gives you a cleaner table.

Insert a chart

1. In the data display section of a workbook, select a data range.

2. Insert a chart into the workbook.

   1. Method 1: Click ① Insert -> ② Charts -> ③ Select a chart.

      

   2. Method 2: ① Click the chart icon on the toolbar -> ② Select a chart.

3. The chart is automatically displayed in the workbook. In the Chart Design panel on the right, you can configure the chart style.

   In this example, a pie chart is selected.

   For more information, see Overview of charts.

Pivot table

Pivot tables support Excel-like calculations, aggregation, and data analysis.

1. In the workbook display area, select a data range.

2. On the toolbar, create a pivot table as shown in the following figures.

   1. Method 1: ① On the toolbar, click Menu -> ② Click Insert -> ③ Click Pivot table.

      

   2. Method 2: ① On the toolbar, click More -> ② Click Pivot table.

      

3. In the Create pivot table dialog box, you can configure the pivot table as shown in the figure.

   

   1. ① Select a range.

      1. The range defaults to the one you selected in Step 1. You can modify the range directly in the input box or click the icon to reselect a range.

         

      2. You can also select a dataset to create the pivot table.

   2. ② Choose where to place the pivot table.

      You can place it in a new sheet or an existing sheet. For an existing sheet, you can enter the location directly or click the icon to select a range.

      

   3. Click OK to create the pivot table.

      You can then perform Excel-like calculations, aggregation, and data analysis.

      

Right-click operations

Right-click in the workbook to access a context menu with options such as Cut, Copy, Paste, Insert rows and columns, Delete selected rows or columns, Clear, and Add comments.

Preview

After publishing the workbook, you can click the icon to preview it.

When previewing a workbook, you can turn analysis mode on or off.

• Analysis mode off

  When Analysis mode is off, selection borders are automatically hidden. You can export, add to favorites, and share. Additionally, if you need to display table row numbers and column headers on the preview page, you can go to the Page Settings on the table editing page and select the Show Row Numbers and Column Headers setting.

  

  You can also click Edit to enter Edit mode.

• Analysis mode on

  

  When Analysis Mode is enabled, in addition to exporting, adding to favorites, and sharing, the spreadsheet toolbar is displayed, and you can perform operations on the spreadsheet by using the menu and toolbar.

Light and dark modes

1. Go to the workbook page.

2. On the workbook editing page, click the icon in the upper-right corner and find the mode switching icon at the bottom to switch between light and dark modes for the workbook.

   

   Note

   The light/dark mode setting is applied at the account level, not the module level. For example, if you switch the workbook to light mode, other modules that support theme switching (such as dashboards and data entry) will also switch to light mode.

   ① Light mode

   

   ② Dark mode

   

   ③ Follow system

   Follows the system style defined in the custom configuration.

   

   For more information, see Customize the system theme.

   Note

   Only organization administrators can set the system style in the custom configuration. The module-level mode setting overrides the organization-level setting.