Direct Reports

It's been a long time coming, but SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 is now available. See http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sql/2005/downloads/servicepacks/sp2.mspx .

Sometimes I'll get a question like "Why would I use Reporting Services when I can use Excel?" or "Why does Microsoft have so many tools for building reports?" The underlying assumption behind these questsions is that a limited number of applications should...

Here is some useful information about using SSRS in SharePoint Integrated mode (included with SP2): Installing the SharePoint Add-In If you plan to upgrade from a previous version of the add-in, you should uninstall the previous add-in then install...

One of the new Reporting Services features of SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 is integration with the Hyperion Essbase 9.3 . Similar to building reports on SQL Server Analysis Services or SAP NetWeaver BI , this integration includes a new .NET data extension...

Some people have had problems during installation of the new Reporting Services Add-in for Microsoft SharePoint . If the add-in setup fails while to add the Reporting Services feature to the sites, some of your SharePoint sites will no longer work. You...

I'm very excited to let you know that you can get your hands on the first CTP for SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 . This release will enable you to start testing a few new features for Reporting Services, including: Hyperion Essbase Provider and...

I've got a virtual cornucopia of SQL Server Reporting Services technical articles recently released on MSDN for you! The first three are from some of the other members of the Reporting Services development team: Robert Bruckner (report engine...

If you are running the 2007 Microsoft Office System Beta , you may noticed some problems in the MDX query designer in the Reporting Services Report Designer. Specifically, trying to execute an MDX query that has been typed or modified directly in the...

Teo is at it again! He has written a great article appearing in MSDN Magazine this month on building custom report items for SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services. When I get a chance, I'll publish the code for the custom report item I built for Tech Ed...

People often ask how to avoid divide by zero problems in their Reporting Services reports. Let's say you have a textbox that calculates profit margin via the expression: =Fields!Price.Value / Fields!Cost.Value This works fine unless a value in...

We just put up a list of partners that can assist with a migration from Crystal Reports to SQL Server Reporting Services. The list is at http://www.microsoft.com/sql/technologies/reporting/partners/crystal-migration.mspx .

Adam Cogan from SSW, a longtime a friend of SSRS in Australia, has developed a nice set of tips and guidelines for Reporting Services as part of his Rules to Better... site. The site has a bunch of best practices for of .NET development topics and software...

If you have been using the Internet Explorer version 7 beta release, you might have noticed some problem with viewing Reporting Services reports. The problem manifested in the report viewer, which would continually refresh and not get past the "report...

If you are interested in working on the next version of Reporting Services, I have a job opening for a program manager posted . We also have positions open for testers and developers if that is more your style. If you are interested, leave your e-mail...

If you've applied Service Pack 1 to your SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services installation (I hope you did, as there are lots of good things in it), you might have noticed the disappearance of "Select All" from the drop down list for multi-valued parameters...

Quite a few people ask whether you can add prompted parameters to reports built using Report Builder. While it is not easy to find, you can definitely do it. In the filter dialog, after you add something to the filter from the field list, click on...

I am very excited to let you know that we have completed certification for SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services on SAP NetWeaver BI (aka SAP BW). We released support for SAP BW in SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 1 in the form of a data provider as well as...

For those of you who are contemplating a move to SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services, there is a great chapter on upgrading SSRS in the SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Technical Reference Guide . The entire guide is a whopping 360 pages but Section 4.0.1 is chock...

Another year, another TechEd ! It's hard to imagine, but this will be my 8th consecutive Tech Ed (I've been at MS for 10 years now) and the 4th since we released Reporting Services. A nice change of pace this year is that the show is in Boston, not somewhere...

If you are trying to use the Custom Report Item sample in the updated SQL Server 2005 Samples, there was a mismatch in the early release of the documenation. Specifically, there was an error in the configuration file entries. The documenation refers...

One of the top questions we get from customers is how to migrate from Crystal Reports. For those of you who are looking to make the switch, we just posted a migration guide on the web site. We are also having an associated webcast scheduled for June...

You might want to take a look at the just released SQL Server 2005 SP1 hotfix rollup . This package contains a collection fixes that came in too late to fit into the SP1 release process. Unfortunately, the descriptions of some of the bugs in the fix list...

Unfortunately, I let the account expire at the hosting service I was using for my file storage. I realize that all of the attached files in the blog are missing. Over the next week or so, I will try to repost them from other sources. Sorry about that...

SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 1 is out! It was supposed to be yesterday but the files have taken a while to upload. The pointer to the English version is here . Reporting Services changes can be seen here . Enjoy!

It's been a while since my last post but as you'll see, I've been busy. In addition to thinking about the next major release of Reporting Services, I've been working on getting out the Reporting Services changes for SQL 2005 Service Pack 1. Today we reached...