Direct Reports : Report Builder

Transmissions from the Satellite Heart (What's up with Report Builder?)

bwelcker — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 00:33:58 GMT

Hopefully, you have gotten a chance to work with the latest CTP of SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services . But if you have, you may be a bit puzzled by the report design options in the CTP. Specifically: Report Builder looks just like it did in SSRS 2005....(read more)

Roots and Crowns (Too Many Data Tools?)

bwelcker — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 05:14:00 GMT

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 be are able to work with data. IMHO, I think that working with data is something that should be included in every application, not just limited to "BI tools".

I look at interacting with data as a capability similar to formatting text or spell checking. No one asks "Why do I need to format text in PowerPoint when I have Word?" or "Who would need a spell checker in OneNote?". Applications can share a common set of capabilities but work in very different ways to achieve different results. Can you build a presentation in Word? Sure, but it's not optimal. Could you use PowerPoint to make a network diagram? Sure, but once again, it's not optimal. Anyone who has used Report Designer or Report Builder know that they feel different from Excel and make certain types of outputs easy to do (say, repeating groups of forms). At the same time, if someone feels comfortable with a working with a spreadsheet, they shouldn't feel compelled to use another tool just because they want to add data to it.

What should be common is how people work with data and what services they get around that data. Having every application work with data in a different way is like having every application with it's own way to edit text. In this area, we have a lot of work to do. If we can unify around a common set of experiences with data, I expect very soon that these features will show up everywhere.

It's All Around You (Parameter Prompts in Report Builder)

bwelcker — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 12:11:00 GMT

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 the name of the field and select "Prompt". You will see a green question mark next to the field name, like this:

When you preview or view the report after publishing, you will be prompted for values. If you chose 'In this list" for the operator, a multi-valued parameter will be used. Note that it is not possible to create dependent parameters in Report Builder (e.g. the list of cities is dependent on the selection of country). For this, you would need to use Report Designer.

Give Blood (Report Expressions in Report Builder)

bwelcker — Sat, 31 Dec 2005 06:43:00 GMT

It's not obvious, but SQL Server 2005 Report Builder allows you to use expressions in textboxes on the report surface. You don't get an expression editor, but if you begin a textbox value with '=', it will be evaluated at report processing time. For example, you can add a time / date stamp to a report by using =Globals.ExecutionTime.ToString("f"). Since you can't set the formatting property, you will have to format the string yourself if you don't like the default format.

Horse Stories (Welcome, Bob)

bwelcker — Sun, 16 Oct 2005 15:59:00 GMT

Please welcome a new Reporting Services blogger to the block. Bobs' Weblog will be a fountain of useful information from the principal developer behind the new Report Builder feature in SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services.