report design tips

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Report Design Tips and TricksSQL Server Technical Article

Author: Fang Wang

Thanks to Robert Bruckner and Chris Hays or their hel! "ith the content#

Summary: This "hite !a!er covers best !ractices on re!ort design and hel!s you avoid

co$$on $istakes "hen choosing a re!ort layout and out!ut or$at# Take advantage oe%isting !roduct eatures to achieve the results you "ant# The !a!er includes re!ort and

code e%a$!les that i$!le$ent unctionality that is re&uently asked or#

'ublished: February ())*

A!!lies To: +icrosot SQL Server ()), Re!orting Services


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Filena$e: -(),.*(-/#doc (

CopyrightThe inor$ation contained in this docu$ent re!resents the current vie" o +icrosot Cor!oration on the issues discussed

as o the date o !ublication# Because +icrosot $ust res!ond to changing $arket conditions0 it should not be inter!reted

to be a co$$it$ent on the !art o +icrosot0 and +icrosot cannot guarantee the accuracy o any inor$ation !resented

ater the date o !ublication#

This White 'a!er is or inor$ational !ur!oses only# +1CR2S2FT +A34S 52 WARRA5T14S0 46'R4SS0 1+'L147 2R

STAT8T2R90 AS T2 TH4 15F2R+AT125 15 TH1S 72C8+45T#

Co$!lying "ith all a!!licable co!yright la"s is the res!onsibility o the user# Without li$iting the rights under co!yright0

no !art o this docu$ent $ay be re!roduced0 stored in or introduced into a retrieval syste$0 or trans$itted in any or$

or by any $eans electronic0 $echanical0 !hotoco!ying0 recording0 or other"ise;0 or or any !ur!ose0 "ithout the e%!ress

"ritten !er$ission o +icrosot Cor!oration#

+icrosot $ay have !atents0 !atent a!!lications0 trade$arks0 co!yrights0 or other intellectual !ro!erty rights covering

sub$ail addresses0 logos0 !eo!le0 !laces0

and events de!icted in e%a$!les herein are ictitious# 5o association "ith any real co$!any0 organi=ation0 !roduct0

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© ())* +icrosot Cor!oration# All rights reserved#

+icrosot0 ?isual Basic0 and ?isual Studio are either registered trade$arks or trade$arks o +icrosot Cor!oration in the

8nited States and@or other countries#

All other trade$arks are !ro!erty o their res!ective o"ners#


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Table of ContentsIntroduction......................................................................................................2

Best ractices and Tips.....................................................................................2

7esign 9our Re!orts or 'eror$ance and Scalability############################################(

Choose A!!ro!riate Rendering For$ats##############################################################.

Control 'age Si=e############################################################################################.

Check Re!orting Services Log Files####################################################################,

8se 7evice1no to Control the Behavior o a Rendering 4%tension##########################*

+ultivalue 'ara$eters######################################################################################*

8sing R7L ro$ SQL Server Re!orting Services ()), in SQL Server Re!orting Services

()))##############################################################################################################

Report Samples.................................................................................................!

Custo$ Code or Aggregates############################################################################

Scenario /: +edian;##################################################################################

Scenario (: 7istinct Su$###########################################################################//

1$age ?alue Reerring to a Te%tbo% ?alue#########################################################/(

etting 7ata ro$ 7ierent Sources################################################################/-

Changing the Re!ort Structure at Run Ti$e######################################################/,

7yna$ic Field Based on 'ara$eter0 7yna$ic rou!ing##################################/,

Changing the Filter 2!erator at Run Ti$e####################################################/

7yna$ic Colu$ns#####################################################################################()

7yna$ic Ro"s##########################################################################################((

1nSco!e Function######################################################################################((

7yna$ic 'age Breaks################################################################################(-

Resetting the 'age 5u$ber on a rou!############################################################(,

Hori=ontal Tables###########################################################################################(*

reen Bar#####################################################################################################(

Table####################################################################################################### (

+atri%#####################################################################################################(


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(

1ntroduction+icrosotD SQL ServerE Re!orting Services is a co$!rehensive solution or creating0

$anaging0 and delivering both traditional0 !a!er>oriented re!orts and interactive0 Web>

based re!orts ro$ dierent ty!es o data sources# Re!orting Services !rovides a "ide

variety o o!tions or re!ort controls that you can use to dis!lay data and gra!hicalele$ents in your re!orts# 9ou can create re!orts or your a!!lication by using one o the

design tools shi!!ed "ith the !roduct0 including Re!ort 7esigner integrated "ith ?isual

StudioD ()),0 and Re!ort Builder0 an ad hoc re!orting tool that enables business users to

create their o"n re!orts and e%!lore cor!orate data0 based on a re!ort $odel# Re!orts can

be rendered into a "ide range o or$ats such as HT+L0 6+L0 CS?0 4%cel0 '7F0 and i$age

iles#

Although Re!orting Services incor!orates co$$only used unctionality and $akes it easy

and le%ible or users to create and $anage re!orts that $eet their s!eciic re&uire$ents0

re!ort design can be a very challenging task given the co$!le%ity o business needs# Re!ort

authors ace $any decisions and tradeos "hen choosing the best "ay to design and de!loy

a re!ort# This "hite !a!er ans"ers the ollo"ing &uestions and !rovides a set o re!ort andcode sa$!les:

• What are the best !ractices or designing a re!ort

• Ho" do 1 avoid co$$on $istakes "hen choosing a re!ort layout and !icking an out!ut

or$at

• Ho" do 1 take advantage o e%isting eatures to achieve the results 1 "ant0 "hen no

direct su!!ort is !resent

"ote This docu$ent assu$es that the reader is a$iliar "ith the Re!orting Services

!roduct0 re!ort design conce!ts0 and !ossesses a basic kno"ledge on ho" a re!ort is

!rocessed and $anaged by the re!ort server#

Best 'ractices and Ti!sThis section describes so$e co$$on user scenarios and !rovides re!ort authors and

ad$inistrators "ith useul inor$ation to hel! the decision>$aking and troubleshooting

!rocesses#

7esign 9our Re!orts or 'eror$ance andScalability

For their re!orting !lator$0 $any organi=ations0 ro$ s$all>scale !ersonal businesses to

large enter!rises0 use Re!orting Services as the $ain inor$ation delivery channel or daily

o!erations# When handling large or co$!le% re!orts0 re!ort authors and ad$inistrators

oten encounter &uestions such as:

• Can $y re!ort handle a large a$ount o data

• Ho" "ill the server be aected "hen $any users vie" a re!ort during !eak hours

• Ho" do 1 troubleshoot a !eror$ance !roble$


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To achieve the best !eror$ance0 there are a nu$ber o actors you should take into

account "hen designing your re!orts#

#uery design

A re!ort is !rocessed in the ollo"ing order: &uery e%ecution0 re!ort !rocessing0 and re!ort

rendering# To reduce overall !rocessing ti$e0 one o the irst things you need to decide is

"hich data to retrieve ro$ the data source and "hich calculations to include in the re!ort#Re!orting Services su!!orts a "ide range o data sources0 including !lain ile syste$s0

advanced database servers0 and !o"erul data "arehousing syste$s# The unctionality o

data sources and the structure o the re!ort deter$ine "hich o!erations should be done in

the &uery0 as o!!osed to "hich o!erations should be done inside o the re!ort# Although the

Re!orting Services !rocessing engine is ca!able o doing co$!le% calculations0 such as

grou!ing0 sorting0 iltering0 data aggregation0 and e%!ression evaluations0 it is usually the

database syste$ that is best o!ti$i=ed to !rocess so$e or all o these data o!erations# With

that said0 al"ays kee! the ollo"ing in $ind#

• $ptimi%e report &ueries.

Query e%ecution is the irst ste! o the re!orting !rocess# Having a good understanding

o the !eror$ance characteristics o your database syste$ is the irst ste! to good

&uery design# For e%a$!le0 you can use SQL 'roiler to track the !eror$ance o your

&ueries i you use SQL Server as the database server#

• Retrie'e the minimum amount of data needed in your report.

Add conditions to your &uery to eli$inate unnecessary data in the dataset results#

1 the initial vie" o the re!ort sho"s only aggregated data0 consider using drill through

to dis!lay details# 7rillthrough re!orts are not e%ecuted until the user clicks the

drillthrough link0 "hereas sho"@hide re!orts or subre!orts are !rocessed during the

initial re!ort !rocessing0 even i they are hidden#

Rendering formats

Re!orts can be e%!orted into various rendering or$ats through rendering e%tensions#

7ierent rendering e%tensions !rovide dierent unctionality# Their !eror$ance and

scalability characteristics are also very dierent# 9ou $ust understand the dierence in their

behavior beore you can $ake the right choice to satisy your business re&uire$ents# For

$ore inor$ation0 see Choose A!!ro!riate Rendering For$ats or 9our Business 5eeds in

this !a!er#

agination

Re!orts are rendered into !ages based on "here !age breaks occur# Although the entire

re!ort is !rocessed beore the rendering !hase0 the !eror$ance o the rendering e%tension

is signiicantly i$!acted by the !age si=e# Also in so$e case or e%a$!le0 HT+L;0 ho" "ell

the re!ort is dis!layed in the client tool de!ends on the !age si=e as "ell as other actors#For inor$ation on the dierent ty!es o !age breaks and ho" they are used in various

rendering or$ats0 see Control 'age Si=e#

Check the e(ecution log to assess performance

2nce a re!ort is de!loyed on the re!ort server0 the ad$inistrator "ill "ant to $onitor the

activities associated "ith the re!ort0 including ho" re&uently it is re&uested0 "hat out!ut

or$ats are used0 ho" $any resources are consu$ed0 and other !eror$ance inor$ation#


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The Check Re!orting Services Log Files section describes ho" to use the e%ecution log to

gather this data# 1t also tells you ho" to use the inor$ation to o!ti$i=e re!ort e%ecution#

Choose A!!ro!riate Rendering For$atsRe!orting Services su!!orts seven rendering or$ats out o the bo%GHT+L0 6+L0 CS?0 710

'7F0 1$age0 and +icrosot 4%cel# A rendering e%tension interace is also !rovided or third>!arty vendors to i$!le$ent additional rendering e%tensions to su!!ort other or$ats#

The ollo"ing table contains a brie descri!tion o the built>in rendering e%tensions# They are

listed in the order o $e$ory consu$!tion0 ro$ least to the $ost#

HT+L@Webor$ control

Renders into the or$at used or HT+L .#) bro"sers0

including +icrosot 1nternet 4%!lorer0 5etsca!e

5avigator *#/0 Fireo% Web Bro"ser# 2ne o the $ost

!o!ular or$ats or online and interactive re!ort vie"ing0

as "ell as the rendering e%tension used in the

Re!ort?ie"er Web server control0 Re!ort +anager0 and

or 8RL access#

6+L

Renders the re!ort data as an 6+L docu$ent# 1 an 6SLT

transor$ation is s!eciied through device inor$ation

settings0 the 6+L rendering e%tension could consu$e

$ore $e$ory than the CS? rendering e%tension#

CS?Renders re!ort data into co$$a>deli$ited !lain te%t

iles# Also called the Te%t rendering e%tension#

WinFor$ control@Re!ort

'revie"

The rendering e%tension used in the Re!ort?ie"er

Windo"s For$s control dra"s directly to your screen# 1t

is also used in the !revie" $ode or Re!ort 7esigner and

Re!ort Builder# This is the other rendering or$at thatsu!!orts interactive re!ort vie"ing#

'7FRenders into 'ortable 7ocu$ent For$at '7F; that can

be o!ened and vie"ed "ith Adobe Acrobat .#) or later#

1$age

Renders a re!ort as a static i$age in bit$a!s or

$etailes# Su!!orted i$age or$ats are #b$!0 #e$0

#gi0 #

the re!ort is handled by the Re!ort 'rocessing and Rendering engine# There are three ty!es

o !age breaks: logical !age breaks0 sot !age breaks0 and !hysical !age breaks#

)ogical page breaks

Logical !age breaks are deined in the re!ort deinition by using the ageBreak*tStart

and ageBreak*t+nd !ro!erties in various re!ort ele$ents0 including grou!0 rectangle0


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list0 table0 $atri%0 and chart# Logical !age breaks are considered in all rendering e%tensions

e%ce!t or data rendering e%tensions 6+L and CS?;#

Soft page breaks

1nteractive rendering e%tensions HT+L and WinFor$ control; use the re!orts

Interacti'e,eight and Interacti'e-idth !ro!erties to deter$ine !age si=e# The

rendered !ages can be slightly larger than the s!eciied si=e0 thereore0 they are called soft pages# Sot !ages "ere introduced to solve the issue o getting long !ages in HT+L "hen

re!ort authors did not include logical !age breaks in the re!ort deinition to achieve

reasonable !age si=es# ?ery long !ages are not only unreadable0 but also cause

!eror$ance !roble$s in 1nternet 4%!lorer# Sot !age breaks can be disabled by setting the

Interacti'e,eight and Interacti'e-idth to =ero#

hysical page breaks

Set the age,eight and age-idth !ro!erties on the re!ort controls "here !hysical !age

breaks occur# 'hysical !age breaks are used in !hysical !age rendering e%tensions0 such as

'7F and 1$age# These rendering e%tensions res!ect the !age si=e !recisely during

!agination# The age,eight and age-idth values deined in the re!ort deinition can be

overridden by device inor$ation settings in the rendering e%tension# For details0 see 8se

7evice 1no to Control the Behavior o a Rendering 4%tension#

Check Re!orting Services Log FilesWhen you e%!erience !roble$s "ith re!ort e%ecution or need to inter!ret the !eror$ance

characteristics o your re!orts0 check the log iles described in this section# Re!orting

Services uses these log iles to record inor$ation about server o!erations and status#

-indos *pplication log

The re!ort server logs events to the Windo"s A!!lication log o the local co$!uter# 2nly

inor$ation that can be useul or diagnosing a hard"are or sot"are !roble$ is logged# The

event log is not intended to be used as a tracing tool# The Re!orting Services trace logs are

used or that !ur!ose# 9ou can use the Windo"s 4vent ?ie"er to vie" and ilter the events

based on the event sources0 ty!es0 and categories# For details on the event sources0 ty!es

and categories0 see Windo"s A!!lication Log and Re!orting Services 4rrors and 4vents in

SQL Server Books 2nline#

Reporting Ser'ices trace logs

Re!orting Services records detailed o!eration inor$ation in trace logs#

• Trace log file names

4ach o the Re!orting Services co$!onents creates a log ile "ith a uni&ue na$e# For

e%a$!le0 the Re!ort Server Web Service trace logs are na$ed IRe!ortServerJKti$esta$!#logM0 and the trace logs or the Windo"s Service are

na$ed IRe!ortServerServiceJKti$esta$!#logM#

• Trace le'els

The level o detail o the inor$ation that the server logs in trace iles can be conigured

by setting DefaultTraceSitch in the coniguration iles# For the Re!ort Server Web

service0 this o!tion is in the Web#conig ile# The s"itch or the Re!ort Server Windo"s

service is in Re!ortingServicesService#conig# Four trace levels are available:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms157312.aspxhttp://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms165307.aspxhttp://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms157312.aspxhttp://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms165307.aspx


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/ O error any e%ce!tion and restarts;

( O "arning or e%a$!le0 "arnings related to lo" resources;

- O ino including inor$ational $essages;

. O verbose

By deault0 the trace level is set to -#

• +rror information

When a ailure ha!!ens in the re!ort server0 check the trace log or error details i there

is not enough inor$ation given in the 81# The trace iles should contain the co$!lete

stack trace du$!0 "hich is hel!ul to diagnose the !roble$# 2ne e%a$!le o this "ould

be subre!ort errors# When a subre!ort ails0 it does not !revent the $ain re!ort and

other subre!orts ro$ e%ecuting# A $essage is dis!layed in !lace o the subre!ort

contents telling the user that an error occurred "hile e%ecuting the subre!ort# 9ou $ay

"ant to vie" the trace log to ind out "hat the !roble$ "as#

The trace logs are located in P+icrosot SQL ServerPKSQL Server 1nstancePRe!orting

ServicesPLogFiles# 5e" log iles are created every ti$e a Re!orting Services co$!onent

starts# They are created daily starting "ith the irst entry that occurs ater $idnight# The

logs can beco$e very large0 de!ending on the traic on the Re!orting Services

co$!onent# Thereore0 "hen looking u! ile contents0 search or the entries "ith the

corres!onding ti$esta$!#

Report Ser'er e(ecution log

The e%ecution log is a database table that contains re!ort e%ecution inor$ation on a re!ort

server# 1t is an internal table residing in the Re!ort Server catalog# The table na$e is

4%ecutionLog# Server ad$inistrators can use the inor$ation in the e%ecution log to analy=e

re!ort usage and e%ecution !eror$ance#

The e%ecution log records data about "hich re!orts are e%ecuted0 "hen each re!ort starts

and ends0 ho" $uch ti$e is s!ent on each !rocessing !hase0 "ho re&uested the re!ort0 and

the e%!ort or$at# Follo"ing are ields you $ay ind !articularly interesting or !eror$ancetuning:

TimeDataRetrie'al O Ti$e in $illiseconds; s!ent e%ecuting the &uery and retrieving data#

Timerocessing O Ti$e s!ent !rocessing the re!ort#

TimeRendering O Ti$e s!ent rendering the re!ort#

/ormat O Re&uested rendering or$at#

ByteCount O Si=e o rendered re!ort in bytes#

RoCount O 5u$ber o ro"s returned ro$ &ueries#

The co$bination o the ti$e s!ent in the three !rocessing !hases &uery e%ecution0 re!ort

!rocessing0 and re!ort rendering; deter$ines ho" long re!ort e%ecution takes# Finding a

good balance bet"een "hat to do in the &uery and "hat is !rocessed in the re!ort is very

i$!ortant# These nu$bers can !rovide a great starting !oint or ad$inistrators and re!ort

authors to $onitor and o!ti$i=e re!ort e%ecution on the server#

To $ake it easier or users to vie" the e%ecution log data0 a sa$!le SQL Server 1ntegration

Services SS1S; !ackage is shi!!ed as !art o the !roduct# This !ackage e%tracts the


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inor$ation ro$ the e%ecution log table and !uts it into a se!arate database# For details0

see Querying and Re!orting on Re!ort 4%ecution Log 7ata in SQL Server Books 2nline#

8se 7evice1no to Control the Behavior o aRendering 4%tension

7evice inor$ation settings are a set o rendering !ara$eters that are !assed to a

rendering e%tension# Through the use o device inor$ation0 users can override the deault

settings s!eciied in the re!ort deinition and change the behavior o a rendering e%tension#

There are dierent sets o device inor$ation settings or dierent rendering e%tensions# For

a co$!lete list o settings0 see Re!orting Services 7evice 1nor$ation Settings in

SQL Server Books 2nline# Follo"ing are so$e o the $ost co$$only used device

inor$ation De'iceInfo; settings#

,T0)

The )inkTarget device inor$ation setting s!eciies the value o the Target attribute used

to render hy!erlinks in the re!ort# The deault behavior is to navigate "ithin the sa$e ra$e

as the original re!ort# 9ou can target a s!eciic ra$e by setting it to the na$e o the ra$e#1t can also be set to Jblank o!ens u! a ne" "indo";0 Jsel in the current ra$e;0 J!arent

in the i$$ediate ra$eset !arent; to Jto! the to! "indo" "ithout ra$e;#

D/1Image

1 an e%!licit age,eight or age-idth is s!eciied in the device inor$ation settings0 it

overrides the value deined in the re!ort deinition# Thus0 dierent users can su!!ly dierent

values "hen they e%!ort the sa$e re!ort to '7F or 1$age iles# Startage and +ndage

tell the rendering e%tensions to render a range o the !ages starting ro$ the Startage to

the +ndage#

+(cel

1 you "ant the re!ort !age header rather than the irst ro" o the "orksheet to berendered as an 4%cel !age header0 set the Simpleage,eader device inor$ation setting

to true# Since the unctionality su!!orted by an 4%cel !age header is &uite li$ited0 doing

this $eans that you $ight lose inor$ation in your !age header#

By deault0 the 4%cel rendering e%tension tries to !reserve 4%cel or$ulas "henever

!ossible# ?isual BasicD #54T or$ulas are translated to 4%cel or$ulas# The reerences to

re!ort ite$s on the current !age are converted to the a!!ro!riate cell reerences# 1 you

dont "ant this behavior0 set $mit/ormulas to true#

0)

The value o the S)T !ara$eter s!eciies a relative 8RL o an 6SLT to a!!ly to the re!ort

6+L# 5ote that only 6SL iles that are !ublished on the sa$e re!ort server can be used#By deault0 the 6+L rendering e%tension uses the original value o the e%!ression evaluation

result "hen rendering a te%t bo%# The ty!e o the te%t bo% is set to the ty!e o the original

value in the 6+L# 9ou can use the 3se/ormatted4alue device inor$ation setting to

override this behavior# 1 it is set to true0 the or$atted value "hich is al"ays a string; is

used instead# 1n this case0 the ty!e o the te%t bo% "ill be string#

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+ultivalue 'ara$eters+ultivalue !ara$eters are very useul to $any users# This also see$s to be one o the areas

that custo$ers need the $ost hel! "ith#

A $ultivalue !ara$eter is a re!ort !ara$eter that can take a set o values# To deine a

$ultivalue !ara$eter0 si$!ly add a !ara$eter and $ark it as $ultivalue "hen creating are!ort# There are t"o $ain scenarios "here $ultivalue !ara$eters are used#

3se a multi'alue parameter inside a teport

The !ro!erties e%!osed on a re!ort !ara$eter obbased

arrays#

=Parameters!.IsMultiValue > The !ara$eter deined as $ultivalue#

=Parameters! .Count > Returns the nu$ber o values in the array#

=Parameters! .Value(0) > Returns the irst selected value#

=Parameters! .Label(0) > Returns the label or the irst selected value#

=Join(Parameters! .Value) > Creates a s!ace se!arated list o values#

=Join(Parameters! .Value, , ) > Creates a co$$a>se!arated list o

values#

ass the 4alue of a 0ulti'alue arameter to a Subreport

7irectly !ass the value o a $ultivalue !ara$eter ro$ the $ain re!ort to the subre!ort:

=Parameters!.Value

Create a $ultidi$ensional obthe>ly S!lita0b0c0 0; and !ass it to a

$ultivalue !ara$eter o the subre!ort#

'ass the irst selected value ro$ the $ain re!orts !ara$eter:=Parameters!.Value(0)

8sing R7L ro$ SQL Server Re!orting Services()), in SQL Server Re!orting Services ()))

When you o!en a Re!ort 7einition Language R7L; ile that "as created in SQL

Server ())) Re!orting Services in a SQL Server ()), version o Re!ort 7esigner0 or !ublish

it to a SQL Server ()), re!ort server0 the ile is auto$atically u!graded to SQL Server ()),

or$at# But is it !ossible to do"ngrade a R7L ile so that it can be used "ith the ()))

version o the !roduct again There is no auto$ated tool to do this0 but you can $odiy the

6+L ile $anually to acco$!lish it#

To modify the RD) file

/# Change the R7L na$es!ace:

epla"e

/it$


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ition ... >

(# Re$ove the ollo"ing ele$ents entirely i !resent in the R7L ile:

+2.3"m


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/)

/igure 5

,# Wra! the call to the unction in an aggregate and add it to an e%!ression in the detail

ro"s# For e%a$!le:

=Ma#(Coe.5Value(6iels!'iel.Name))

Set the ,idden !ro!erty o the table colu$n or the te%tbo% to true so that it does not

sho" u! in the re!ort#

N# Fro$ a te%t bo% in the table ooter0 call into et+edian; to retrieve the value0 in this

e%a$!le0 =Coe.4etMeian()as sho"n in Figure (#

/igure 2

Figure - sho"s "hat the inal re!ort looks like#


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//

/igure 6

Scenario (: 7istinct Su$1 a dataset contains values or du!licate records0 you dont "ant to count those values

$ulti!le ti$es# Re!orting Services su!!orts a CountDistinct unction0 but there is not a

si$ilar unction or Sum# 9ou $ust do this by using custo$ code#

To calculate Distinct Sum by using custom code

/# 2!en the Report roperties dialog bo% and click the Code tab# 7eine a hash table and

a unction that takes an argu$ent# 1nside the unction0 check the value o the argu$ent

against the hash table# 1 the value does not e%ist yet0 add it to the total and save it in

the hash table#


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/(

/igure 7

(# Wra! the call to the unction in an aggregate and add it to an e%!ression in the sco!e

"here you "ant to calculate the su$0 or e%a$!le:

=7um(Coe.Cal"ulate7um(6iels!8rerI9.Value, 6iels!6rei*$t.Value))

-# 1n the te%t bo% "here you "ant to dis!lay the su$0 retrieve the calculated aggregatevalue:

=Coe.Cal"ulate7um(Not$in*, 6iels!6rei*$t.Value)

1$age ?alue Reerring to a Te%tbo% ?alue7irect reerences to ield values in !age headers and ooters are not currently !ossible# A

co$$on "orkaround is to add a hidden te%tbo% in the re!ort body0 and reer to the te%tbo%

value ro$ the !age header or ooter# 7oes this "ork or an i$age 9es0 but since the i$age

data is a binary array0 "hile the te%tbo% value is a string0 you need to use a +icrosot #54T

baseN. encoding $echanis$ to convert the data bet"een binary and string ty!es#

To add an image that uses the 'alue of a te(tbo(/# 1n the Re!ort 7esigner0 add a te%tbo% in the re!ort body# 8se the ToBase87String

unction to encode the binary data to string in the value e%!ression o the te%tbo%0 or

e%a$!le:

=Conert.:o;ase7trin*(6iels!Lar*eP$oto.Value)

/igure 9

(# 1n the !age header0 add an i$age# Set the source ty!e to database0 and the value to:

=Conert.6rom;ase7trin*(eportItems!Lar*ePi"ture.Value)


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/-

This uses /romBase87String to decode the te%tbo% value back into binary#

/igure 8

etting 7ata ro$ 7ierent SourcesRe!orting Services doesnt currently su!!ort using $ulti!le datasets in one data region# To

dis!lay an aggregate value ro$ the dataset0 s!eciy the dataset sco!e in the aggregate

unction0 or e%a$!le0 =7um(6iels!6rei*$t.Value, 9ata7et+?)# This synta% "orks even

in a data region that is bound to a dierent dataset# 1 ho"ever0 you need to correlate the

data ro$ the t"o datasets in one data region0 use the ollo"ing t"o "orkarounds:

• +odiy the &uery to return data ro$ both datasets as one dataset# 1 the &ueries are

based on dierent databases0 use SQL 2'45R2WS4T#

• 8se subre!orts# Try adding a subre!ort that receives a !ara$eter ro$ the $ain re!ort

and gets data ro$ another data source based on the !ara$eter value#

To use the subreport approach

/# Add a table to the $ain re!ort# Bind it to 7ataSet/# 1n the detail ro"0 dis!lay the values

you "ant ro$ 7ataSet/# Add a subre!ort and in the Subreport roperties dialog bo%0

!ass the ield ro$ 7ataSet/ as a !ara$eter#


16/32

/.

/igure

(# Create a subre!ort that receives a !ara$eter ro$ the $ain re!ort# Reerence the

!ara$eter value in the &uery to retrieve the records or the corres!onding !ara$eter

value and dis!lay the data ro"s#

/igure ;

The ollo"ing igure sho"s the rendered $ain re!ort#


17/32

/,

/igure !

Changing the Re!ort Structure at Run Ti$eA re&uently asked &uestion is "hether it is !ossible to change the re!ort structure at run

ti$e# 9ou can0 o course0 dyna$ically generate R7L iles in your custo$ a!!lication# There

are also other "ays to $odiy the structural ele$ents in the re!ort deinition to achieve this#

This section describes various scenarios and solutions#

7yna$ic Field Based on 'ara$eter0 7yna$icrou!ing

Ho" do 1 decide "hich ield value to use dyna$ically0 or e%a$!le0 based on a !ara$eter in

$y re!ort Ho" can 1 give $y users the ability to dyna$ically select the ields on "hich to

grou! "ithin a re!ort

8se this synta% to reer to a ield value in your e%!ression: =6iels(Parameters!

.Value).Value#To change the field reference and group e(pressions based on user input

/# 1n Re!ort 7esigner0 o!en the Report arameters dialog bo%# Add a re!ort !ara$eter

that re!resents the ield you "ant to grou! the re!ort data on#


18/32

/N

/igure 5<

(# 1n the Details =rouping dialog bo% or the table0 set the grou! e%!ression to

=6iels(Parameters!4roup8rers;@.Value).Value


19/32

/*

/igure 55

-# Change the te%t bo% e%!ression in the re!ort to dis!lay the corres!onding ield value

based on the !ara$eter value by using the 11F unction0 or e%a$!le:

=II6(Parameters!4roup8rers;@.Value=CustomerI9, [email protected],

6iels!6irstName.Value A A 6iels!LastName.Value)

The ollo"ing igure sho"s the re!ort "hen =roup$rdersBy is Custo$er#

/igure 52

Here is ho" the re!ort looks "hen =roup$rdersBy is changed to 4$!loyee:


20/32

/

/igure 56

Changing the Filter 2!erator at Run Ti$e1t is not !ossible to change the ilter o!erator at run ti$e# But you can include all the

conditions in the ilter e%!ression and leave the ilter o!erator and the value as static iltero!erator is IM0 and ilter value is ItrueM;# This "ay0 by dyna$ically s"itching the

conditions in the ilter e%!ression by using 11F0 you can achieve the eect o changing the

ilters based on user in!ut#

To dynamically change the filter conditions based on parameter 'alue


or the ilter o!erator# 1 you "ant the user to be able to control the nu$ber to co$!are

against0 add a second !ara$eter#

/igure 57


21/32

/

(# 2!en the Table roperties dialog bo% and click the /ilters tab# Set u! the ilter on the

table or the dataset or grou!;# The ilter e%!ression in this e%a$!le is:

=II6(Parameters!6ilter8p.Value=>=, 6iels!BnitsIn7to".Value >=

Parameters!Bnits.Value, 6iels!BnitsIn7to".Value

< Parameters!Bnits.Value)

/igure 59

Figure /N sho"s ho" the re!ort looks "hen the value o Filter2! is set toreatThan2r4&ual#


22/32

()

/igure 58

And "hen the user changes the !ara$eter value to LessThan:

/igure 5

7yna$ic Colu$ns1d like to !rogra$$atically deter$ine the colu$ns to dis!lay based on "hat is returned by

the dataset# 1s that !ossible

9es0 you can deine a table "ith all the !ossible colu$ns0 then decide "hether to sho" each

colu$n based on the value o the Is0issing !ro!erty on Field# Here is an e%a$!le that

sho"s inor$ation ro$ t"o dierent database tables based on user selection#

To add dynamic columns to your report


or users to select "hich table to dis!lay#


23/32

(/

/igure 5;

(# 7eine a colu$n or every ield you "ant to dis!lay ro$ the t"o tables# For the ,idden

!ro!erty o the colu$n0 set the e%!ression to the ollo"ing:

=II6([email protected]*, true, 'alse)

This is sho"n in Figure /


24/32

((

/igure 5!

7yna$ic Ro"s+y dataset contains a large a$ount o data# Can 1 control ho" $any ro"s are sho"n

initially through a !ara$eter0 and toggle the rest

9es0 set the ,idden !ro!erty on the ro"s to:

= oDNumber(9ata7et-) > Parameters!oDCount.Value

Set the ToggleItem to a te%tbo% that you "ant to toggle the rest o ro"s "ith0 as sho"n in

the ollo"ing igure#

/igure 2<

1nSco!e Function+y $atri% sho"s the !ercentage o the sales to a custo$er out o the total sales or each

e$!loyee# 1n the subtotal cells0 this is al"ays going to be /))U0 "hich is not useul# Ho"

can 1 get dierent contents in the subtotal cells

8se the InScope unction in your e%!ression to do this# For e%a$!le0 su!!ose you have a

ro" grou!ing called I$atri%/JCusto$er17M;0 and a colu$n grou!ing called

I$atri%/J4$!loyee17M;# To sho" dierent contents in the colu$n subtotal cells0 set the cell

te%tbo% e%!ression to:

=II6(In7"ope(matri#-ECustomerI9),

CountoDs()&CountoDs(matri#-EFmplo@eeI9), CountoDs())


25/32

(-

7yna$ic 'age BreaksFor the logical !age breaks deined in the R7L0 the only o!tions see$ to be turning the$ on

or o# There is no e%!ression or the$# 1s it !ossible to dyna$ically change "hich grou!s

have !age breaks either beore or ater

1t is !ossible0 although not very straightor"ard# 9ou create a du$$y grou! "ith !agebreak at end e&ual to true# The e%!ression or the grou! "ill be set according to a

!ara$eter value#

To add dynamic page breaks based on the parameter 'alue

/# 2!en the Report arameters dialog bo%# 7eine a re!ort !ara$eter or the user to

control the !age break#

/igure 25

(# Add a du$$y grou! in your re!ort# Turn o the grou! header@ooter0 and enable age

break at end# Set the grou! e%!ression to:

=II6(Parameters!Pa*e;rea.Value, 6iels!Cate*[email protected], -)


26/32

(.

/igure 22

The ollo"ing igure sho"s the re!ort "hen the !age break is turned on#

/igure 26

And "hen it is turned o:


27/32

(,

/igure 27

Resetting the 'age 5u$ber on a rou!

1 have $any !ages and $any grou!s in $y re!ort# 1 can use =lobals>age"umber todis!lay the current !age nu$ber in the !age header# But 1 "ant to reset the !age nu$ber

back to one every ti$e 1 enter a ne" grou!# Ho" do 1 do this

Resetting the !age nu$ber on grou! breaks is not natively su!!orted0 but it can be

achieved by tracking grou! breaks in a shared variable in custo$ code and subtracting o

the !age oset o the irst !age o the grou! ro$ the current !age nu$ber#

To reset the page number at the start of each group

/# +ake sure that in the re!ort there is a te%t bo% that contains the grou! e%!ression# 1n

this e%a$!le0 this is the Category te%t bo%#


28/32

(N

/igure 29

(# 2!en the Report roperties dialog bo% and click the Code tab# Add shared variables to

track the current grou! and !age oset# Add a custo$ unction to set the shared

variables and retrieve the grou! !age nu$ber as sho"n in the ollo"ing igure#

/igure 28

-# 8se the unction in the !age header:

=Coe.4et4roupPa*eNumber(eportItems!Cate*[email protected],4lobals!Pa*eNumber)

The ollo"ing igure sho"s one o the !ages in the rendered re!ort "here the grou!

!age nu$ber is reset "hen starting a ne" grou!#


29/32

(*

/igure 2

"ote Because this solution uses static variables0 i t"o !eo!le run the re!ort at thee%act sa$e $o$ent0 there is a sli$ chance that one "ill break the others variable state#

Hori=ontal Tables1s it !ossible to rotate a table in Re!orting Services 8sually a table gro"s vertically0 based

on the nu$ber o detail ro"s# What i 1 "ant it to gro" hori=ontally

Try using a $atri% instead o table# The table header beco$es a static $atri% ro" header#

The re!ort detail "ould be the colu$n grou!ings youll need to grou! on a ield thats

uni&ue across dierent ro"s i you "ant each data ro" to sho" u! as a colu$n;# 'ut the

ooter in the subtotal colu$n you $ay need to use the InScope?@ unction to dis!lay

contents dierent ro$ the detail inor$ation;#The ollo"ing igure sho"s a vertical table and a hori=ontal table that dis!lay the sa$e set

o data#

/igure 2;


30/32

(

reen BarCan 1 create a table or $atri% in "hich every other ro" is shaded

Table8se =II6(oDNumber(Not$in*) Mo +, 5li"e;lue, /$ite) to control the backgroundcolor !ro!erty conditionally#

/igure 2!

+atri%1t is $ore diicult to create a $atri% "ith every other ro" shaded because every ro" in the

$atri% $ust be a grou!# There is currently no rou!5u$ber; unction on "hich to base a

green>bar calculation# Ho"ever0 rou!5u$ber can be $ostly; si$ulated by using the

Running4alue unction to return a running distinct count o grou! e%!ression values#

=II6(unnin*Value([email protected],Count9istin"t,Not$in*) Mo +,

5li"e;lue, /$ite)

To create a matri( ith the greenAbar effect

/# Add a rectangle to the ro" grou! header# 1n the rectangle0 dro! the te%t bo% or the ield

you "ant to dis!lay in the header# Add another te%t bo% na$ed Color; to calculate the

na$e o the color based on the ollo"ing e%!ression:

=II6(unnin*Value([email protected], Count9istin"t, Not$in*) Mo +,

5li"e;lue?, /$ite?)

Set the te%t bo%s ,idden !ro!erty to true#


31/32

(

/igure 6<

(# Set the background color o the rectangle and the $atri% cell to =eportItems!

Color.Value#

/igure 65

The ollo"ing igure sho"s the rendered $atri%#


32/32

-)

/igure 62

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