Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services Recipes: for Designing Expert Reports

FOREWORD xxiii

PREFACE xxv

INTRODUCTION xxvii

CHAPTER 1: BUSINESS REPORTING PARADIGMS 1

Process and Operational Support 2

Report Types 2

Sales Orders, Invoices, Manifests, and Inventory Forms 2

Template Forms 3

Tabular and List Reports 4

Catalogs 6

Labels 6

Activity Summaries 7

Status Reports 8

Analytical Reporting 8

Report Types 9

Dashboards and Scorecards 9

Pivot Table and Matrix Reports 9

Charts 10

Maps 14

Interactive Reports 15

Application Integration 17

Report Integration into Applications 18

Desktop Applications 18

Web Applications 19

Portal Content 19

ReportViewer Control 20

Installing the Reporting Services Samples and SQL Server

Sample Databases 21

Server Reports 22

HTML Viewer 23

Report Viewer Control 23

Reporting Services Processors and Extensions 23

Report Caching 24

The HTML Rendering Extension 25

The CSV-Rendering Extension 25

The XML-Rendering Extension 25

The Image-Rendering Extension 26

The PDF-Rendering Extension 26

The Excel-Rendering Extension 26

The Word-Rendering Extension 26

Summary 26

CHAPTER 2: BASIC REPORT DESIGN CONCEPTS 29

Using Report Builder 30

Formatting and Sample Values 31

Data Sources 31

Datasets and Queries 32

Designing Queries 33

Dataset Best Practices 36

Filtering Data 37

Using Stored Procedures 38

Reports and Report Objects 39

Report Body 39

Headers and Footers 40

Aggregate Functions and Totals 41

Adding Totals to a Table or Matrix Report 42

The Tablix 43

Static and Dynamic Columns and Rows 43

Summary 44

CHAPTER 3: REPORT DESIGN ESSENTIALS 45

Tabular and Matrix Reports 45

Defining Table Groups 45

Group Expressions and Options 46

Formatting Table Values 48

Matrix Reports 51

Sorting Options 51

Sorting in the Query 51

Sorting in a Group 52

Interactive Sort 53

Adding Headers and Footers 53

The Low Down on Drill-Down 54

Report Navigation Essentials 54

Reports with Multi-Level Groups and Drill-Down Actions 54

Standard Terminology 54

Drill-Down 55

Creating a Drill-Down Report 59

Drill-Through Reports 60

Navigating to a URL 62

Report Navigation Summary 62

Charting Basics 63

Series and Category Axes 63

Polar and Radar Charts 65

Shape Charts 65

Bar Charts 65

Gauges 67

Scales 67

Pointers and Markers 67

Ranges 67

Radial Gauges 68

Linear Gauges 68

Maps 69

Map Gallery 69

ESRI Shape Files 69

SQL Server Spatial Data 69

Using Parameters 69

Creating a Parameter List 70

Modifying and Formatting MDX Queries 72

Multi-Value Parameters 73

Cascading Parameters 74

Report Parameters 75

Expressions and Custom Code 75

Calculated Fields 76

Conditional Expressions 76

Using Custom Code 78

Using Custom Code in a Report 78

Using a Custom Assembly 79

Formatting Report Data 80

Introduction to Dynamic Formatting 81

Designing Multicolumn Reports 81

Summary 82

PART I: COLUMNAR AND GROUPED REPORTS

Green Bar Reports 85

Designing the Report 85

Alternate Row Colors in an SSRS 2000 or 2005 Matrix 90

Final Thoughts 92

Credits and Related References 92

Alternate Background Shading for Table Groups 93

Designing the Report 93

Designing the Report for Reporting Services 2005 98

Final Thoughts 98

Credits and Related References 99

Nested Group Green Bar Effect 100

Designing the Report 100

Final Thoughts 104

Credits and Related References 104

Creating Dynamic Groups 105

Designing the Report 105

Final Thoughts 114

Credits and Related References 114

Hiding and Showing Columns in a Table 115

Designing the Report 115

Showing and Hiding Group Headers 120

Final Thoughts 120

Horizontal Table 121

Designing the Report 121

Designing the Report for Reporting Services 2005 124

Final Thoughts 124

Credits and Related References 124

Resetting the Page Number Based on Groups 125

Designing the Report 125

Final Thoughts 127

PART II: BI DASHBOARDS AND ELEMENTS

Creating Sparklines 131

Designing the Report 131

Sales Trends 131

Final Thoughts 137

Credits and Related References 138

Cube Dynamic Rows 139

Designing the Report 140

Final Thoughts 147

Credits and Related References 147

Cube Metadata 148

Designing the Report 148

Adding MeasureGroups (for Cube/Perspective) 151

Adding Other Cube Metadata 153

Final Thoughts 161

Credits and References 162

Cube Browser 163

Anatomy of the Reports 165

Cube Browser 165

Cube Browser Metadata 166

Cube Browser Member 167

Behind the Scenes 167

Cube Browser 167

Report Body 173

Restricting Rows and Columns 174

Swap Actions 175

Titles 176

Footer Information 179

Final Thoughts 182

Credits and Related References 184

Australian Sparklines 185

Designing the Report 186

Preparing the Data and Adding Extra Controls 187

Building a Full-Sized Australian Sparkline 197

Adding the Australian Sparkline to a Table 201

Final Thoughts 203

Credits and Related References 203

Angry Koala Cube Browser 204

Anatomy of the Reports 205

r100 - Angry Koala Cube Browser 206

r101 - Angry Koala Graph 207

r102 - Angry Koala Driver 208

r103 - Angry Koala Member 210

Behind the Scenes 210

Angry Koala Cube Browser 210

Report Body 219

Restricting the Number of Rows and Columns 220

Swap Actions 220

Titles 220

Report Footer Info 220

Final Thoughts 221

Credits and Related References 221

Bullet Charts 222

Designing the Report 222

Final Thoughts 226

Credits and Related References 227

Synchronizing Groups, Charts, and Sparklines 228

Designing the Report 228

Final Thoughts 232

Credits and Related References 232

PART III: CHART AND GAUGE REPORTS

Chart Custom Color Palette 235

Designing the Report 236

Custom Legends 237

Final Thoughts 238

Credits and Related References 238

Chart Keywords 239

Designing the Report 239

Final Thoughts 241

Credits and Related References 242

Column Chart with Goal Threshold Line 244

Designing the Report 244

Adding Dynamic Color 249

Final Thoughts 249

Creating a Personal Report Card 250

Designing the Report 250

Final Thoughts 259

Customizing Gauges with Images 260

Designing the Report 260

Final Thoughts 263

Credits and Related References 263

Exception Highlighting with Gauges/Bullet Graphs 264

Designing the Report 264

Final Thoughts 267

Credits and Related References 267

Grouped Pie Chart Slices 268

Designing the Report 268

Final Thoughts 271

Growing Bar and Column Charts 272

Designing the Report 272

Final Thoughts 275

Credits and Related References 275

Histogram Chart 276

Designing the Report 276

Final Thoughts 278

Credits and Related References 278

Linear Regression Line 279

Designing the Report 279

Final Thoughts 285

Creating a Multi-Series Multi-Y Axis Chart 286

Designing the Report 286

Credits and Related References 292

Pareto Chart 293

Designing the Report 293

Final Thoughts 296

Credits and Related References 296

PART IV: INTERACTIVE REPORTING

Conditional Linking 299

Designing the Report 299

Final Thoughts 304

Credits and Related References 304

Drill-Through for a Multi-Level Matrix Report 305

Designing the Drill-Through Target Report 305

Designing the Drill-Through Source Report in 2005 309

Designing the Drill-Through Source Report in 2008 315

Final Thoughts 317

Credits and Related References 317

Drill-Through Report Link Breadcrumbs 318

Designing the Report 319

Final Thoughts 325

Dynamic Pivoting as a Matrix Replacement 326

Designing the Report 326

Final Thoughts 330

Using a Document Map Table for Navigation 331

Designing the Report 331

Final Thoughts 337

Credits and Related References 337

PART V: INTEGRATED REPORTING APPLICATIONS

Creating a Report Server Usage Report 341

Designing the Report 343

Final Thoughts 346

Rotating Report Dashboard 347

Designing the Report 347

Final Thoughts 351

Credits and Related References 351

Updating Data From a Report 352

Designing the Report 352

Final Thoughts 358

Offline Reporting Using the Report Viewer Control 359

Designing the Report 359

Computer Requirements and Prerequisites 362

Wiring Up the Report 363

Programming the Code-Behind 365

Final Thoughts 372

PART VI: ENHANCED REPORT CONTENT

Creating a Calendar Report 375

Designing the Report 375

Final Thoughts 382

Credits and Related References 382

Creating Mailing Labels 383

Designing the Report 383

Final Thoughts 390

Credits and Related References 390

Barcodes 391

Designing the Report 391

Fonts 392

Custom Report Items (Barcode Components) 393

Final Thoughts 399

Credits and Related References 399

Currency Translation 400

Designing the Report 400

Final Thoughts 406

Custom Aggregation 407

Designing the Report 407

Designing the Median Report in SSRS 2005 407

Implementing the Report in SSRS 2008 409

Final Thoughts 414

Credits and Related References 414

Dynamic (Conditional) Page Breaks 415

Designing the Report 415

Designing the Report for Previous Versions of Reporting Services without the PageBreak.Disabled Property 418

Final Thoughts 419

Excel Worksheet Naming And Page Naming 420

Designing the Report 420

Final Thoughts 424

External Image Sources 425

Designing the Report 425

Creating the ASP.NET External Image Source 430

Final Thoughts 438

Language Localization 439

Multi-cultural Considerations 439

Designing the Report 440

Creating the External Resource Lookup with .NET 441

Final Thoughts 446

Credits and Related References 446

Page Running Total 447

Designing the Report 447

Final Thoughts 453

Renderer-Dependent Layout and Formatting 454

Designing the Report 454

Final Thoughts 459

Creating a Checkbox List to Show Existing Records 460

Designing the Report 460

Final Thoughts 463

Using a Checkbox List to Select and Deselect Records 464

Designing the Report 464

Using the Checkbox Report for Parameter Selection 472

Final Thoughts 473

Using the Map Wizard 474

Designing the Report 474

Final Thoughts 478

Credits and Related References 478

PART VII: FILTERING AND PARAMETERIZATION

Multiple Criterion Report Filtering 481

Designing the Report 481

Filtering in the Query 484

Using Code to Build the Query String 485

Filtering in the Dataset 487

Samples 488

Final Thoughts 488

Credits and Related References 489

Using Multi-Value Parameters with a Stored Procedure 490

Designing the Report 490

Final Thoughts 495

Using Multi-Value Parameters with a Subscription Report 496

Designing the Report 496

Final Thoughts 505

Parameterized Top Values Report 506

Designing the Report 506

Top Value Reports for Cubes 510

Final Thoughts 512

Cube Restricting Rows 513

Designing the Report 513

A Better Way to Interact With a Report Parameter 518

Final Thoughts 521

Creating Custom Sorting Reports 522

Parameterizing Custom Sorted Queries 523

Designing the Report 523

Parameterizing the Order By Clause 530

Custom Sorting in Tablix Groups 533

Using the Interactive Sort Feature 535

Creating a Custom Interactive Sort 536

Final Thoughts 542

Credits and Related References 543

Filtering User-Specific Report Data 544

Designing the Report 544

Final Thoughts 550

PART VIII: CUSTOM AND DYNAMIC DATA SOURCES

Using aWeb Service as a Data Source 553

Designing the Report 553

Final Thoughts 560

Credits and Related References 560

Reporting on SharePoint List Data 561

Preparing the Sample Data 562

Designing the Report 564

Designing the Report in 2008 R2 570

Final Thoughts 573

Credits and Related References 573

Dynamics AX Report Wizard 574

Designing the Report 574

Final Thoughts 581

PART IX: GAMES

Hangman Game 585

Reviewing the Report 585

Final Thoughts 589

Credits and Related References 590

Sea Battle Game 591

Reviewing the Report 592

How It Works 593

Final Thoughts 599

Credits and Related References 599

INDEX 601