Building Ad-Hoc Reports using the SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services (SSRS) Report Builder (SQL307) Adrian Rupp Business Intelligence Solutions Specialist iSolve Business Solutions

Agenda Report Builder Model Designer

Report consumers Business users Report Viewer Report Builder Power users Developers Report Designer Why Report Builder?

What is Report Builder? A new ad-hoc report design tool for Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services Targeted at business users who want to find and share answers to interesting questions Driven from a business model of the data, so users do not need to understand the underlying data structures Not a full analytical client or replacement for Microsoft ® Office Excel ® Pivot Tables Fully integrated with Reporting Services and delivered in SQL Server 2005

Report Builder Client Application Report Builder is a “ClickOnce” Windows ® application managed on the Report Server Requires Microsoft ®.NET Framework 2.0 Users download and launch the client application from the Report Manager or third party applications Built on top of familiar Microsoft ® Office paradigms: Excel, Office PowerPoint ® Reports built with report templates (textboxes, tables, matrices, charts) Finished reports can be saved on the server

Report Builder

Report Builder Client

Report Builder Reports Report Builder reports are just like any other Reporting Services report… –Report Builder reports are defined in the report definition language (RDL) –Managed by the same APIs –Secured by the same APIs Except: Report Builder reports contain semantic model metadata –When a Report Builder report is requested by report processing, the metadata is used to generate a query in the source language –A new component on the Report Server handles the query generation

Infinite Drill Automatic generation of new drillthrough reports allows users to explore data along model navigation paths Queries for navigation reports are generated on the fly, passing the context of the user’s current “location” Users can keep drilling as long as there is a path to follow from the current item Custom reports can be specified for model items Generated navigation reports are not saved unless the user explicitly saves them

Microsoft ® SQL Server™ Management Studio Report Builder Architecture SQL Server catalog Web services interface Report Server Report Builder Client Client ModelDesignerModelDesigner Data sources (SQL Server, Analysis Services) Drillthrough report generation Query generation Report Manager ManagerReport ReportDesignerReportDesigner

Report Builder Queries Report Builder does not strictly display tables and joinsReport Builder does not strictly display tables and joins –May denormalize relationships, rename, add calculations, etc. Adding display fields will never eliminate rows from your result setAdding display fields will never eliminate rows from your result set Group identity is strictly defined (and fixed)Group identity is strictly defined (and fixed) –Sales Person group cannot include Sales Order Date, but can include #Sales Orders (an aggregated value from Sales Order) –Fixed group identity affects where fields can be added to report

Primary Entity The primary entity is the entity at the top of the entity explorer at any given timeThe primary entity is the entity at the top of the entity explorer at any given time Your report is “centered around” instances of the primary entity; that is, all data in the report must be related to an instance of the primary entityYour report is “centered around” instances of the primary entity; that is, all data in the report must be related to an instance of the primary entity The primary entity may change when:The primary entity may change when: –Adding items fields to the design surface –Adding filter clauses in the filter dialog The primary entity always changes “down”The primary entity always changes “down” The primary entity never changes “up” unless your report contains only totalsThe primary entity never changes “up” unless your report contains only totals

Filtering Standard filtering (“slice-and-dice” approach)Standard filtering (“slice-and-dice” approach) –Main filter is applied to all data in the report, including aggregates –Most common scenario, most like competitive tools –Report Builder default Precision filteringPrecision filtering –Filter only affects the set of instances (rows) displayed –Is NOT applied to aggregates in the report –Must uncheck option on filter page to enable Filtered aggregatesFiltered aggregates –Can add different filters to each aggregate in report –Can be used with standard or precision filtering –Right-click on aggregate field in report, select “Edit Formula”, double- click formula to expand and add a filter

Be Careful What You Ask “Show me products and sales in 2003” can mean: Show any product with sales in 2003, and the sales from 2003 (standard filter – affects products shown and sales aggregate)Show any product with sales in 2003, and the sales from 2003 (standard filter – affects products shown and sales aggregate) Show any product with sales in 2003, and all the sales for those products (precision filter, does not affect aggregate)Show any product with sales in 2003, and all the sales for those products (precision filter, does not affect aggregate) Show all products and any sales of those products in 2003 (no main filter, filtered aggregate)Show all products and any sales of those products in 2003 (no main filter, filtered aggregate)

Agenda Report Builder Model Designer

Model Designer is interface for designing/editing a model –New project type in Business Intelligence (BI) Development Studio –Define fields and roles –Define calculated fields –Organize model Models can be auto-generated in Model Designer or on the Report Server –Generates entities, fields, and roles based on source metadata –Auto-generation against SQL Server and Analysis Services databases

Model Designer

Report Models Models define entities, fields, and roles available for Report Builder Models reference a data source (either SQL Server or Analysis Services) Models are stored in the Report Server as a new item type –Includes new management APIs Published models can be secured –Items within models (entities, fields, roles) can also be secured –Users only see items they have permissions to see Model security and management through SQL Server Management Studio

Report Builder versus Report Designer Report BuilderReport Designer Targeted at business usersTargeted at IT professionals and developers Ad hoc reportsProduction reports Auto-generates queries using semantic layer on top of the source Native queries (SQL, OLE DB, XML/A, Open Database Connectivity (ODBC), Oracle) Reports built on templatesFree-form (nested, banded) reports ClickOnce application, easy to deploy and manage Integrated into Microsoft ® Visual Studio ® development system Cannot import Report Designer reportsCan work with reports built in Report Builder

Model Designer

Session Summary Report Builder is… –a new ad hoc report design tool for SQL Server Reporting Services –targeted at business users who want to find and share answers to interesting questions –driven from a business model of the data so users do not need to understand the underlying data structures –is fully integrated with SQL Server Reporting Services and delivered in SQL Server 2005

Resources Reporting Services on the web mspx Reporting Services blogs /

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