Writing Reports with Report Designer and SSRS 2014 Level 1 Courseware (55204AC)

This two-day course begins with an introduction to the Report Designer application, its features, and how to navigate it effectively. Students learn about the purpose of SQL Server Reporting Services and how to work with existing reports, switching between Design and Run modes. The course also covers the application's menu bar, toolbox, and window panes for report creation and manipulation, as well as the report design surface using Design and Preview modes.

The course then transitions to adding data to table reports, starting with defining the data source and progressing to query building through data sets. It explores the elements of the Tablix including rows, columns, cells, handles, and field choosers. By the end of this section, students will be equipped to create report data sources, datasets, and work with the tablix data region to create table reports.

Next, the course introduces report formatting techniques that allow control over how and where data displays in the report. This includes the addition of extra data from a source or calculated field to the dataset, and the use of simple and complex expressions. Students learn to format data in a report using the Report Designer Properties dialog boxes, change column names in the dataset query, and use expressions to display data.

In the grouping report data section, students learn about data groupings in reports using dataset fields and expressions. The course covers group hierarchies and introduces aggregates to summarize grouped data. Students will be able to group data using fields or expressions, create group hierarchies, and aggregate grouped data in a report.

The course then covers matrix data regions and how they can control crosstabular data in reports. Unlike table reports, which rely on rows and columns, matrix reports rely on row groupings, column groupings, and aggregated values. Students learn to create and modify matrix reports, define column group hierarchies, and use expressions to define matrix headings and sort orders.

Charts are another important feature covered in the course. Students learn how to create and modify charts in reports, visualize data with or without the details, and use expressions in charts. This section covers the key features of charts, their creation, modification of chart data, and the format of chart elements.

Finally, the course covers report printing and exporting. Students learn about the key features of electronic reporting versus print reporting, preparing a report for paper printing, and exporting reports in various supported formats. This module provides knowledge on report creation for electronic display, paper display, or display in another application.