SQL Reporting Services: A Peek at the Power & Potential Presented by: Ken Emert, Shelby Consultant ©2013 Shelby Systems, Inc. Other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective holders.
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SQL Reporting Services:
A Peek at the Power &
Potential
Presented by: Ken Emert,
Shelby Consultant
©2013 Shelby Systems, Inc.
Other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective holders.
9
Objective
To give an overview of how SQL Reporting Services can be used to present
Shelby data in a browser format and show various examples of report
possibilities.
What You Will Learn in This Session
You will learn…
• What SQL Reporting Services is
• The features available with the various SQL Reporting Services versions
• The differences between SQL Report Builder and SQL Reporting Services
• How to determine your SQL Version
• How your Shelby data can be presented using SQL Reporting Services examples
• Options for running your own SQL Reporting Services reports
1
0
What SQL Reporting Services Is
SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) is the part of SQL Server that provides the reporting
features needed for the entire report life cycle, which covers creation, administration,
and dissemination.
Report Creation
The primary method of report creation, especially for SQL Server Express edition, is a
Reporting Services plug-in for Microsoft Visual Studio. When it is used for Reporting
Services, Visual Studio is also called Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS).
This document will refer to Visual Studio as BIDS because we will be using it only for
Reporting Services report design.
There is also a simplified web-based tool for report designing called Report Builder.
Report Builder is only available for those who are using a paid edition of SQL Server, such
as the Standard edition. There are three versions of Report Builder, and Report Builder
3.0 is a much improved version, without many hindrances found in the earlier version.
Report Builder 3.0 is only bundled with SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard edition or higher.
No matter how they are created, Reporting Services report designs are fundamentally
text files using Report Definition Language (RDL), a specialized form of XML. Any XML
editor (or text editor, for that matter) could be used to create or edit an RDL file;
however, BIDS and Report Builder give a graphical environment for development.
Report Management
The primary tool for managing reports once they have been created is the Report
Manager. This is a web-based interface that allows you to manage permissions, file
folder organization, database connections, and more. For Standard edition, it allows for
management of role types, subscriptions, and snapshots.
For advanced developers, Reporting Services provides a “web service” to enable
automated management or management through other interfaces. For our purposes, we
will focus only on using Report Manager.
Report Deployment
Delivering the report to the end-user is the ultimate goal, and Reporting Services does
that primarily through the Report Manager. From the Report Manager it is possible to
run any report at any time, assuming the user has permission to access the report. It is
possible to create Windows shortcuts to the URLs of particular reports, making it a click-
to-run process from the Windows desktop.
With Standard edition it is also possible to subscribe to reports, meaning that Reporting
Services will deliver the report on a schedule. It can deliver the report as an attachment
to an email or as a document saved directly to a network folder. Express edition cannot
create a subscription (due to the lack of a SQL Agent), but there is a way to use Windows
to schedule a task that can deliver the report as a saved file.
1
1
Comparison of Features BY SQL Version
While each of the versions of SQL beginning with 2005 (currently deployed with the Shelby
software) include SQL Reporting Services, the available features vary greatly.
The Express versions are available at no cost, while the Standard versions must be purchased
from a Microsoft vendor. The current SQL Version on the market is SQL 2012, but, due to
compatibility issues, your Shelby software has not been certified for this version.
Feature
SQL Server
2005 SP1
Standard
Edition
SQL Server 2005
Express Edition
with Advanced
Services
SQL Server
2008 R2
Standard
Edition
SQL Server 2008 R2
Express Edition
with Advanced
Services On-demand report
processing
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Rendering in HTML Yes Yes Yes Yes
Acrobat PDF
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Excel Yes Yes Yes Yes
TIFF (Image)
Yes
No
Yes
No
XML Yes No Yes No
CSV Yes No Yes No
Remote data sources Yes No Yes No
Non-SQL Express data
sources
Yes
No
Yes
No
Report Manager Yes Yes Yes Yes
RS Configuration Tool Yes Yes Yes Yes
Command line utilities Yes Yes Yes Yes
Map Windows accounts
to
roles
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Create custom roles Yes No Yes No
Scheduled report
processing
Yes
No
Yes
No
Create semantic Models Yes No Yes No
Use Report Builder 1.0
with Models
Yes
No
Yes
No
Use Report Builder 2.0
or 3.0
No
No
Yes
No
Use API to extend
options
Yes
No
Yes
No
1
2
Create custom report
objects
Yes
No
Yes
No
Interrupt report
processing
Yes
No Yes
No
Scale deployment Yes No Yes No
Install as Default
Instance
Yes
No Yes
No
SharePoint Integrated
Mode
No
No
Yes
No
Sparklines and Data
Bars
No
No Yes
Yes
Shared Datasets No No Yes No
Report Parts No No Yes No
SQL Reporting Services vs. SQL Report Builder
Report Builder Report Designer
Available in SQL Express Version
No
Yes
Can be run from a workstation
Yes Requires installing BIDS on the
workstation
Simultaneous Reports No Yes
Shared Data Sources No Yes
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3
Determining your Version of SQL
• Start Shelby
• Go to the Shelby Menu
• Click the ‘About’ button
• Look at the line “Database Type” — If you did not purchase SQL separately, you have the Express Version, previously referred to as MSDE in the SQL Server 2000 version.
• If you are going to work with
Reporting Services, you should
seriously consider upgrading to
2008 R2 (either the express (free)
or standard version).
Version pattern SQL Product
10.5.x.x SQL Server 2008 R2
10.00.x.x SQL Server 2008
9.00.x.x SQL Server 2005
8.1.x.x SQL Server 2000
1
4
SQL Reporting Services vs. SQL Report Builder
NOTE: SQL Reporting Services is often referred to as BIDS Report Designer.
Report Builder Report Designer
Available in SQL Express Version
No
Yes
Can be run from a workstation
Yes Requires installing BIDS on the
workstation
Simultaneous Reports No Yes
Shared Data Sources No Yes
10
SQL Reporting Services Sample Reports
Congregation Health Dashboard • Multiple datasets combined into one report
• Charts
• Key Performance Indicator (KPI) gauge
• Custom to any information critical to your leadership
11
Servant Positions and Servant Profile
• Easy-to-use parameter above the report
• Multi-valued parameter
• Click-through to second report
12
Giving Matrix
• PivotTable-style cross-tabulations
• Dynamic column and row groupings based on parameter choices
13
Birthday List
• Incorporate logos or other graphic elements
• Click to open web links embedded in the report.
• Click to start a new email message to a recipient (requires some HTML coding)
14
Class Roster
• Cascading parameters (the first selected parameter dictates the available options for
the second parameter, etc.)
15
Giving Sparklines
• Sparkline graphs for high-level overview of trending
16
Group Attendance — KPI
• KPI graphics give a simple “good/so-so/bad” simplification to statistics. There are a
variety of KPI graphic “families,” such as the stoplight icons, star ratings, and similar
sets of graphics.
• Example 1
17
• Example 2
18
Members by Postal Code
19
Profile List Showing Names
20
Drill Down Reports
21
22
Options for Utilizing SQL Reporting Services
• Build your own
o Requires a working knowledge of query writing
� Available training through Shelby — Extreme Reporting I and II
o To learn the intricacies of Reporting Services
� Attend Shelby’s Reporting Services workshop — next offered in the spring
• Let Shelby build your report for you
Ken Emert
Shelby Consultant [email protected]
Ken Emert served for 21 years as Minister of Administration at Scottsdale Bible Church in Scottsdale, AZ
where he used Shelby software for tracking people and finances. In 2000 Ken felt it was time for a change
and became a certified Shelby Systems trainer. He currently serves churches and other faith-based
organizations as a Shelby Consultant. He has helped implement Shelby in many organizations and enjoys
working with staffs to aid them in promoting ministry efficiently and effectively.
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