Rules to Better Reporting Services - 23 Rules

By default SSRS will track reporting execution for the last 60 days. This might be OK in most cases, but you may want to adjust the retention days if you want better report usage statistics.

To update the value you can:

1. Connect to the ReportServer database in SQL Management Studio
2. Execute the following script and update the value to the number of days you want to track

EXEC SetConfigurationInfo @Name=N'ExecutionLogDaysKept',@Value=N'365'

After you have this, you can query the ExecutionLog table to find useful information about report execution like:

• Which users are actively using the reports
• How long reports are executing
• The last time a report was executed

SSRS keeps track of each report that gets executed and records useful information like:

• How long did the report take to generate
• Who requested the report
• When was the report generated
• Report Parameters used

So it's quite simply a matter of querying the ReportServer database for information in the ExecutionLog table. 

WITH RankedReports
AS
(SELECT ReportID,
        TimeStart,
        UserName, 
        RANK() OVER (PARTITION BY ReportID ORDER BY TimeStart DESC) AS iRank
   FROM dbo.ExecutionLog t1
        JOIN 
        dbo.Catalog t2
          ON t1.ReportID = t2.ItemID
)
SELECT t2.Name AS ReportName,
       MAX(t1.TimeStart) LastAccessed,
       --t1.UserName,
       t2.Path,	  
       SUBSTRING(t2.Path, 0, CHARINDEX('/', t2.Path, 2)) ParentFolder,
       t1.ReportID
  FROM RankedReports t1
       JOIN 
       dbo.Catalog t2
         ON t1.ReportID = t2.ItemID
 WHERE t1.iRank = 1
GROUP BY t2.Name, Path, ReportID
ORDER BY MAX(t1.TimeStart) DESC;

The query above gives you the last reports that were accessed (Credit to Eric Phan - SSRS - Find out which reports are being used (handy for migrating only the useful reports to a new server))

Like any solution, Reporting Services has its pros and cons. From our experience, we have discovered these things about Reporting Services:

Cons

• Parameters - you are forced to use built-in controls.
• Query string - when you change the parameters and refresh a report, the values do not appear directly in the query string, making it hard to copy/paste URLs.
• Can't separate SQL into a strongly-typed dataset or middle-tier object like in ASP.NET.
• There are potential difficulties with the deployment of RS reports and the exposing of them. However, once we have the infrastructure...
• Not able to work natively with modern .NET.

Pros

• You can develop read only reports faster in Reporting Services than ASP.NET.
• Maintenance with RS is easier than ASP.NET, as with most cases you don't have to write any code.
• Flexibility with groupings and totals is easier. In ASP.NET you would need to iterate through the DataSet, keeping variables with the totals.
• Parameters are built-in. In ASP.NET there is code.
• Drilldown interactivity. In ASP.NET you need to code up a treeview.
• Users can have reports automatically emailed to them on a schedule.
• Users can export natively to PDF and XLS, plus a variety of other popular formats.

Nowadays, better technologies are used to handle reports. Examples include

• Power BI: cloud-based solution that provides visually appealing reports and dashboards.
• HTML based reports: HTML frameworks have evolved significantly, making it quick and easy to make great reports.

For a more detailed comparison between reporting solutions, take a look at our Guidelines for Report Solutions - Web Clients.

Figure: How to migrate SSRS reports from an old server to another

Let's say you want to migrate SSRS reports from an old reporting service server (e.g. SQL Server 2008 R2) to a new one (e.g. SQL Server 2016). What involves?

There are 3 steps:

Step 1: Find the reports that don't need to be migrated

• Find those reports are not-in-use, as per a rule: Do you know which reports are being used?

• Find creators of those reports, by clicking “Detail Views” in reports folder

  

• Send an email to report creater ask for permission to delete

  

  

2. Migrate those in-use reports from old server to new server

Tip: Use the ReportSync tool to save time.

3. Check audit results

• Run SSW SQL Reporting Service Auditor on both sides
• Compare audit results. Note that even error and warning messages also need to be the same

If audit results are exactly the same on old and new servers, it indicates that migration is successful.

When working with SSRS reports, you need to have the right type of project otherwise it will be difficult for a developer, to create new reports or update existing ones.

If you have some reports and want to check them into source control, if you add them to project that is not a report project, your reports will not open in the design/preview view (allowing to see the DataSource and DataSets). They will open in the XML view (which is not pretty to work with).

To open the reports in the right view you will need to:

1. Be sure that you VS has the tool/extensions Microsoft Reporting Services Projects installed, go to Tools | Extensions and Updates | Online, and search for services

• In SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) for Visual Studio website you will find all the instructions to install the tool via Marketplace or SSDT standalone installer.
• Create the project selecting Business Intelligence | Reporting Services | Report Server Project

3. Add existing reports and create your new DataSource (based in the information on your Report Portal)

The default configuration for Report Server isn't accessible by most mobile browsers and some desktop browsers too. You can adjust the authentication types allowed to increase the range.

The configuration file for the Report Server is named RSReportServer.config and the default location is:

You should make a backup of the configuration before editing it so you can rollback if you make a mistake.

We normally change the AuthenticationTypes node from:

<AuthenticationTypes>
  <RSWindowsNegotiate /> 
</AuthenticationTypes> 

to:

<AuthenticationTypes>
  <RSWindowsNegotiate /> 
  <RSWindowsKerberos /> 
  <RSWindowsNTLM /> 
</AuthenticationTypes> 

Check out the different Authentication Types in the Report Server documentation and select the types that suit your needs.

More details on configuring Windows authentication on the report server can be found here: Configure Windows Authentication on the Report Server.

Here are the steps to subscribe a report:

1. Open IE, go to the folder view which contains the report you're going to subscribe.

2. Click the report you're going to subscribe and select "Subscribe...".

3. Configuring the subscriber's email address, report render type and schedule.

SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services comes with some great samples that will help get you started. Unfortunately, they aren't installed by default.

These samples include:

1. Report Project based on the Adventure Works 2008 R2 database
2. Report Builder Model based on the Adventure Works 2008 R2 database

Upon installing the samples successfully, you should see 3 folders (shown below) in your Report Manager.

For more information, visit the following links:

• AdventureWorks sample databases
• Samples for Reporting Services
• AdventureWorks Sample Reports

A lot of the time, you will want a hard copy of your reports. Obviously reports are different sizes on screen and on paper, so you need to format your report so it exports to PDF and prints properly. Here's how.

1. Change the report's page width to 28cm (or 11in) and top and bottom margins to 0.5cm.

   

2. Change the Body width to 25.4cm (or 10in)

   

   

   

   You can see the 0.5cm margin looks much better than 1cm, and you have more space to organize your content, especailly for a landscape print view.

3. Resize report items (tables and charts) to fit the page. The easiest way to do this is to select (Ctrl+click) all report items that should span the whole width of the page, and set their Width property to 25.4cm (or 10in).

Tip: Export your report to PDF and do a print preview, so you don't have to print a lot of testing pages to find out the best page settings.

Tip: Remove top and bottom paddings in header and footer text can also give you more space.

Note: Reporting Services reports accept both inches and cm, so you can use either.

We have a program called SSW Code Auditor to check for this rule.

When designing custom applications you want to include branding on reports. You should always include a useful and informative footer at the bottom of your reports.

Include:

1. Date and Time Printed and User who printed it - see warning below (e.g. Printed by SSW\DaveSmith on 3/1/2024 3:16:30 PM)
2. Execution Time (e.g. Execution time: 1 minute, 10 seconds)
3. Page x of y (e.g. Page 3 of 10)
4. Link to company website + slogan (e.g. <www.ssw.com.au> - Enterprise Sopftware Development)

Use these handy report expressions to show the above information.

Note: Do not use System.DateTime.Now for Execution Time because if you do it will return the result at time of printing the document/PDF. Instead store the value in a variable (for example GroupExecutionTime) and then call that.

Use these handy report expressions to show the above information.

Tip: Copy and Paste this XML into the for the recommended footer of all your *.rdl files.

 <PageFooter>

  Paste here

 </PageFooter>

 Public Function UserName()
 Try
 Return Report.User!UserID
 Catch
 Return "System"
 End Try
 End Function   

We believe the word 'Report' is redundant in a report, so we avoid using this word in our reports.

The Hyperlink Action allows users to navigate between reports smoothly, but users may ignore the navigation functionality in your reports.

With the underline effect on your hyperlink items, it will be easy for users to find the navigation on your reports.

We have a program called SSW Code Auditor to check for this rule.

Errors on reports should not occur but when they do it is best to make it clear to the reader that they have just experienced an error.

How evident are the error messages on the 1st report below?

Reporting Services allows you to set the 'NoRows' property of a table control to warn your user when there is no data available. This is similar to handle the 'NoData event' in Access report but there is no advanced control on this message, not even a Color property - this has not been improved in RS2005, see our Better Software Suggestions page.

Here's how to add a custom "NoData" textbox with a red icon to your report:

1. Add a rectangle to the top of your report, above any report items in the body. Set its BorderColor to Red.
2. Drop a textbox into the rectangle and give it the value No records were found matching your criteria. Please modify your parameters and try again.

3. Add an Image control next to it. Use this error icon. This opens in a New Window as the Image (add it to your Images folder in your solution and reference it like Images/fatalerrorinfo.gif). Your report will now look similar to the one below.

   

4. In the Hidden property of the Rectangle, add an expression to show/hide it depending on whether any rows were returned. Use the following expression, substituting the bold for your own values (e.g. checking if the sum of all orders is < 0)

   --Expression to set the visibility of the error message controls
   
   = iif( Sum(Fields!SaleTotal.Value, "MyDataSet")>0, True, False)

   

5. Group all other report items into a rectangle - you want to be able to show and hide them dynamically.

6. In the Hidden property of this Rectangle, add an expression to show/hide it depending on whether any rows were returned. Switch the True and False values around, so that it shows if it does have records, and hides if it does not have records (the opposite behaviour to the error box). So, in the example above, the expression would be:

   --Expression to set the visibility of the main report items
   
   = iif( Sum(Fields!SaleTotal.Value, "MyDataSet")>0, **False**, **True**)

A professional report should have consistent name.

A professional report should have the feedback information, then users can give suggestions directly to the designers.

See how AI is used in Power BI to provide feedback in Reports in this rule

You can add the version number to the name of the reporting server by:

1. Going to Site Settings
2. Add 2005, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019 or 2022 to the name

Things in a report page header repeat on every page. To avoid duplicate and save paper when printing, we put content as less as possible in the header.

When you are working with reports that use time-based data (sales figures, employee productivity etc.), it is handy to see how you went this month compared to the past 6 months. The best way to show this is on a bar chart.

To do this:

1. Create a new dataset in your report.
2. Enter the following query, substituting "MyDate" for the name of the date field you are referencing, "MyTable" for the view or table you are selecting from, and "@pEndDate" for the name of the report parameter you are using for the data end date:

SELECT DISTINCT TOP 6
  CONVERT(varchar(12), Year(MyDate), 101) + '-' + RIGHT('0' + Convert(Varchar(2), MyDate, 101), 2) AS Y
  , Sum(PaidTotal) * -1 AS Total
FROM
  MyTable
WHERE
  MyDate BETWEEN DateAdd(Month,-5,convert(varchar(12), Month(@pEndDate)) + '/1/' + convert(varchar(12), Year(@pEndDate))) AND 
CASE WHEN datepart(d,@pEndDate) = 1 THEN DateAdd(d, 1, @pEndDate) ELSE @pEndDate END
GROUP BY
  CONVERT(varchar(12), Year(MyDate), 101) + '-' + RIGHT('0' + Convert(Varchar(2), MyDate, 101), 2)
ORDER BY
  CONVERT(varchar(12), Year(MyDate), 101) + '-' + RIGHT('0' + Convert(Varchar(2), MyDate, 101), 2)

3. Configure the new added parameter 'pEndDate'

4. Add a chart to your report in Layout view and change its type to "Simple Column".
5. Drag the "Total" field from the Datasets window into the Data area on the chart, and the "Y" field into the Category area. Your chart will now look similar to the one below.

6. Now you need to set the last column to be a different color so it stands out. Right-click the chart and click Properties.
7. Click the "Data" tab, click "Edit..." next to the "Values" box, then go to the "Appearance" tab and click "Series Style..." then the "Fill" tab.
8. In the "Color" textbox, enter this expression, then OK all dialogs to return to the report:

=iif(Right(Fields!Y.Value, 2)=Month(Parameters!pEndDate.Value), "Blue", "Green")

Users of the report service will find the data easier to understand and compare. However, in order for the report to be understandable, the data and chart must be clear and uncluttered.

The reason for this problem is that the 'size' property of the chart control doesn't support expressions like 'Count(Rows) or queried values like 'Fields!RowCount.Value', so the chart control cannot adjust its size according to the data.

The solution for this problem is to use an embedded chart within the table - this will create a dynamic chart list similar to the list shown below.

To do this, you need to create a table in your report and add a chart into each of the rows.

Note: When rendering a report to your browser or an email, Reporting Services generates a separate image for every single image in the report, even if they are identical. When you are using graphs, images or charts in your report, this can cause a large number of images to be generated. Always include a red warning at the top of any emailed reports so that users do not try and forward or reply to them. Use a warning like this:

Warning: Do not reply to or forward this report in an email - Outlook may slow down or even hang.

In Reporting Services 2005 you can use an expression to specify the scale of your charts. If you do not specify a maximum value for your y axis, the bar charts become inaccurate, as you can see in this figure.

Here's how to set the scale.

1. In Layout view, add a new row to the bottom of the table
2. At the bottom of the column with the chart, set the textbox value to =Max(Fields!MyTotal.Value), where "MyTotal" is the Data field you're using in the chart.

3. Set the textbox's Name property to MaxMyTotal (e.g. MaxCount)
4. Set the new row's Visibility/Hidden property to true - you don't want to show it in the report
5. Open the Chart properties and select the "Y Axis" tab
6. Set the Maximum value to the value of the textbox, i.e. "=ReportItems!MaxMyTotal.Value"

7. If you expect to have negative values in the chart (e.g. when comparing 2 values), set the Minimum to -1 multiplied by the max value, i.e. "=-1 * ReportItems!MaxMyTotal.Value". Otherwise set it to 0 (zero).
8. If you expect to have negative values in the chart, select the chart value in the Data tab and click "Edit..." . Go to Appearance->Series Style->Fill and enter the following expression:

=iif(Fields!Change.Value > 0, "Green", "Red")

Where "Change" is the name of your data field. This sets the color of the bar to green if it is positive, and red if it is negative

9. Click OK and preview the report. The chart will now be using the maximum value across all the charts.

It is important to show previous and current data, as well as the changes between the two.

There will be cases in which the Change column has no meaning then you'd better to make this column invisible in your reports. In one of our reports we use an expression on Hidden property of this column to determine whether to show it based on the value of a parameter.

=iif(Parameters!ComparedExtractionID.Label = "N/A",true,false)

Expression for Hidden property

When comparing two sets of data in a report (for example, sales this month compared to last), showing the change as a percentage is a bad idea.

For example, if you made 1 sale last month and 2 this month, you have had a 100% increase. If for another product you made 1000 sales last month and 2000 this month, that is also a 100% increase, but you've sold 1000 of that product compared to 1 of the other product.

For this reason, show the difference as an actual value, so you can compare all values easily. See the figures below for examples. To see how to create the negative/positive valued chart, see Do you use expressions to show the correct scale on charts?

Bad - Notice how the "change" column in the report doesn't accurately reflect the difference in downloads - 1 download last month and 2 downloads this month will yield a 100% increase - which looks impressive as a percentage but really isn't.

Good - This works better just showing the difference between the two values over the 2 months.