Tiptoeing into Visual Studio 2005 for SSRS

I wanted to create a report for a client that showed unapproved timesheets in PDK that could be published in SQL Reporting Services. I did not use the Report Builder because there was not an existing object for the data I wanted. So I decided to try out Microsoft Visual Studio 2005. I'm not a developer, so I proceeded with a bit of trepidation.

Guess what. I found it pretty easy to get started. This is what I did:
1.) Open Visual Studio >> New Project >> Business Intelligence Project >> Report Server Project
2.) Right-click on your new project name >> Add >> New Item >> Report Wizard

Then the Report Wizard takes over, and you basically define your data source and design the report. You can run the report from within Visual Studio.

I created this sample report quickly. You don't need to be a developer to get started with this tool, and I think you will find it fairly easy to get stared.

More and more we are recommending SSRS to our clients for their reporting needs. You should check it out.

Simple SSRS Reports Using Report Builder

SQL Reporting Services is functionality that's included with Microsoft SQL Server. There are many reports that are delivered out-of-the-box with GP that can be deployed to your SSRS site. But there is also an easy to use reporting tool that allows you to create custom reports.

Report Builder is accessed through the SSRS site. It allows you to use existing objects from which to report; and the objects are pretty standard. When you create a new report you have the option of creating a table style, matrix style, or chart report. You can easily drag and drop fields on to the report, and format the report to look the way your wish.

Once you have your report you can utilize the functionality in SSRS to schedule and deliver the reports. The report export options include: XML, CSV, PDF, Excel, and others.

If you have not yet tried creating a report in SSRS, you should. It's easy to get started, and I'm sure you'll like the results. Here is a report I created in five minutes. Think what you could do in 20.