How to: Add, Change, or Delete Available Values for a Report Parameter (Reporting Services)

After you create a report parameter, you can specify a list of available values to display to the user. An available values list limits the choices a user can make to only valid values for the parameter.

Available values appear in a drop-down list next to the report parameter on the toolbar when the report runs. Report parameters can represent one value or multiple values. For multiple values, the top of list begins with a Select All feature so the user can select or clear all values with a single click.

You can provide a static list of values or a list from a report dataset. You can optionally provide a friendly name for values by specifying a label field. For example, for a parameter based on a ProductID field, you can display the ProductName field in the parameter label. When the report runs, the user can choose from the product names, but the actual chosen value is the corresponding ProductID.

After you publish a report, you can change the available values property for a parameter. For more information, see Setting Parameter Properties for a Published Report.

To add or change the available values for a report parameter

  1. In the Report Data pane, expand the Parameters node. Right-click the parameter and click Parameter Properties. The Report Parameter Properties dialog box opens.

    Note

    If the Report Data pane is not visible, on the menu, click View, and then click Report Data.

  2. Click Available Values. Select an available values option:

    • Click Specify values to manually provide a list of values, and optionally, friendly names (the labels) for the values.

      Click Add and then enter the value in the Value text box, and optionally, the label in the Label text box. If you do not provide a label, the value is used.

      Repeat this step for as many values as you want to provide. The order of items you see in this list determines the order that the user sees them in the drop-down list. To change the order of an item in the list, click a Value or Label text box to select the item, and then use the up and down arrow buttons to move the item higher or lower in the list.

    • Click Get values from a query to provide the name of an existing dataset that retrieves the values, and optionally, the friendly names for this parameter.

      In Dataset, choose the name of the dataset.

      In Value field, choose the name of the field that provides parameter values.

      In Label field, choose the name of the field that provides the friendly names for the parameter. If there is no separate field for friendly names, choose the same field as you chose for the Value field.

  3. Click OK. 

    When you preview the report, you see a drop-down list of available values for the parameter.

To remove the available values for a report parameter

  1. In the Report Data pane, expand the Parameters node. Right-click the parameter and click Parameter Properties. The Report Parameters dialog box opens.

  2. Click Available Values.

  3. In Select from one of the following options, click None.

  4. Click OK. 

    When you preview the report, you the drop-down list of available values for the parameter no longer appears.

See Also

Tasks

How to: Add Cascading Parameters to a Report (Reporting Services)

How to: Associate a Query Parameter with a Report Parameter

How to: Add, Change, or Delete Default Values for a Report Parameter (Reporting Services)

How to: Change the Order of a Report Parameter (Reporting Services)

How to: Add, Change, or Delete a Report Parameter (Reporting Services)

Concepts

Adding Parameters to Your Report

Tutorial: Adding Parameters to a Report

Filtering Data in a Report

Using Parameters Collection References in Expressions (Reporting Services)

Working with Report Data How-to Topics

Other Resources

Report Designer F1 Help

Tutorials (Reporting Services)

Working with Report Expressions