How to: Create a Report Using a Wizard (Report Designer)

Use these steps to add a new report to an existing report server project using the Report Wizard. If you do not want to use the wizard, you can create an empty report server project and build the report using the data and layout design surfaces in Report Designer. For more information about creating a report server project, see How to: Create a Report Server Project (Report Designer).

To create a report using Report Wizard

  1. On the Project menu, click Add New Item. Alternatively, right-click the Reports folder in the project in Solution Explorer, point to Add, and then click Add New Item.

    Note

    You can also open the Report Wizard by right-clicking the Reports folder and then click Add New Report. If you use this method, skip to step 5.

  2. In the Categories list, click Report Server Project.

  3. In the Templates list, click Report Wizard.

  4. Type a name for the report, and then click Open.

    Note

    The name of the report must have an .rdl extension. Otherwise, Report Designer cannot edit the file correctly.

  5. On the Welcome to the Report Wizard page, click Next.

  6. On the Select the Data Source page, click New Data Source, type a name for the data source, select a data type, and then type the connection string for the data source. To build the connection string, click Edit. To supply credentials, click Credentials. When the string is complete, click Next.

    Note

    When you click Edit, the Data Link Properties box appears. In Data Link Properties, follow the instructions on the Connection tab. The contents of the Connection, Advanced, and All tabs vary depending on the type of data source. To change the data source type, click the Provider tab and select a data provider.

  7. In the Design the Query page, type the query string to use for the report. To build a query string, click the build (...) button. After the string is built, click Next.

    Note

    When you click the build (...) button, the Query Builder box appears. Query Builder contains functionality similar to the graphical query designer in Data View. For more information, see Data View (Report Designer).

  8. On the Select the Report Type page, select Tabular or Matrix, and then click Next. Selecting Tabular produces a report with data arranged in a table. Selecting Matrix produces a report with data arranged in a matrix, or crosstab.

  9. The next page depends on the choice made in the Select the Report Type page.

    • On the Design the Table page, click a field in the Fields list, and then click the Page, Group, or Details button. Alternatively, click and drag the field into the appropriate box. When all fields are chosen, click Next. On the Choose the Table Layout page, select a layout for the table, and then click next.
    • On the Design the Matrix page, click a field in the Fields list and then click the Page, Columns, Rows, or Details button. Alternatively, click and drag the field into the appropriate box. When all fields are chosen, click Next.
  10. On the Choose the Table Style or Choose the Matrix Style page, select a style to apply to the report, and then click Next.

  11. On the Choose the Deployment Location page, type the report server and folder to which you want to publish the report.

    Note

    This step does not publish the report. It sets the properties so that you can publish the report from Report Designer.

  12. On the Completing the Report Wizard page, type a name for the report, verify the information, and then click Finish.

See Also

Concepts

Creating a Report Using Report Wizard
Report Designer How-to Topics

Other Resources

Report Designer F1 Help

Help and Information

Getting SQL Server 2005 Assistance