Add a drillthrough action on a paginated report (Report Builder)

Applies to: ✅ Microsoft Report Builder (SSRS) ❌ Power BI Report Builder ✅ Report Designer in SQL Server Data Tools

The paginated report that opens when you click the link in the main paginated report is known as a drillthrough report. This drillthrough link enables a drillthrough action.

Drillthrough reports must be published to the same report server as the main report, but they can be in different folders. You can add a drillthrough link to any item that has an Action property, such as a text box, an image, or data points on a chart.

To add a drillthrough link to a report, you must first create the drillthrough report that the main report will link to. A drillthrough report commonly contains details about an item that is contained in the original summary report, and often contains parameters that filter the drillthrough report based on parameters passed to it from the main report. For more information on creating the drillthrough report, see Drillthrough Reports (Report Builder and SSRS).

Note

You can create and modify paginated report definition (.rdl) files in Microsoft Report Builder, Power BI Report Builder, and in Report Designer in SQL Server Data Tools.

To add a drillthrough action

  1. In Design view, right-click the text box, image, or chart to which you want to add a link and then click Properties.

  2. In the item's Properties dialog box, click Action.

  3. Select Go to report. Additional sections appear in the dialog box for this option.

  4. In Specify a report, click Browse to locate the report that you want to jump to, or type the name of the report. Alternatively, click the expression (fx) button to create an expression for the report name.

    The format of the path to the drillthrough report differs for native and SharePoint integrated mode. If you browse to the report, a path of the correct format is provided. For more information, see Specifying Paths to External Items (Report Builder and SSRS).

    If you have to specify parameters for the drillthrough report, follow the next step.

  5. In Use these parameters to run the report, click Add. A new row is added to the parameter grid.

    • In the Name text box, click the drop-down list or type the name of the report parameter in the drillthrough report.

      Note

      The names in the parameter list must match the expected parameters in the target report exactly. For example, parameter names must match by case. If the names do not match, or if an expected parameter is not listed, the drillthrough report fails.

    • In Value, type or select the value to pass to the parameter in the drillthrough report.

      Note

      Values can contain an expression that evaluates to a value to pass to the report parameter. The expressions in the value list include the field list for the current report.

    For information on how to hide parameters in reports, see Add, Change, or Delete a Report Parameter (Report Builder and SSRS).

  6. (Optional) For text boxes, it is helpful to indicate to the user that the text is a link by changing the color and effect of the text on the Home tab of the Ribbon.

  7. To test the link, run the report and click the report item that you set this link on.

See Also

Action Properties Dialog Box (Report Builder and SSRS)
Formatting Data Points on a Chart (Report Builder and SSRS)
Show ToolTips on a Series (Report Builder and SSRS)