Adding Other Report Items (Report Builder 2.0)

In addition to data regions like tables, matrices, and charts, reports use other report items to add visual interest, highlight key information, or provide related information. To add a report item to a report, click the Insert tab and drag the item to the design surface. You can change the properties of a report item by using the Properties pane. For example, you can add a border or padding, change the initial visibility or direction, or specify an exact size and location for the item.

The following report items are available in Report Builder 2.0:

• Textbox   Text boxes can be placed anywhere on a report and can contain labels, fields, or calculated data. You use expressions to define the value to display in a text box when you view a report.

  Note

  If you drag a report dataset field value directly to the report design surface, or to a text box on the report design surface, you only see the first value in the result set when you view the report. To see all the values for a field, you must drag the field to a cell in a table or matrix.

• Image   Images display binary image data in a report. You provide the source for the image. The source can be a URL reference to an image stored on a Web server, a reference to embedded image data, or a reference to binary image data in a database. Report Builder 2.0 supports .bmp, .jpeg, .gif, and .png files.

• Line   Lines display horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. A line is defined with a start and end point and can have various styles (for example, weight and color) assigned to it. A line has no data associated with it.

• Rectangle   Rectangles can be used in two ways: as a graphical element, or as a container for other report items. As a graphical element, a rectangle has the same properties as a line. As a container, you drag report items from the toolbox or from the design surface into the rectangle. A rectangle acts as a parent container for all report items inside it. Placing report items in a parent container helps control how they appear on each report page. For more information, see Understanding Rendering Behaviors (Report Builder 2.0).

• Subreport   A subreport displays a report that has been saved to a report server in a parent report. The subreport can refer to a fully formatted independent report, or one that is designed to be embedded within the main report. When you define a subreport, you can also define parameters to filter data in the subreport.

  When deciding whether to use a subreport, you may want to consider using a data region instead, particularly if the subreport is not used by multiple reports. Because the report server processes each instance of a subreport as a separate report, performance can be impacted. Data regions provide much of the same functionality and flexibility as subreports, but with better performance. For more information, see Nesting Data Regions (Report Builder 2.0).

• **Page header and page footer   **Page headers and footers display information on the top or bottom of every page, respectively. You can set properties for the first and last page of a report to show or hide the header and footer.