Specifications
Data Visualization CHAPTER 9 175
Data Visualization
Prior to SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services, your only option for enhancing a report with
data visualization was to add a chart or gauge. Now your options have been expanded to
include data bars, sparklines, indicators, and maps.
Data Bars
A data bar is a special type of chart that you add to your report from the Toolbox window.
A data bar shows a single data point as a horizontal bar or as a vertical column. Usually you
embed a data bar inside of a tablix to provide a small data visualization for each group or
detail group that the tablix contains. After adding the data bar to the tablix, you congure the
value you want to display, and you can ne-tune other properties as needed if you want to
achieve a certain look. By placing data bars in a tablix, you can compare each group’s value to
the minimum and maximum values within the range of values across all groups, as shown in
Figure 9-11. In this example, Accessories 2005 is the minimum sales amount, and Bikes 2007
is the maximum sales amount. The length of each bar allows you to visually assess whether a
group is closer to the minimum or the maximum or some ratio in between, such as the Bikes
2008 group, which is about half of the maximum sales.
FIGURE 9-11 Data bars