Datasheet

Chapter 1: Introducing Reporting Services
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Part IV, including Chapter 11, “ Report Models, ” and Chapter 12, “ Report Builder 1.0, ” thoroughly covers
client - side reporting concepts, data model preparation, and the Report Builder ad hoc design
environment.
Simple Application Integration
There are a few options available for integrating reports into business solutions. Using reports from an
external application isn ’ t hard to do, but choosing the right technique depends on the type of application
and the desired behavior of the report interface. Even with all these options, you may still have a few
different implementation choices. There are now several different methods for rendering reports in a
custom implementation, which include:
A standard web request using a Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
A report embedded into a Windows or web application using an IFrame or Browser control
A programmatic web request using the Simple Object Application Protocol (SOAP)
The ReportViewer control integrated into Visual Studio for custom Windows Forms or Web
Forms applications
The ReportViewer web part for SharePoint Portal Server or Microsoft Office SharePoint Services
The first option is much easier but may be used in a variety of ways. In its simplest form, a hyperlink is
used to open the report in the web browser. The user uses a standard toolbar to provide parameters for
filtering and other report options.
Launching Reports from an Application
Hyperlinks and application shortcuts can easily be added to documents and custom applications. Using
this simple technique, report links can be added to Windows Forms, documents, and web pages.
Much of the standard report viewing environment may be controlled using parameters passed to the
report server in the URL. By incorporating these commands into a hyperlink, reports may be displayed
with or without toolbar options and features. You can change the zoom factor and modify the rendering
format. For example, clicking a link for one report may open it as a web page in HTML, and another link
for a different report may open it in Excel or the Adobe Reader.
Reports may be designed to prompt users for parameter values used to filter data and to modify the
report format and output. These parameters may also be incorporated into a URL string. This way, one
hyperlink will display a report with one set of data, and another hyperlink will display the same report
with different data. Parameters can even be used to change display attributes such as font sizes and
colors, and to hide and show content.
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