Create a New Chart Report
In
this section, we will launch Reporting Services' Report Designer, and then
create a new report with a dataset. Next, we will place the chart item
on the report. Finally, we will designate and populate the report item.
Create
a Blank Report
Let's
begin by creating a blank report.
1.
Right-click
the Reports folder in Solutions Explorer.
2.
Select Add
from the context menu that appears.
3.
Click Add
New Item from the cascading menu, as shown in Illustration 5.
4.
Click Report
in the Add New Item dialog.
5.
Type the
following into the Name box, replacing the default of Report1.rdl
(or similar).
RS009_LineChart
The Add
New Item dialog appears, as shown in Illustration 6.
Illustration 6: The Add
New Item Dialog Initial View
6.
Click the Open
button at the bottom of the Add New Item dialog.
The
design environment opens. We see the Data, Layout and Preview
tabs appear in the Report Designer (As I mentioned in Master Chart Reports: Pie Charts in
Reporting Services, in the views presented in many
illustrations, I have docked many of my toolbars in places I find convenient.
Your environment will probably differ somewhat, and so it may not appear
identical to the illustrations).
The report
has opened in Data View, as shown in Illustration 7.
Illustration 7: The
Design Environment - Data View Tab (Compacted)
Set
up a Data Connection and Create a Dataset
Our next step is to set
up a Data Connection. As we have noted numerous times throughout our
series, Reporting Services can connect with, and create the datasets it
needs from, virtually any ODBC or OLE DB-compliant data source
(in addition to the obvious MSSQL Server and MSAS data stores). .NET-based
API's add the potential for other data sources, assuming that you have a
legacy, or otherwise eccentric, scenario on your hands.
Let's set up a Connection,
and create a Dataset within our practice example.
1.
Select New
Dataset in the Dataset selector at the top of the Data tab,
as depicted in Illustration 8.
Illustration 8: Select
New Dataset in the Dataset Selector Data Tab
As soon as we click the New Dataset selection, the Data
Link Properties dialog box appears, defaulted to the Connection tab.
2.
Type the name
of the computer housing the targeted OLTP database, AdventureWorks2000.
(My
server name, MOTHER1, appears in this article.)
3.
Select the radio
button to the left of the authentication option that is appropriate for your
environment.
(Mine
is Windows NT Integrated security.)
4.
Select AdventureWorks2000
within the Select the database on the server selector.
The
settings on the Connection tab of the Data Link Properties dialog
should resemble those shown in Illustration 9.
Illustration 9: Data
Link Properties Dialog Connection Tab
5.
Click the Test
Connection button to verify connectivity to the data source.
We
receive a message box, indicating a successful test connection, as shown in Illustration
10.
Illustration 10: Testing
Positive for Connectivity ...
6.
Click OK
to accept the settings we have made, and to close the Data Link Properties
dialog.
Report
Designer next
presents us with the dataset design tool, based upon our newly connected
source. We are immediately positioned to design our query, which brings us to
the next step.
7.
Click the
ellipses ("...") button to the right of the default dataset name
of AdventureWorks2000, which appears in the Dataset selector, as
shown in Illustration 11.
Illustration 11: Editing
the New Dataset
8.
Enter CurrencyData
for the name of the Dataset dialog box, replacing the default name of AdventureWorks2000.
(AdventureWorks2000
remains selected for the data source by default.) The Dataset dialog
appears as shown in Illustration 12.
Illustration 12:
Completed Dataset Dialog
9.
Click OK
to accept the settings and return to the Data tab, which displays in the
Generic Query Designer.
10.
Click the Generic
Query Designer button, shown in Illustration 13, to "deactivate"
it, and to shift, instead, to the Query Builder.
Illustration 13:
Shifting to the Query Builder ...
The Query
Builder appears. The Query Builder is composed of four distinct panes,
each of which can be resized, or hidden (or "recalled") via the
buttons atop the Query Builder and otherwise, to accommodate the needs of the
developer. The Query Builder, with sectional panes labeled on blue,
appears (compacted view) in Illustration 14.
Illustration 14: The
Panes of the Query Builder
11.
Right click in
the Diagram pane area of the Query Builder.
A context
menu appears, as depicted in Illustration 15.
Illustration 15: Using
the Context Menu to Add Tables to the Diagram Pane ...
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