Procedure
Add
the Chart Item to the Layout Canvas
Recall in
our last session that we "redirected" the Multi-Layer_Calculations
report (which was itself a modified clone of a sample report that we
installed along with Reporting Services), to a clone of the Sales sample
cube. We created the cube copy, called Percent of Total, in the
preparation section of the practice exercise. Within the Percent of Total
cube, we created the Percent Total Sales calculated member, as support
for our subsequent work with Reporting Services, where we compared and contrasted
the cube-based calculation with a report-based calculated field that generated
the same results.
Our focus
within the previous article was the derivation of the percent of total
calculation itself (in answer to many requests I receive for guidance in deriving
this capability for reporting purposes), coupled with added considerations
surrounding "where to put the intelligence" within an integrated BI
solutions' "layers," (both within the immediate context of percent
of total, and for similar calculations and capabilities in general). In
this article, we will somewhat arbitrarily call upon both calculations to
support our pie chart, mainly to demonstrate the mechanics for doing so
for each, but keep in mind that the "home" of the support structure
of the calculation remains an important consideration from many perspectives,
including overall system optimization, security, and others.
Let's
open the new report and get started with the chart region.
1.
Within the RS018 project tree in the Solution
Explorer, double-click
the new PercTotalPie
report, to open
it.
The
report opens within the Report Designer, and the Layout View
appears, as depicted in Illustration 9.
Illustration 9: The New Report
in Layout View
As we
learned in my introductory article, Master
Chart Reports: Pie Charts in Reporting Services, the
process of building a chart report consists of dragging the chart item onto the
Layout tab, and adjusting it, while setting properties as appropriate to
meet report specifications. "Borrowing" the dataset that
supports the existing matrix will save us preparation time, and allow us
to get directly to the chart manipulation topics that we will take up in this
section.
2.
Drag the right
canvas edge to about the 11-inch mark atop the screen area.
3.
Drag the
bottom edge of the canvas to about the 6-inch mark on the scale to the left of
the Layout tab.
4.
Select View
--> Toolbox (as shown in Illustration 10),
from the main menu to place the Toolbox within easy reach (if it already
appears, simply disregard this step).
Illustration 10: Calling
the Toolbox to View
The toolbox
window should appear similar to that depicted in Illustration 11. Mine
is pinned to the upper left corner of the design environment, where I find it
most convenient. This is, of course, subject to your own choices. (Note also,
as an aside, that I dock my Fields and Server Explorer panes in
this area, most of the time, to maximize design real estate.)
Illustration 11: The
Toolbox, Pinned to the Upper Left Corner of the Design Environment
5.
Click the Chart
button (at the bottom of the Toolbox pane).
6.
Hover the
mouse cursor to the right of the existing matrix data region, at approximately
the 6-inch point on the scale atop the Layout canvas, and at about the
½-inch point on the scale to the left of the canvas, as shown in Illustration
12.
Illustration 12: Click
Approximately at the "X" Point to Begin Drawing ...
The
cursor becomes a small chart icon in combination with crosshairs when held
above the Layout canvas. This indicates that we can click to "anchor"
the point, from which we wish to draw the box that the chart will inhabit.
7.
Starting at
the point indicated on the canvas, click, and then, holding the mouse button down,
drag to create a box that reaches to the bottom right corner of the canvas.
The Layout
view, with the box we have drawn, appears similar to that depicted in Illustration
13.
Illustration 13: Drawing
the Box to Position the Chart
8.
Release the
mouse to drop the chart item.
The chart
region appears, in its generic manifestation, as shown in Illustration 14.
(Don't worry about getting the lineup perfect - it is actually best to "realign"
after we get done building the chart, to compensate for any changes we make in
its size, for how it ultimately looks in the report as opposed to initial
expectations, etc.
Illustration 14: The
Generic Chart Item Appears
NOTE: Should you accidentally "drop" the chart item in
a manner that you wish to realign, you can simply move the item by clicking
inside the chart, then pointing to the now shaded border, to drag it to a new
location.
Clicking again on the border will also allow you to expand /
contract the chart shape. (The nuances are easy to learn with a little
practice.) Double-clicking the chart item will make the "drop regions,"
seen above, appear, should they be hidden.
The
chart item is now in place, and we are ready to populate it with the appropriate
fields from the dataset, to endow it with the characteristics required
to meet the requests of the information consumers.
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