Practice
We
left our practice session in
Part
One with a
matrix data
region that
accurately and completely replicated (we could easily compare them
side-by-side) the results of the pre-existing matrix data region.
Preparation: Continue to Prepare the Environment for Report Enhancement
Before
we parameterize the Sales Territory Groups, the next step in our
plan to meet the business requirements of the information consumers, let's
eliminate the matrix data region that we have replaced to free space on
the design canvas. We will do so by taking the following steps.
1.
Restart the SQL Server Business Intelligence
Development Studio.
We again
briefly see a splash page that lists the components installed on the PC, and
then Visual Studio .NET 2005 opens at the Start page.
2.
Close the Start
page, if desired.
3.
Select File
--> Open from the main menu.
4.
Click Project
/ Solution ... from the cascading menu, as shown in Illustration 2.
The Open
Project dialog appears.
5.
Browse to
location where we left the AdventureWorks Sample Reports solution at the conclusion of Part One.
NOTE: It is necessary to have completed
Part
One to
participate in this practice session.
6.
Select the AdventureWorks
Sample Reports.sln file within the appropriate folder, as we did in Part One.
7.
Click Open.
The AdventureWorks
Sample Reports solution opens, and we see the various objects within appear
in Solution Explorer, as we left them. In addition, the report we
created in Part One, RS026_Sales_Reason_Comp_Matrix.rdl,
opens, unless we closed it before closing the solution at the conclusion of our
last session. (If we closed it last session, right click it in the Solution
Explorer, and select Open from the context menu that appears, to
open it.)
The
report file appears open upon the Designer canvas as depicted in Illustration
3.
Illustration 3: The Report
Appears within BI Development Studio ...
Let's
resave the .rdl file with a name that matches our current article, so
that we can retrace our steps in Part 1 with the original .rdl file,
should the need arise.
8.
Select File
--> Save
RS026_Sales_Reason_Comp_Matrix.rdl As ... from the main menu, as shown in Illustration 4.
Illustration 4: Resaving
the Report for the Current Session ...
9.
Within the Save
File As dialog that next appears, leaving the folder location the same as
it was for the previous report, replace the current report File name
with the following:
RS027_Sales_Reason_Comp_Matrix.rdl
The Save File As dialog appears, with the name
replacement, as depicted in Illustration 5.
Illustration 5: The
Report Appears within BI Development Studio ...
10.
Click Save
to resave the report under the new name, and to dismiss the Save File As
dialog.
The report file appears, with the new
name, in the Solution Explorer. Because we have used the original matrix
data region to corroborate the correctness of the results as presented by
the new matrix data region, we can discard the former to free up space
on the canvas for the further enhancements we will perform in the next section.
11.
Click inside
the upper left corner text box (where the image and Sales Reason label
appear) of the top matrix data region (the original upon which we based
our new data region), to make the gray column and row bars appear.
12.
Click the
upper left corner of the gray bars, to select the matrix data region
itself.
The matrix data region becomes highlighted with an outline, as shown in Illustration
6.
Illustration 6: Highlight
the Original Data Region ...
13.
Touch the Delete
key on the PC to delete the original data region.
The original data region disappears, leaving blank space
atop the canvas.
14.
Lasso the new matrix
data region, by clicking to the bottom left of the region, and then holding
the left mouse button down, as you extend the outline that appears (a dotted
line) completely around the data region, as depicted in Illustration
7.
Illustration 7: "Lasso"
the New Data Region ...
15.
Release the
mouse button, and ensure that the matrix data region, together with all
the individual objects it contains, is highlighted, as shown in Illustration
8.
Illustration 8: New Data
Region and all Member Components Selected ...
NOTE: It is important to ensure that all objects are selected, or
our attempts to move the matrix data region in the next steps may leave
objects behind.
16.
With the
objects selected / highlighted, use the "arrow" keys to move the data
region and all individual components to the upper left corner of the
canvas, as depicted in Illustration 9.
Illustration 9: Relocate
the Region Using the "Arrow" Keys ...
We are
now ready to continue with the enhancements requested by the information
consumers.
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