Practice
Our
first objective is to create a copy of the Sales Reason Comparisons sample report, within which we can implement the
newly required parameter.
The focus of our
efforts will be the addition of this parameter into an OLAP report containing
a matrix data region (the mechanics behind adding the capability,
not the design of the report itself). To save time, we will be working with a
simple, pre-existing sample report – in reality, the business environment will
typically require more sophistication. The process of setting up the basic parameter
is the same in real world scenarios, with perhaps a more complicated set of
underlying considerations. (I virtually never encounter a client reporting
requirement that does not involve at least basic parameterization.)
We
will perform our practice session from inside the MSSQL Server Business
Intelligence Development Studio. For more exposure to the Business
Intelligence Development Studio itself, and the myriad design, development
and other evolutions we can perform within this powerful interface, see other
articles in this series, as well as within my Database Journal series Introduction
to MSSQL Server Analysis Services. In this article, we will be commenting
only on the features relevant to our immediate practice exercise, to allow us
to keep to the focus of the article more efficiently.
Preparation: Create a Clone Report within the Reporting Services Development Environment
For purposes of our
practice session, we will create a copy of the Sales Reason Comparisons report, one of several samples
that are available with (and installable separately from) the MSSQL Server
2005 integrated business intelligence suite. Making preparatory
modifications, and then making the enhancements to the report to add the
functionality that forms the subject of our lesson, can be done easily within
the Business Intelligence Studio environment. Working with a copy
of the report will allow us the luxury of freely exploring our options, and will
leave us with a working example of the specific approach we took, to which we
can refer in our individual business environments.
Open the Sample Report Server Project
For purposes of our
practice session, we will open the AdventureWorks Sample Reports
project, which contains the sample reports that ship with the Reporting
Services component of the MSSQL Server 2005 suite. We will complete
our practice session within the sample project so as to save the time required
to set up a development environment from scratch within the Business
Intelligence Development Studio.
To open the AdventureWorks
Sample Reports project, please see the following procedure in the References
section of my articles index:
Ascertain Connectivity of the Shared Data Source
Let’s
ensure we have a working data source. Many of us will be running “side-by-side”
installations of MSSQL Server 2000 and MSSQL Server 2005. This
means that our installation of the latter will need to be referenced as a server
/ instance combination, versus a server name alone. (The default for
the Adventure Works DW project sample’s connection is localhost,
which will not work correctly in such a side-by-side installation, as MSSQL
Server 2000 will have assumed the identity of the local PC by default.)
If you do not know how
to ascertain or modify connectivity of the Analysis Services data
source, please perform the steps of the following procedure in the References
section of my articles index:
Create a Copy of the Sales Reason Comparisons Report
We will begin with a copy
of the Reporting Services 2005 Sales Reason Comparisons OLAP report,
which we will use for our practice exercise. Creating a “clone” of the project means we can make
changes to select contents (perhaps as a part of later exploration with our
independent solution), while retaining the original sample in a pristine state
for other purposes, such as using it to accompany relevant sections of the Books
Online, and other documentation, as a part of learning more about Reporting
Services (particularly an OLAP report using an Analysis Services data
source), and other components of the Microsoft integrated business
intelligence solution in general.
If you do not know how
to create a copy of an existing report, please perform the steps of the
following procedure in the References section of my articles index:
We now
have a clone OLAP report file within our Reporting Services 2005 Project,
with which we can proceed in the next section to make modifications for our
subsequent practice session.
Preparation: Modify the OLAP Report for Use within Our Practice Session
We will
next make a few modifications to prepare the report for our practice session. Our
objective will be to begin the session with a simple OLAP report that contains
no parameters. Let’s
open the report in Layout view (for those of us not already there) and
make the necessary settings to place it into a state upon which we can commence
our practice steps.
1.
Right-click DBJ_OLAP_Report.rdl
(or your own choice of a similar report) in the Solution Explorer.
2.
Select Open
from the context menu that appears, as shown in Illustration 1, as
necessary.
Illustration 1: Opening
the New Report ...
DBJ_OLAP_Report.rdl
opens in Layout
view.
We will
start with the Data tab.
We
enter the Data tab, where we will remove a handful of components that we
do not need for our practice session. We will accomplish this from the
perspective of the MDX Query Builder, the main components of which (in Design
mode) are labeled in Illustration 2 below.
Illustration 2: The MDX
Query Builder – Design Mode
4.
With the Dataset
selector, select the ProductList dataset, as depicted in Illustration
3.
Illustration 3: Select
the ProductList Dataset ...
5.
Once the Dataset
loads, click the Delete button, as shown in Illustration 4.
Illustration 4: Deleting
the Unneeded Dataset ...
6.
Click Yes
on the Microsoft Report Designer warning message dialog that appears
next, as depicted in Illustration 5.
Illustration 5: Confirm
Intention to Delete ...
The
primary (and sole remaining) dataset, ProductData opens.
7.
Within the Query
pane of the MDX Query Builder, right-click the column heading for
Internet Total Product Cost.
8.
Click Delete
Internet Total Product Cost from the context menu that appears, as shown
in Illustration 6.
Illustration 6: Deleting
the Unwanted Measure from the Dataset
9.
Within the Calculated
Members pane (bottom left corner of the Data tab), right-click the
sole Calculated Member, Profit.
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