Verify Operation of the XY Chart item
Let’s ascertain the
accuracy and completeness of our construction efforts. We will execute the
report with the following steps:
1.
Click the Preview
tab, to the right of the Layout tab, atop the design surface.
2.
Select Bikes
within the Product Category report parameter picklist, as depicted in Illustration
36.
Illustration 36: Select Bikes as the Product Category ...
3.
Click the View
Report button.
The new report
generates, displaying both the original matrix and new XY chart
data regions.
4.
Scroll down,
as required to focus upon the new XY chart data region.
The new Line
chart appears as shown in Illustration 37.
Illustration 37: The XY Chart Report, Preview Tab
Our XY
chart meets the expressed business requirements and demonstrates many
details surrounding its property settings. The client representatives express
satisfaction with our efforts, and state that, with a few cosmetic changes
(including the removal of the existing matrix data region; the
subsequent realignment of the XY chart on the canvas; and conditional
formatting, perhaps, to make the font colors / line colors do
specific things), the report will be ready for deployment to the targeted
information consumer group. Moreover, they assure us that the details they
have examined within the practical exercise we have undertaken can be
extrapolated to their creation efforts of other XY charts.
5.
Experiment
further with the report, if desired.
6.
When finished
with the report, click the Layout tab.
7.
Select File
-> Save RS068_Simple XY Chart.rdl As
... to save our
work, up to this point, to a location where it can be easily accessed for later
reference.
As we
can see from our examination above, Reporting Services offers a wide
range of options for XY chart creation and manipulation to assist us in
the delivery of information within the business environment. We extend our examination of chart
types, specifically examining each type, together with the properties and
methods we can manipulate for the precise presentations we seek to be able to
deliver, in other articles of this series.
8.
Select File
-> Exit to leave the design environment,
when ready (saving as desired), and to close the Business Intelligence Development
Studio.
Conclusion
In this article, we
performed a relatively straightforward examination of the Reporting Services Simple XY chart
type, from within a copy of an existing sample Reporting Services 2005 report
that we created for this purpose. Our focus, as we stated in the introduction,
was to create a basic, working Simple XY chart, using an Analysis Services data source (the Adventure Works DW sample
OLAP database / Adventure Works cube that accompanies the installation
of Reporting Services), and to discuss various characteristics of the Line chart type
as we progressed.
We examined relevant chart properties, and got some
hands-on exposure to the manipulation of those properties to support the
delivery of information to meet the needs of a hypothetical group of
organizational information consumers. We noted that this article might serve as a basis for
other, more advanced articles within the MSSQL Server Reporting
Services
series, from which we use the Simple XY
chart we created here as a platform from which to
concentrate on in-depth procedures and nuances that we can use to achieve
precision in meeting specific requirements and data presentation effects that
we might deliver in the business environment.
About the MSSQL Server Reporting Services
Series ...
This
article is a member of the series MSSQL Server Reporting Services. This monthly column is designed
to introduce MSSQL Server Reporting Services (“Reporting Services”),
presenting an overview of its features, with tips and techniques for real-world
use. For more information on the series in general, please see my initial Database Journal article, A New Paradigm for Enterprise Reporting.
»
See All Articles by Columnist William E. Pearson, III
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