CHAPTER 4 LAYING OUT A REPORT75Figure 4-12. Output of multiple formats for a single textbox
As stated earlier, even custom formatting as simple as this was not available in SSRS 2005, so SSRS
2008 represents a huge leap forward in report design. In the next chapter, you will produce reports that
are more sophisticated by importing HTML formatting directly from a SQL table, as well as records from
multiple datasets, to create a full custom patient survey letter.
The completed report for the Textbox object is called TextBox.rdl and is in the Pro_SSRS project.
Implementing a Table
The Table data region provides a means of organizing data into tabular rows and columns with possible
multiple grouping levels. Every Table data region has, by default, a row that contains detail records as
well as Table headers and footers. You can group tables on individual fields from a single dataset or with
expressions that might combine multiple fields. Tables make it easy to design a uniform report because
of the structured nature of the Table. Fields from the dataset are simply added to a cell within the Table,
and when the report is rendered, it’s automatically formatted. The List data region provides much of the
same functionality as tables, but you have to position and align fields manually.
The starting-point report for the Table report object that we will demonstrate in this section is called
Table Start.rdl. You will find it in the Pro_SSRS project, in the Source Code/Download area for the book
on the Apress site. Open the Table Start.rdl file in BIDS to begin.
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