Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 Bible

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Part IX: Business Intelligence

Grouping and Sorting

Grouping is an integral part of the matrix report. Grouping within a matrix provides the

power to organize data in many ways. Figure 55-8 shows a matrix item with groups. The

row and column groups displayed at the bottom show the name and order of the groups

of the currently selected report item. This grouping display is enabled by checking the

Grouping option of the Report menu of the design environment. The scope of the grouping

in the Tablix is indicated by the brace markings within the row and column handles, indi-

cating which portions will be repeated for each group.

Groups can be created by dragging fi elds into the Row Groups or Column Groups areas, or by

clicking the drop-down on each group. The drop-down also enables a group to be removed

or totals to be added.

The drop-down is also a convenient way to access the Group Properties dialog, as shown in

Figure 55-8, to control the details of a grouping. Although the ability to group data seems

simple, the effect on report presentation can be stunning.

FIGURE 55-8

The Grouping Properties dialog box.

Because sort order can be specifi ed at both the Tablix and group level, you need to under-

stand that group sort defi nitions override Tablix defi nitions. This is in keeping with the

Reporting Services theme of child property settings overriding the parent settings.

Interactive sorting can also be enabled in a variety of ways. Traditionally, this has been

implemented by adding sort arrows to the column header of a table. Pressing the arrows on

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