CHAPTER 12 DELIVERING BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE WITH SSRSdo that easily by double-clicking the Shared Data Source named PatRef_DS and editing the data source
properties to match your environment, as shown in Figure 12-6.
With the datasets configured properly for your SSAS environment, you will next look at how you
build the MDX queries.
Figure 12-6. Connection properties of the PatRef_DS data source
Working with the Graphical MDX Query Builder
One of the great new features introduced in SSRS for SQL Server 2005, and enhanced further in 2008, is
the graphical MDX query builder. MDX is a fairly large, complex language that is prone to syntactical
errors. You must innately understand it to truly deliver precision data from SSAS cubes. Having and
using a graphical query tool to form the base MDX query, in much the same way that developers use the
graphical query designer for T-SQL, reduces common syntax errors and speeds development of the
query.
With the Average Referral to Admission report open to the Report Data Query window, notice that
you have several dimensional and measure elements listed: BranchName, Year, MonthName, Time to
Admission, and Fact Referral Count. By default the report will open in the graphical design mode, as
shown in Figure 12-7, and not the generic query designer. The design modes are toggled with the Design
Mode button on the right of the toolbar. In the graphical design mode, the dimensional elements are
dragged and dropped directly in the window from the Metadata pane where the elements are listed. If
the Auto Execution button is selected, which it is by default, whenever elements are dragged and
dropped, the query executes, and the data results are displayed.