Is it possible to have a group by parameter in a SSRS Matrix report and have the columns rearranged depending on the group by chosen? - reporting-services

Question

I haven't really worked with SSRS Matrix reports and I'm not sure if what I am trying to do is even possible.
The user can enter a begin and end year. They want the ability to group on either CBA, CRA or Client. The CBA and CRA choice would subtotal after each name, but the client would not. The columns to include would remain the same for each choice. However, they want whatever is grouped by to be moved to the front of the report. If you choose CBA, the columns relating to CBA should appear first. If you choose client, the columns relating to client should appear first.
Is any of this possible with a matrix report? If so, where do I start? Should any of this be done in the stored procedure or should it all be done in Visual Studio? I am using Visual Studio 2017. Below is a sample of what the output should look like.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
report sample

Answer 1

This is certainly possible. There are several ways to do this and you will have to choose how much of it is done in your dataset query/stored proc and how much is done via SSRS expressions.
There are a few things to think about no matter what route you decide on.
Your dataset query or stored proc must always return a dataset that has the same column names with the same datatypes and in the same order
Avoid hiding columns in the report designer as this does not work well
If the dataset returns lots of rows then you might want to do some of the work in the query
The SSRS Way:
If you wanted to do this entirely in the report designer, all the affected columns and groups would need to be set as expressions. For example, in a simplified version of your report, the second column expression would be something like.
=SWITCH(
Parameters!myParam.Value = "CBA", Fields!CBAName.Value,
Parameters!myParam.Value = "CRA", Fields!CRAName.Value,
Parameters!myParam.Value = "Client", Fields!ClientName.Value
)
The Columns header would also have to be a similar expression.
=SWITCH(
Parameters!myParam.Value = "CBA", "CBA Name",
Parameters!myParam.Value = "CRA", "CRA Name",
Parameters!myParam.Value = "Client", "Client Name"
)
The Row Group total (in grey on your example) would also have to be a similar expression.
You would have to repeat this for all affected columns.
Next
You would also need to change the RowGroups in a similar fashion. So you would add a row group and then the "Group On" and "Sort By" expressions to the same thing.
=SWITCH(
Parameters!myParam.Value = "CBA", Fields!CBAName.Value,
Parameters!myParam.Value = "CRA", Fields!CRAName.Value,
Parameters!myParam.Value = "Client", Fields!ClientName.Value
)
It's quite a long winded process but it's not actually that bad to do.
The SQL Method
The idea is basically the same, based on the parameter we pass in, we swap out the columns in the results but we alias them so they look the same in the SSRS dataset. We also have to provide the text for the column headers in the results so we don't have to work it out in the report designer.
Here's a very simple example.
SELECT
CASE #myParam
WHEN 'CBA' THEN CBAName
WHEN 'CRA' THEN CRAName
WHEN 'Client' THEN ClientName
END AS ColumnAValue
CASE #myParam
WHEN 'CBA' THEN 'CBA Name'
WHEN 'CRA' THEN 'CRA Name '
WHEN 'Client' THEN 'Client Name'
END AS ColumnACaption
, *
FROM myTable
Here we are swapping out the content of ColumnAValue and ColumnACaption. In the report designer, we would display ColumnAValue and set the Column Header expression to
=FIRST(Fields!ColumnAHeader.Value)
The Row Groups would both simply sort by ColumnAValue
This method means a lot less work in the report designer.
There are other options but these two methods I what I usually go for as they are the simplest. The SQL method is easier for other developers to understand because there is not much 'hidden' such at the row groups sorting and grouping properties.
At the end of the day it's down to you to decide what you feel comfortable with but hopefully this gives you enough to start.