How do i represent an unknown number of columns in SSRS? - reporting-services

I'm working on a rather complex report in Sql Server Reporting Services. My SP returns a dynamic number of columns each of which are dynamically named.
Basically think of a time keeping application. Each column that is dynamic represents a time bucket that time was charged to for that team. If no time was charged to that bucket for the period of time the report covers it doesn't show. Each bucket has its own identifier which i need to be the column headers.
I have an SP that returns this all. It does it by doing a bit of dynamic SQL with an exec statement (ugly i know but I'm on SQL 2000 so a PIVOT option wouldn't work)
I can have an indefinite number of buckets and any or all might show.
I found this - http://www.codeproject.com/KB/reporting-services/DynamicReport.aspx - which is helpful but in the example he has a finite number of columns and he just hides or shows them according to which ones have values. In my case i have a variable number of columns so somehow i need the report to add columns.
Any thoughts?

As long as you know a maximum number of columns, it's possible to do this after a fashion.
First, name the columns with a result from your query, so you can either pass it in to the query or derive it there. Second, just build out the report as if it had the maximum number of columns, and hide them if they are empty.
For example, I had to build a report that would report monthly sales numbers for up to a year, but the months weren't necessarily starting in January. I passed back the month name in one column, followed by the numbers for my report. On the .rdl, I built out 12 sets of columns, one for each possible month, and just used an expression to hide the column if it were empty. The result is the report appears to expand out to the number of columns needed.
Of course, it's not really dynamic in the sense that it can expand out as far as you need without knowing the upper bound.

This can be done. I did this and it works fine.
You don't have to know the maximum number of columns or show and hide columns in my approach. Use a matrix and modify your sp to return dynamic data to the structure mentioned in this blog post http://sonalimendis.blogspot.com/2011/07/dynamic-column-rdls.html

Build 2 related Datasets, first one for the report content, and the second one for the list of its column labels.
The Dataset of the report content must have a fixed number of columns and name. You can allocate some maximum number of columns.
In this example I have the first 2 columns as fixed, or always visible, and a maximum of 4 columns to be displayed by choice through a multivalued parameter, or depends on the query conditions. And as usual, we may have a total as well. So, it may look like this:
Fixed01, Fixed02, Dyna01, Dyna02, Dyna03, Dyna04, Total
The second Dataset with its values will look like this:
Name Label
---- -----
Dyna01 Label01
Dyna02 Label02
Dyna03 Label03
I have omitted the 4th Label to demonstrate that not all columns are being used by a certain query condition. Remember that both Datasets are meant to be related to the same query.
Now create a parameter named, say, #columns; populate its Available Values and Default Values with the second Dataset.
For each of those 4 dynamic columns, set the column visibility with the following expression:
=IIf(InStr(join(Parameters!columns.Value,","),"Dyna01"),false,true)
And for each of their column header Text Boxes, use the following expression:
=Lookup("Dyna01", Fields!Name.Value, Fields!Label.Value, "dsColumns")
As for the Total, here is the expression for its visibility:
= IIf(InStr(join(Parameters!columns.Value, ","), "Dyna01"), false, true)
AndAlso IIf(InStr(join(Parameters!columns.Value, ","), "Dyna02"), false, true)
AndAlso IIf(InStr(join(Parameters!columns.Value, ","), "Dyna03"), false, true)
AndAlso IIf(InStr(join(Parameters!columns.Value, ","), "Dyna04"), false, true)
And here is for its values:
= IIf(InStr(join(Parameters!columns.Value, ","), "Dyna01"), Fields!C01.Value, 0)
+ IIf(InStr(join(Parameters!columns.Value, ","), "Dyna02"), Fields!C02.Value, 0)
+ IIf(InStr(join(Parameters!columns.Value, ","), "Dyna03"), Fields!C03.Value, 0)
+ IIf(InStr(join(Parameters!columns.Value, ","), "Dyna04"), Fields!C04.Value, 0)
That's all, hope it helps.
Bonus, that second Dataset, dsColumns, can also hold other column attributes, such as: color, width, fonts, etc.

I think the best way to do it is add all the columns in your table and edit the visibility property of it with the help of arguments that you get from your SP..this will solve the purpose of dynamic column but when viewing the report you will get a lot of white-space which you can solve with SSRS - Keep a table the same width when hiding columns dynamically? and your report will be ready

I've had the need to do this in the past and the conclusion I came to is "you can't", however I'm not positive about that. If you find a solution, I'd love to hear about it.
An issue that comes to mind is that you need to define the report using the names of the columns that you're going to get back from the stored proc, and if you don't know those names or how many there are, how can you define the report?
The only idea I had on how to do this is to dynamically create the report definition (.rdl file) via C#, but at the time, I wasn't able to find an MS API for doing so, and I doubt one exists now. I found an open source one, but I didn't pursue that route.

Related

Access 2013 Count

I am working on a report in Access 2013 I need to seperate the first 20 records in a column that contain a value and assign a name to them. Such as at 1-20 I need it to insert Lot 1 at 21-40 need to assign Lot 2 etc... The report needs to be separated by lots of 20. I can also just insert a line when it reaches sets of 20 without a name if that makes it easier. Just need something to show a break at sets of 20.
Example: As you can see the report is separated by welder stencil. When the count in the VT column reaches 20 I need to enter a line or some type of divider to separate data. What our client is asking for is we separate the VT in sets of 20. I don't know whats the easiest way to accomplish this. I have researched it but haven't found anything.
Example Report with Divisions
Update the report's RecordSource query by adding "Lot" values for each row. There are multiple ways of doing this, but the easiest will be if your records already have a sequential, continuous numerical key. If they do not have such a key, you can research generating such sequential numbers for your query, but it is beyond the scope of this question and no details about the actual data schema were supplied in the question.
Let's imagine that you have such a key column [Seq]. You use the modulo (mod) and/or integer division operators (\ - backslash) to determine values that are exactly divisible by 20, e.g. ([Seq] - 1) mod 20 == 0.
Generate a lot value for each row. An example SQL snippet: SELECT ("Lot " & (([Seq] - 1) \ 20)) As LotNumber ...
Utilize Access report sorting and grouping features --grouping on the new Lot field-- to print a line and/or label at the start of each group. You can also have the report start a new page at the beginning or end of such a group.
The details about grouping can be found elsewhere in tutorials and Access documentation and are beyond the scope of this question.

Dynamically change column names as week number on every weekly run

I want to build a SSRS report that has column as week numbers - 8 weeks for 8 columns starting with current. This report is run every week and current week number is set then. So both column names and their values should change .Is it possible to build something like this in SSRS?
I tried doing this with a dynamic SQL based stored proc in dataset. However for every run I don't even see the columns values updating dynamically
Here's an example :
Also I am trying to avoid these week numbers as row values and then using matrices
My stored proc looks something like this
declare #n tinyint = datepart(wk, getdate())
declare #n1 tinyint = (#n+1), #n2 tinyint =(#n+2), #n3 tinyint =(#n+3), #n4 tinyint =(#n+4), #n5 tinyint =(#n+5), #n6 tinyint =(#n+6)
exec ('Select b.sku, b.['+#n+'], b.['+#n1+'], b.['+#n2+'], b.['+#n3+'], b.['+#n4+'], b.['+#n5+']...
Will appreciate any help in this direction.. many thanks!
When working with SSRS it's generally best to avoid dynamic SQL and pivoting the data in the SQL. Use the SQL to get the raw data you need and then let SSRS do the pivoting and aggregation. This way you take advantage of what they each do best. I know you said you want to avoid matrices, but it is the best way to make the report dynamic.
So you should either return all the data in one dataset and use filters on your matrices OR write two queries and have each one populate a matrix. BTW a matrix is just a table with a column group added, so don't be intimidated by them.
There are 2 ways to do this with a standard tablix.
Calculate the column headers as expressions using concatenation of Wk and some date math to find the correct week number and return the same sort of thing from your query (e.g. columns are current_week, week_minus_1, week_minus_2...)
Return the column headers as additional columns in your query that are the same value for every row (e.g. ColHeader0, ColHeader1...). Your data columns would still be relative weeks (e.g. ValueWeek0, ValueWeek1...). In your report the column header would have an expression like =First(Fields!ColHeader0.Value). This is a more flexible approach since it lets you pick 8 historical weeks instead of only the last 8 weeks if you add a parameter.
EDIT - Clarifications
The reason that you get the blank column Wk48 is approximately that you have created your report looking for that column that won't be there the next time. SSRS looks for exact columns. You should you use relative column names for either of the options I have specified:
exec ('Select b.sku, b.['+#n+'] as Wk0, b.['+#n1+'] as Wk1, b.['+#n2+'] as Wk2, b.['+#n3+'] as Wk3, b.['+#n4+'] as Wk4, b.['+#n5+'] as Wk5...
This will allow you to populate the aliased Wk0 column with the appropriate current week data and still make sure that it can be consistently referenced as the base week by SSRS.
To change the column headers you can:
Independently calculate the week numbers in SSRS in the column header expressions: ="Wk" + CStr(<correct week calculation>).
Return the column headers in the result set and access them in the column header expression:
exec ('Select b.sku, b.['+#n+'] as Wk0, b.['+#n1+'] as Wk1, b.['+#n2+'] as Wk2, b.['+#n3+'] as Wk3, b.['+#n4+'] as Wk4, b.['+#n5+'] as Wk5..., ''Wk'''+#n+' as ColHeader0, ''Wk'''+#n1+' as ColHeader1...
and reference the returned column headers from the SSRS column header expression as =First(Fields!ColHeader0.Value).
Here's a solution that worked for me:
Create parameters (say CurrWk, CurrWk1) ,set as hidden and store 'Default value' and 'Available value' equals to current week number (datepart(wk, now()) and any subsequent week by doing a +1, +2, +3.. etc.
Write a query expression . Click onto fx beside dataset query space and write the select query for your program embedding parameter values in the expression window. For eg ="Select SKU, [" & Parameter!CurrWk.Value & "] as Wk1,
[" & Parameter!CurrWk.Value & "] as Wk1 from Sales_Table"
Before passing this query as a 'command text expression' please ensure this query is working in sql ssms.
Save the expression. Now find 'Fields' tab on the left hand side panel.You need to map the fields manually from the query here. If this is not done, there is a very high chance you seean empty field list and wont be able to access them at all. This may be because ssrs do not store query metadata directly from expressions.
You can avoid part of the issue by having atleast the static fields , for example here SKU listed in the 'Fields' list by first running a sql query with static field(select SKU from Sales_Table ). You can then go back to update dataset- change query to expression and embed the parameterized field names.
Map field names. In this example I chose 'Query Type' fields and set Field names as SKU, CurrentWeek, NextWeek and mapped to source SKU, Wk and Wk1 respectively.
Click on 'Refresh Fields' at the bottom. Now you have a dataset with the complete field list. Use these in charts, tables . Run it every week and note the numbers changing as expected.
In case you are using this dataset in a table, make sure you set headers with Labels of Parameters (for eg here I did =Parameters!CurrWk.Label for col with current week data)
That's it!

SSRS chart series labels: Field!axisfield.Value not current value

I am trying to dynamically format the labels on my SSRS charts based on the underlying value. I'm trying to do this in two scenarios, one to format dates as ordinals and another to choose the appropriate number of decimal places based on actual values present. However, when I use the expression editor with an expression something like this...
=IIF(MAX(ABS(Fields![axisfield].Value))<2, "0.0%","0%")
...the Fields![axisfield].Value is always returning the first value from the dataset, meaning, in this example, if the first value is less than two, the labels will be formatted with one decimal place, even if it is the only one less than two. (So the 'MAX' function is essentially irrelevant.)
That example is attempting to set the overall formatting based on the largest data point in the series, in this next one I'm trying to format each label separately to get Ordinal dates (i.e. 1st, 2nd, etc, and yes, this formula is incomplete: it doesn't need to be to illustrate the problem):
="dd"+IIF(DatePart("d", Fields!date.Value)=1,"\s\t"
,IIF(DatePart("d", Fields!date.Value)=2,"\n\d"
,IIF(DatePart("d", Fields!date.Value)=3,"\r\d"
,"\t\h")))
This will give 1st, 2st, 3st and so on, as the first row in the dataset is for the first.
So, my question is, how do I get round this and, in the first example get the true maximum, and in the second reference the actual value being formatted?
Thanks!
I've had the same issues with using custom functions for setting label visibility. (see my entry for this: How to Display Only 1 Value Label in SSRS 2012 Calculated/Derived Series? )
I believe the issue is that data and fields are bound to the underlying data series but are not bound and accessible within the label itself.
You should be able to set the formatting in the function for the series data itself (as in the 2nd example) and then just set data labels, which will use the underlying series field value. An example with your data might be something like the following, which returns the values with the format:
="dd"+IIF(DatePart("d", Fields!date.Value)=1,Format(Fields!date.Value, "\s\t")
,IIF(DatePart("d", Fields!date.Value)=2,Format(Fields!date.Value,"\n\d")
,IIF(DatePart("d", Fields!date.Value)=3,Format(Fields!date.Value, "\r\d")
,Format(Fields!date.Value,"\t\h"))))
In the first example, you can get the max value to referring to the Dataset, as opposed to the field. Your code would then be:
=IIF(ABS(MAX(Fields![axisfield].Value, "YourDatasetName"))<2, "0.0%","0%")
(I changed the order of operations for Abs and Max because you have to use an aggregate function when referring to the whole dataset. Only then can you refer to the specific value.)

SSRS Multi Value Parameter. Check whether "Select All" is selected

I have a multi value parameter in my SSRS Report. I want to find out whether (Select All) is checked in that parameter.
In other words, whether all the values in the parameter are checked or only some values are checked.
Is it possible?
I am able to find out number of selected values through Parameters!Parameter.Count. Is there a way to find out total of items in that parameter?
In case anyone is still having issues doing this, I just coded this easy fix.
=IIF(COUNTROWS("dataset").Equals(Parameters!parameter.Count),"it is equal","this is not equal")
For the specific use-case of showing the selected filter on your report in a textbox, here's the expression that will show "All" if "(Select All)" is selected, otherwise it will show all the selected values as a comma-separated list:
=IIF(
Parameters!YourMultivalueParam.Count = countrows("YourDataset"),
"All",
Join(Parameters!YourMultivalueParam.Label,", ")
)
(split onto multiple lines for readability)
countrows reference: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd255215.aspx
Credit to other answers, just want to extend them for this common scenario.
Your approach sounds good: I would make the options for the parameter come from a dataset.
Then you can use =COUNTROWS("DataSetName") to return the total number of options for your parameter and compare this with Parameters!*Parameter*.Count as you suggest.
I also faced this problem and I solved it this way.
I have one multivalued parameter named "Carrier". Then I have added one parameter "CarrierHidden" which is same as "Carrier" only thing is I made its Visibility as Hidden.
="Carrier=" & Switch(Parameters!CarrierHidden.Count = Parameters!Carrier.Count, "All",
Parameters!Carrier.Count > 1 And Parameters!CarrierHidden.Count > Parameters!Carrier.Count, "Multi",
Parameters!Carrier.Count = 1, Parameters!Carrier.Label(0))
The easy way will be to count the number of the selected parameters and compare them to the dataset
=IIF(Parameters!company_number.Count = CountRows("Dataset1"), True, False)
The problem is if you're trying to pull something for another data set then cross referencing the row count in another dataset won't work. You will have to go with what the previous post states. Create an internal parameter of the exact type and assign the default value to the entire dataset. That way you have the max count of the rows since the hidden parameter.count = rowscount. That way you can use it within another dataset also provided that dataset is AFTER the first one is populated.
According to Microsoft's SSRS help search:
=Parameters!<ParameterName>.Count
Returns the integer value 1. For a single-value parameter, the count is always 1.
I verified this does indeed work, check the integer returned for the built-in parameter count field.
Allow multiple values on a parameter selection. Checking the value of the above field will let you know how many values the user actually chose.
In my situation, I allow multiple values on company number. This gives users the ability to choose one company to report on or several at once. Per client request, if they choose more than one, display data horizontally. If only one company is chosen in the parameter list, show the data vertically and hide the other tablix.
So my visibility show or hide expression looks like this in the one tablix:
=IIF(Parameters!company_number.Count > 1, True, False)
and like this in the other:
=IIF(Parameters!company_number.Count = 1,True,False)

SSRS: Get values from a particular row of DataSet?

My dataset currently has 12 rows of data. Each representing data for a month. I would like to have variance of a column between to rows, the rows being last & last but one i.e., latest month and previous month's data.
It could have been simple if I were to work on tablix but thats not the case. I want those values for a textbox.
Any ideas on it anyone?
I hope you are using SSRS 2008R2:
R2 introduced the Lookup function that is perfect for this scenario.
=Lookup( Fields!ProductUID.Value ,Fields!ProductID.Value,Fields!Price.Value,"PriceDataSet")
The Lookup function above will evaluate the first parameter ("Fields!ProductUID.Value") in the current dataset, then look for a matching value in the field specified in the second parameter ("Fields!ProductID.Value") in the dataset specified in the fourth parameter. The value of the third parameter is then evaluated in that row of the dataset and returned.
A little convoluted, but very helpful.
In your case, you can use this in a textbox with a calculated a static number:
=Lookup(
Month(DateAdd(DateInterval.Month, -1, GetDate())),
Fields!MonthID.Value,
Fields!Name.Value,
"DataSet1")
This should calculate a number for last month, then look for a match in DataSet1.
In this example I have a tablix with Statecode and name as below
enter image description here
Suppose you want to display the name of state of CA, write an expression as -
=Lookup(
"CA" ,
Fields!StateCode.Value,
Fields!StateName.Value,
"ReportData"
)
This will return 'California' in the text box
I ran across this post while trying to solve a similar problem but with columns of double data type. Not sure why but SSRS did not want to return my first row using LOOKUP in combination with ROW_NUMBER in SQL(If someone can solve that all the better). I ended up using a SUM(IIF) instead. Hopefully, this is useful for someone else.
=Sum(IIF(Fields!RowNum.Value=1,CDBL(Fields!MyNumericColumn.Value),CDBL(0)))
Note: If SSRS complains about data types, just cast both parts of the IIF to the desired data type.