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Getting Started with Report Builder 2.0

Report Builder 2.0 is a report authoring tool that you can use to design and publish your own reports. When you design a report, you specify where to get the data, which data to get, and how to display the data. When you run the report, the report processor takes all the information you have specified, retrieves the data and combines it with the report layout to generate each page as you view it. You can view your reports from within the Report Builder 2.0 tool, or you can publish your report to a report server where others can run it.

Sample report from the AdventureWorks database

Sample of a report from the AdventureWorks 2008 sample database. Your system administrator can download the sample databases for you to use.

Using Report Builder 2.0, you can:

  • Create reports with tables, matrices, charts, or free-form areas. Start designing your report by using the Table, Matrix, or Chart Wizard. Choose a data source connection, drag and drop fields to create a dataset query, select a layout and style, and customize your report any way you want.

  • Modify your data by filtering, grouping and sorting data, or by adding formulas or expressions.

  • Change the appearance of your report by adding text boxes, images, or conditional formatting.

  • Add interactive features, such as interactive sorting, drillthrough reports, and toggling the visibility of report items.

  • Run the report to preview your changes. Toggle between design view and preview.

  • Save the report to your computer or to the report server, where you can manage it and share it with others.

Note

To access the report server, you must have adequate permissions. If you need permissions, contact your report server administrator.

  • Export the report as a different file type, such as a TIFF, PDF, Excel, Word, or HTML file.

In This Section

These sections of the documentation provide in-depth conceptual information about Report Builder 2.0 and Reporting Services, as well as procedural information about how to design, customize, and use Report Builder reports.