Getting started with Report Builder 3.0 – Report Parts

Report Builder 3.0 supports SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services and is a separate MSI file for download - Report Builder 3.0 download

One of the new features of Report Builder 3.0 is to create, publish and reuse the report parts. Report parts are the items stored on report server. You can even store them on a SharePoint server. Each report part created and stored has a unique id associated with it. With this functionality, one person can create some report item and keep it on server, which can be used by the other person in her/his report. The item can be a chart, image, table, matrix etc. After creating a report part, it can be changed by the creator or any other person depending upon the permissions available.

Publish Report Parts

Once the unique id is created for a report part, report server always uses the same id even though the report part is changed or replaced later. The dataset also gets saved along with the report part when you publish the report part on server. Off course, a dataset can be saved as a shared dataset.

You can publish the report parts with the default settings in a default location.

The default location is Report Parts folder on the Report Server. While publishing a report part, you must be connected to the server. If you are not already connected, it will prompt for server name.

It is a good practice to give proper name and description for the report part so that other people can easily find the required item.

An already created report part can be reused in other report. You can add multiple report parts at a time. Each time you open a report, Report Builder checks to see if any published report part has been updated or not and displays the following screen:

You can decide which report parts you need to update or reject. After accepting, the previous part will be replaced by the new one. You can also publish a report item as a new one instead of updating the existing one.

The check for updates can be turned off in the following manner. Click Options > Settings tab and clear Show updated to report parts in my report.

The above screen also shows the default folder taken for report parts.