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Overview

Benefits of OfficeWriter Designer .NET

  • platform support
  • stability
  • RDL robustness
  • better parameter support in view

Limitations of Designer .NET

  • Shared data sources
  • Reporting formulas
  • Word
  • Report Models
  • SharePoint
  • Backwards compatibility with OfficeWriter Reporting Services formulas
  • Query builder
  • Backwards compatibility with RDLs created from MS Query integration

Details

Platform

Feature

OfficeWriter Designer .NET

OfficeWriter Designer

Office 2007

Excel 2007 (up through SP3)

Excel and Word 2007 SP2 or SP3

Office 2010

Excel 2010 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Excel and Word 2010 (32-bit only) SP1

Office 2013

Excel 2013 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Excel and Word 2013 (32-bit only)

System requirements

.NET 4.0 or higher \Visual Studio Tools for Office runtime (VSTO)

Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) \MS Query \Latest Microsoft service pack \Security Bulletain MS-012-060

SQL Server Reporting Services Version

Feature

OfficeWriter Designer .NET

OfficeWriter Designer

SSRS 2005

Not supported

RDLs created in VS 2005 supported.

SSRS 2008 (R2)

RDLs created in Visual Studio 2008/2010, Report Builder 3.0

RDLs created in Visual Studio 2008/2010, Report Builder 3.0

SSRS 2012

RDLs  created in Visual Studio 2010/2012, Report Builder 3.0

RDLs created in Visual Studio 2010/2012, Report Builder 3.0

Basic Designer Functionality

Feature

OfficeWriter Designer .NET

OfficeWriter Designer

Open a report (server/disk)

Prevents users from opening multiple reports at once

Users can open multiple reports at once which often corrupts reports

Save a report (server/disk)

Defaults to XLSX. Remembers last-saved file format.

Defaults to XLS for each save. Does not remember last-saved file format.

View

  • Does not require an RDL to be open in the Designer .NET to view
  • Supports selecting multiple values and cascading parameters in addition to basic parameters
  • Requires an RDL to be open in the Designer to view a particular report * Supports basic parameters

Import a template

Supported

Supported in Excel and Word

Report properties

Available in the toolbar

Can only be edited when saving to disk

Insert data place holders based on data sets

Supports inserting data markers (Excel) \\\

Supports inserting data markers (Excel), merge fields (Word) and defining repeat blocks (Word)

Native query builder

Not currently supported

Available through MS Query integration

Report Robustness

Feature

OfficeWriter Designer .NET

OfficeWriter Designer

Datasets

Add, remove, rename without corrupting the file

Data sets may be added. Any other operations may cause the report (RDL) to become corrupt.

Fields in data sets

Add, remove, rename without corrupting the file

Fields may be added. Any other operations may cause the report (RDL) to become corrupt.

SQL Server Reporting Services RDL Features

Feature

OfficeWriter Designer .NET

OfficeWriter Designer

Shared data sources

Fully supports RDLs that store absolute paths to shared data sources (i.e. RDLs created in Report Builder 3.0). Does not currently handle RDLs that only store data source name (i.e. RDLs created in Visual Studio)

Correctly handles shared data sources with absolute and relative paths stored in the RDL

Report Models

Not currently supported

Supported

Formulas/expressions defined in Visual Studio or Report Builder

Not currently supported

Not currently supported. * 
OfficeWriter Designer provides a limited set of similar formulas that are exclusively visible in the Designer. 
See Backwards Compatibility for OfficeWriter Reporting Services formulas for more information.

SHAREPOINT

 

 

Open from a report library

Not currently supported

SharePoint 2007 supported

Save to a report library

Not currently supported

SharePoint 2007 supported

Backwards Compatibility with OfficeWriter Designer files

Feature

OfficeWriter Designer .NET

OfficeWriter Designer

RDLs with OfficeWriter Reporting Services formulas

Formulas will be preserved. Reports that have formula data markers will still populate the formulas. Formulas are not accessible for adding, removing, or modifying in Designer .NET

N/A

RDLs with Word templates from OfficeWriter Designer

Fully backwards compatible.

N/A

RDLs with Excel templates from OfficeWriter Designer

Fully backwards compatible.

N/A

RDLs created from MS Query integration in the OfficeWriter Designer

Not currently supported.

N/A

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