.
What is SSRS?
SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) is Microsoft's reporting platform. It allows users to design reports with data sets tied to different data sources (e.g. SQL data bases, SharePoint lists). This is done with a type of XML file: RDL (Report Definition Language). SSRS RDL files can be exported to different file formats using the Reporting Services rendering extensions (Excel, Word, PDF, HTML etc.)
The RDL contains information about the data sources, data sets, queries, connection strings and more. It also contains information about the look and feel of the report. Reports are typically designed in Visual Studio or with Report Builder.
For more information about SSRS, please refer to this article.
OfficeWriter SSRS Integration Components
OfficeWriter fits in with SSRS on two fronts:
- OfficeWriter Renderer: Server-side rendering extensions for Excel and Word
- OfficeWriter Designer: The client-side Add-In for Excel and Word for designing reports for the OfficeWriter rendering extensions
How does the OfficeWriter SSRS Integration Work?
As mentioned earlier, the RDL file contains information about connecting to data sources, queries, as well as report design information. The OfficeWriter Designer adds its own data and design information to the report, which will be used by the OfficeWriter Renderer to export the report.
In particular, the Designer saves a binary copy of the Excel or Word template file to the RDL, in addition to information about binding the report data to that Excel or Word template file.
When the report is exported using the Renderer, Reporting Services generates the data sets from the data sources and queries in the RDL. Then the Renderer loads the copy of the Excel or Word template file and binds the data from Reporting Services to the template. The Renderer is actually using ExcelTemplate and WordTemplate to bind the data to produce the output.