Message-ID: <1699165747.7745.1711620060385.JavaMail.web05$@web05> Subject: Exported From Confluence MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="----=_Part_7744_1704084077.1711620060385" ------=_Part_7744_1704084077.1711620060385 Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: file:///C:/exported.html How OfficeWriter SSRS Integration works

How OfficeWriter SSRS Integration works

What is = SSRS?

SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) is Microsoft's reporting pla= tform. It allows users to design reports with data sets tied to different d= ata sources (e.g. SQL data bases, SharePoint lists). This is done with a ty= pe of XML file: RDL (Report Definition Language). SSRS RDL files can be exp= orted to different file formats using the Reporting Services rendering exte= nsions (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 a= nd feel of the report. Reports are typically designed in Visual Studio or w= ith Report Builder.

For more information about SSRS, please refer to this MSDN article.

OfficeWriter SSRS Integration Components

OfficeWriter fits into SSRS with two parts:

Component Description

OfficeWriter Renderer

  • Server-side rendering extensions for Excel and Word

  • Provides Excel and Word features beyond the built in SSRS Export opt= ions

OfficeWriter Designer
  • A client-side Add-In for Excel and Word

  • Used for designing reports that will use the OfficeWriter rendering = extensions

How does the OfficeWriter  SSRS Integration Work?

Designing a Report

The RDL file contains information about connecting to data sources, quer= ies, as well as report design information. The OfficeWriter Designe= r adds its own data and design information to the report, whi= ch will be used by the OfficeWriter Renderer to expor= t the report. The Designer sections off a part of the RDL for storing this = information separately from the rest of the RDL file. In particular, the De= signer saves a binary copy of the Excel or Word template file to the RDL an= d information about binding the report data to that Excel or Word template = file.

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If a report needs to be exported to both Excel and Word, then you will n= eed to design the Excel portion of the report in Excel, and separately desi= gn the Word portion of the report in Word.

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Exporting a Report

 

When the report is exported using the Renderer, Reporting Services retri= eves the data from the queries and data source locations stored in the RDL.= It passes this data along to whichever renderer was selected for exporting= the report.

 

The OfficeWriter Renderer loads the copy of the Excel or Word template f= ile and binds the data from Reporting Services to the template. The Rendere= r is actually using ExcelTemplate or WordTemplate to bind the dat= a to produce the output.

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If you want to export a report to one of the default rendering extension= s, you will need to design a layout for the report in Visual Studio or Repo= rt Builder because the report designed in Excel or Word for OfficeWriter wi= ll only be available to the corresponding OfficeWriter renderer.

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Why use the OfficeWriter Integrati= on?

 

The default renderering extensions for Reporting Services deliver flat, = static output. In order to render for multiple extensions such as HTML and = PDF, the basic report design cannot accomodate specific features, such as m= ultiple worksheets in Excel. This also means that certain features like cha= rts cannot be dynamic in the output because not all the rendering extension= s support Excel charts, so charts are exported as images. Also, until SSRS = 2008 R2, there wasn't a default rendering extension for Word.

 

Using OfficeWriter for Reporting Services allows end-users to Design rep= orts in Excel and Word and make use of many specific features in those appl= ications.

 

Interested? Learn more about OfficeWriter for SQL Server Reporting Services!


 

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