The renderer runs on the Reporting Services server.

The renderer interprets the template information that was added to the RDL file with the OfficeWriter Designer and populates the template with data supplied by Reporting Services.

Using Reporting Services without OfficeWriter, the report designer uses a tool such as Visual Studio to design queries, specify data sources, and generate an RDL file that will be published on the Reporting Services server. Since Visual Studio is a development tool, designing a report likely requires a developer. Using OfficeWriter Reporting Service Integration, two workflow options exist:

The OfficeWriter Designer is a toolbar add-in for Microsoft Excel and Word.

It allows the user to design a report template in Excel or Word instead of Visual Studio. The template is then integrated into the Reporting Services xml-based Report Definition File (RDL) format for publishing on the reporting server.