Creating a SSRS Report in Visual Studio 2019: A Comprehensive Guide

SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) is a server-based reporting platform that allows users to create, manage, and deliver a wide range of reports efficiently. These reports can be created in multiple formats, including PDF, Excel, and HTML, and can be deployed on the web or with desktop applications. With the release of Visual Studio 2019, Microsoft introduced a brand-new set of tools that can be used to create, edit, and deploy SSRS reports. If you’re new to SSRS or visual studio, in this article, we’ll guide you through the process of creating and deploying your first SSRS report using Visual Studio 2019.

Prerequisites

Before we dive into creating our first SSRS report, there are a few prerequisites you must have.

• An instance of SQL Server Reporting Services
• An instance of Visual Studio 2019
• Basic understanding of T-SQL
• Basic understanding of SQL Server Reporting Services

Step 1: Creating the Project

The first step in creating an SSRS report in Visual Studio 2019 is to create a new reporting project. To do this, you should follow these steps:

1. Open Visual Studio and click on “Create a New Project” from the startup page.
2. Navigate to “Reporting” under Templates from the pop-up window that appears.
3. Select “Report Server Project Wizard” and click on “Next” to continue.
4. Provide a name for your project and a location where you want to save it.
5. Click on “Next” and select the data source that you want to use for your report.
6. Enter the credentials required to connect to the data source.
7. Click on “Test Connection” to verify the connection.
8. Click on “Next” to create a shared data source for your project.
9. Choose the “Native” option and click “Next.”
10. Enter a name for your data source and provide the connection string for your database.
11. Click on “Create” to finish creating your project.

Step 2: Designing the Report

Once you’ve successfully created your project, you can now start designing your report. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open the “Solution Explorer” window in Visual Studio and right-click on the “Reports” folder.
2. Select “Add New Report” to open the “Report Wizard.”
3. Choose the type of report you want to create from the options available, such as tabular, matrix, or chart.
4. Select the data source that you want to use for your report.
5. Enter the T-SQL query that you want to run to fetch the data for your report.
6. Click on “Next” to design the layout of the report.
7. Select the columns that you want to display in your report.
8. Click on “Next” and customize the grouping and sorting options as needed.
9. Click on “Finish” to finish designing your report.

Step 3: Deploying the Report

Once you’ve designed your report, you can deploy it to the report server so that users can access it. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the project and select “Properties.”
2. Navigate to the “Deployment” tab and enter the report server URL, target folder, and login credentials.
3. Click on “Deploy” to deploy your report to the report server.
4. Once the deployment is complete, you can access the report from the report server URL that you specified in the previous step.

Conclusion

In summary, creating and deploying SSRS reports within Visual Studio 2019 is a straightforward process. With a basic understanding of the underlying concepts and following the above steps, you can quickly create your first report within a few minutes. With Reporting Services, you can create and distribute your reports in a wide range of formats, making it a powerful tool for any organization that wants to improve its reporting abilities. So, next time you need to create an SSRS report, follow these simple steps, and you’ll be on your way to creating highly effective reports in no time!