Improvements in Designing
Although the report builder facilitates easy building of reports, the Report Designer that runs from Visual Studio continues to remain a favorite. Another important tool is the Expression Editor as shown in the figure below. It includes a list of useful functions for designing reports, and IntelliSense features like inline parameter information, real time syntax checking and statement completion.
Report Management
Query Building
The inclusion of an integrated query designer in Visual Studio Report Designer for SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services (SSAS) makes query building easier. This tool enables the construction and preview of queries in a drag and drop environment including options to filter and parameterize MDX queries.
SQL Server Management Studio
A good alternative to using the Web-based report manager for configuring and managing reports is the SQL Server Management Studio. It provides a comprehensive management system for all SQL server components.
