sql server reporting services: Hi,

I am a newbie to SQL Reporting Services. I am trying to evaluate whether to
use SQL reporting services as opposed to crystal reports. I want to create
paper based reports as well as web based reports. Is it fair to say that
SQL Reporting Services focuses more on web based reports than on paper based
reports? I know that it can export reports in an Excel and PDF format but
that seems to be the full extent of true paper based reporting. Am I
missing something? Will there be more support for paper based reports in
the future?

Thanks,

Vaughn

Depends on what you mean by paper based reports. RS is a format independent
reporting solution. The report is specified via the RDL (if you look at the
RDL it is an xml file). The report definition says how the data should be
formated. How it is formated (rendered) depends on what you ask RS to do.
The default is HTML but that is just the default and really it is just one
of the rendering formats. When you see the export all that is happening is
RS is being asked to run the report but using a different rendering format.
PDF is the format that is used for printing today. With SP2 there will be a
print button on the toolbar which will provide client side printing so you
do not have to go through exporting. My guess (only a guess, no inside
knowledge) is that we will see SP2 sometime first quarter next year.

One thing that I do consider paper based that they do not yet handle well is
the whole issue of labels. For instance being able to easily design a report
for particular labels. In MS Access they have a wizard for this. The wizard
really doesn't do anything that couldn't be done in the GUI designer but it
makes it very easy to do so. It would be nice to have something like this in
RS.

--
Bruce Loehle-Conger
MVP SQL Server Reporting Services

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