sql server reporting services: I think I am confusing people with my requests. Let me boil it down to this.

I have 19 steps that I want to list on the far left column of the matrix
report. Along the top I want to list all the items in my database that are
currently at one of these steps. Some steps will not have any items, others
will have multiple items. How can I list all 19 steps and then fill in the
items for those steps?

[quoted text, click to view]

if your data is grouped properly, and you ensure you get at least one
row for the empty steps (ie use a left-outer join) then this should
just be a matter of grouping the rows by step, then item.

you will need a table (or function) that lists the 19 steps, then your
query should look something like:

select ps.step_name, di.item_name
from possible_steps ps
left outer join database_items di
on si.step_id = ps.step_id

Then add a row groupings in the matrix for Step_name and Item Name.