- Report Server Web and Windows Service
- Programmatic Interfaces
- Report Processor
- Command-Line Utilities
- Reporting Services Extensions
- Report Server Databases
- Scheduling and Delivery Processor
- Report Builder NEW in 2005
- Report Model Designer NEW in 2005
- Report Designer
- Report Manager
- SQL Server Management Studio NEW in 2005
- Reporting Services Configuration Tool NEW in 2005
- RSPrintClient Control NEW in 2005
- Performance Monitoring Objects
- Summary
- WMI Provider
Report Designer
Report Designer is a developer-oriented, comprehensive report authoring, previewing, and publishing tool hosted in Business Intelligence Development Studio or Visual Studio.
To organize the report development process, Report Designer provides three tab views of a report: Data, Layout, and Preview.
The Data tab helps developers to define data sources and design data set queries. Report Designer provides three drag-and-drop graphical query designers to assist with SQL queries, Analysis Services Multidimensional Expressions (MDX query designer is a new feature of SSRS 2005), and Analysis Services Data Mining Expressions (DMX query designer is a new feature of SSRS 2005) .
The Layout tab helps developers to design graphical presentations of a report and associate graphical presentation with data. Report Designer provides a drag-and-drop layout designer and toolbox with reporting controls. Layout design is very similar to a user interface design that Visual Studio provides for Windows and web applications: You can drag and drop reporting controls to a report, arrange them as needed, set properties, and associate with data sets that were designed through the Data tab.
The Preview tab provides a preview for a report so developers can test and adjust the report as needed.
Report Designer provides the Report Wizard that takes developers through the guided steps to create a report. As such, the wizard provides a limited number of layouts to choose from, but a report developer can modify the layout as needed by using the Layout tab after the wizard's steps are completed.
Finally, Report Designer allows developers to build and deploy reports to SSRS.