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How to: Add, Change, or Delete Available Values for a Report Parameter (Report Builder 3.0 and SSRS)

After you create a report parameter, you can specify a list of available values to display to the user. An available values list limits the choices a user can make to only valid values for the parameter.

Available values appear in a drop-down list next to the report parameter on the toolbar when the report runs. Report parameters can represent one value or multiple values. For multiple values, the top of list begins with a Select All feature so the user can select or clear all values with a single click.

You can provide a static list of values or a list from a report dataset. You can optionally provide a friendly name for values by specifying a label field. For example, for a parameter based on a ProductID field, you can display the ProductName field in the parameter label. When the report runs, the user can choose from the product names, but the actual chosen value is the corresponding ProductID.

Note

You can create and modify report definitions (.rdl) in Report Builder 3.0 and in Report Designer in Business Intelligence Development Studio. Each authoring environment provides different ways to create, open, and save reports and related items. For more information, see Designing Reports in Report Designer and Report Builder 3.0 (SSRS) on the Web at microsoft.com.

After you publish a report, you can change the available values property for a parameter. For more information, see "Setting Parameter Properties for a Published Report" in the Reporting Services documentation in SQL Server Books Online.

To add or change the available values for a report parameter

  1. In the Report Data pane, expand the Parameters node. Right-click the parameter and click Parameter Properties. The Report Parameter Properties dialog box opens.

  2. Click Available Values. Select an available values option:

    • Click Specify values to manually provide a list of values, and optionally, friendly names (the labels) for the values.

      Click Add and then enter the value in the Value text box, and optionally, the label in the Label text box. If you do not provide a label, the value is used.

      Repeat this step for as many values as you want to provide. The order of items you see in this list determines the order that the user sees them in the drop-down list. To change the order of an item in the list, click a Value or Label text box to select the item, and then use the up and down arrow buttons to move the item higher or lower in the list.

    • Click Get values from a query to provide the name of an existing dataset that retrieves the values, and optionally, the friendly names for this parameter.

      In Dataset, choose the name of the dataset.

      In Value field, choose the name of the field that provides parameter values.

      In Label field, choose the name of the field that provides the friendly names for the parameter. If there is no separate field for friendly names, choose the same field as you chose for the Value field.

  3. Click OK. 

    When you preview the report, you see a drop-down list of available values for the parameter.

To remove the available values for a report parameter

  1. In the Report Data pane, expand the Parameters node. Right-click the parameter and click Parameter Properties. The Report Parameters dialog box opens.

  2. Click Available Values.

  3. In Select from one of the following options, click None.

  4. Click OK. 

    When you preview the report, you the drop-down list of available values for the parameter no longer appears.