Using Parameters to Connect to Other Reports (Report Builder 3.0 and SSRS)
You can use parameters to relate main reports to drillthrough reports, to subreports, and to linked reports. You can also specify a URL to a report that includes parameter values for report parameters and for URL parameters.
When you design a set of reports, you can design each report to answer certain questions. Each report can provide a different view or a different level of detail for related information. To provide a set of interrelated reports, create parameters for the related data on target reports.
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.
Drillthrough Reports
Drillthrough actions are set on the property pages for any text box for a report item, or on parts of a chart or gauge. How you set the name of the target report for the drillthrough action depends on whether you have an active connection to a report server. For more information, see Specifying Paths to External Items (Report Builder 3.0 and SSRS).
You can also use URL Access for any URL-addressable report and include report parameter values as part of the URL syntax. For more information, see URL Access.
Subreports
To set parameters for a subreport, use the Parameters page of the Subreport Properties dialog box. How you set the name of the target report for the drillthrough action depends on whether you have an active connection to a report server. For more information, see Specifying Paths to External Items (Report Builder 3.0 and SSRS).
Note
If you use a subreport in a tablix data region, the subreport and its parameters will be processed for every row. If there are many rows, consider whether a drillthrough report is more appropriate.
For more information, see How to: Add a Subreport and Parameters (Report Builder 3.0 and SSRS).
Linked Reports
After a report is published, you can create a linked report from the published report. A linked report can be thought of as a pointer to the main report, but with a separate set of parameters. After you create the linked report, open it in Report Manager and modify the parameters. For more information, see Setting Parameter Properties for a Published Report.
Because parameters are managed independently on the server, republishing a main report with new parameter settings does not overwrite the existing parameters settings for either the main report or the linked report. For more information, see How to: Create a Linked Report.
Specifying URL Parameters
For reports rendered in HTML, you can open a report at a specific page by passing a URL parameter value in the URL address when the report is opened via a URL. The following example opens the AdventureWorks2008 sample Product Catalog 2008 report to page 30:
https://localhost/reportserver?%2fAdventureWorks2008+Sample+Reports%2fProduct+Catalog+2008&rs:Command=Render&rc:Section=30
For more information, see Using URL Access Parameters and Passing a Report Parameter Within a URL.
See Also