How to add a column grouping in a tablix?

Question

I am developing a tablix in SSRS 2008 R2 and am trying to add a dynamic column. This column has four possible values: Quarter 1,2,3,4. Beneath each of these columns I want 2 child columns: Count and %.

So I added a column to my tablix and placed expressions in each of the rows. I did not yet add the child columns because it was giving me errors. So I am just trying to get the Quarter columns to work. So I grouped this Quarter column on my Quarter field value. And I also sorted this column on this same value. There are no filters set on the column group. Yet, I got this error when I tried to view my RDL:

rsinvalidtablixcellcolspan

So then I changed the ColSpan = 1 (from = 2) to every ColSpan in the XML that I found. But then when I built my RDL I got this error:

rscellcontentsrequired

So this is the latest error I have. How do I add a dynamic column grouping that will group on Quarter? This should be something simple I know, but the Microsoft documentation I have seen is lacking on this subject. And if u can recommend any tutorials that would be super also!

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 13 '12 at 02:17

0

Working with groups in SSRS can be a headache. Here are my tips to success when working with something more complex than a basic header/details tablix.

Rules of SSRS

Test every change you make before making an additional change. This ensures that you identify breaking changes immediately and explicitly. You've added a column grouping, and then added nested columns underneath the group and you can't identify where the problem is occurring. Delete the nested columns and go back to the simple grouped column to ensure it is working properly. Once working, experiment with nested columns.
Don't edit the XML in the RDL directly. Changing any property - especially the non free-text properties - can cause chaos. Something evidently has a dependency on the ColSpan property you are changing, causing things to break.
Back up regularly! You can't always roll back to the last working version very easily.

answered Apr 13 '12 at 02:17

Kirk Broadhurst

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Thanks but I already followed these rules. I do have the original backup files, but the grouping isn't implemented in those files of course. – salvationishere Apr 13 '12 at 02:26
Why do you have `ColSpan=2` if you haven't added Child columns? – Kirk Broadhurst Apr 13 '12 at 04:07
See my description; I tried both ColSpan = 1 and = 2. But both produced the two errors displayed above. – salvationishere Apr 13 '12 at 13:18
Ultimately I do want the two Child columns, but as an intermediate step I just want the parent dynamic column. – salvationishere Apr 13 '12 at 13:19

How to add a column grouping in a tablix?

1 Answers1