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I have not seen this one yet, so I am hoping one of you can help me out here.

I am in VS 2013, have a Report Server solution going, and when I click Add New Report, it opens up a report in VS. I can use the query designer to add fields and such, but once I "finish" that wizard, I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to get back into the wizard.

The reason I ask is because right now, if I want to simply add a field, I need to alter the query, alter the XML, and hope for the best. Ideally, I'd just be able to pop back into the Wizard to grab the fields (and their aliases), and then use the designer view to actually manipulate my tables.

Any ideas? Or am I stuck re-creating the report every time I need to add a field?

Sorry if anything is unclear - this is literally my first day using VS to write reports, and honestly, I Feel pretty good so far!

Thanks!

Brian Frick
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Use SQL Server Data Tools. Its very easy to use and will allow you to create and enhance your reports. Here is a link to it: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt204009.aspx

benjamin moskovits
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  • Thanks for that. I *think* I have downloaded and installed SSDT (I didn't have 'report server' as an option for my solution before I did this). WHat is the way to get back into the GUI editor on an existing report? NOT the design view - the GUI that allows you to add tables/choose fields, etc. – Brian Frick Nov 14 '16 at 21:10
  • Looks like at this time, my best bet is to just use the Visual designer in SQL Server Management Studio to build my queries, then pull them in to a new report wizard within VS. Not ideal, but it is what it is. The big draw back I see here, is if a client wants me to edit an existing report, I may run into some trouble as I will have to manually re-create everything to update the report. – Brian Frick Nov 15 '16 at 14:21
  • I created a report and its a rdlc (its a SSRS report) and if you want to revise the report click on it in Solution Explorer. The report is called (by default unless you name it) report1.rdlc. – benjamin moskovits Nov 15 '16 at 18:22
  • From there I can edit the XML or the layout of the table, but I cannot directly alter the query (outside of XML, where I know I can edit the query). The problem with that is that if I want to add a new field to the query, I also have to manually re-create the XML portions to make sure the report sees the fields. I seem to run into errors if I just alter the query in XML, then change the report design. The references are not complete to the new variables I put in. So really, what I need, is to be able to get back into the 'Report Wizard' which lets you pick tables/fields graphically – Brian Frick Nov 15 '16 at 21:30
  • I could not do it either. I tried importing the report into Data Tools and tried renaming the report as a rdl type file. All you have is (for a data source) is a cement like Dataset. I can only encourage you to create reports in Data Tools and you will have lots of flexibility to change queries/columns/datasources as your requirements evolve. – benjamin moskovits Nov 16 '16 at 17:09
  • Thanks Benjamin. Could you explain what you mean when you say to create my reports in Data Tools? Is that an add-on to Visual Studio, or SQL Server Management Studio? Or is it a standalone app? I have installed SSDT, but as far as I can tell, that is simply an add on to Visual Studio which includes some features for report writing. – Brian Frick Nov 18 '16 at 15:09
  • Maybe another way to ask this question would be... If I want to add tables, fields, etc to my query, can I edit the XML to alter the query, and then somehow re-generate (automatically) the XML to go along with the new report? I think that is my biggest issue really, I do not want to manually create all of the XML in the file, but I want to be able to edit the existing tables and queries, while keeping most of the work in the 'visual' arena rather than the code side. – Brian Frick Nov 18 '16 at 15:10
  • You can edit the XML but 1) Its very painful to get it right 2) Once you do it (edit XML) its likely you can never use tools or you will lose your edits. SSDT replaced BIDS both of which are development environments that come with SQL Server to build Reports (SSRS), ETL packages (SSIS) and BI projects (SSAS). Its pretty much Visual Studio customized for the above packages. You can get it free here: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt204009.aspx The only time I have edited SSRS packages (the XML) is when I had data connections (which is not exactly what you are dealing with) . – benjamin moskovits Nov 28 '16 at 18:23
  • I *think* I have figured it out over the past couple of weeks. Basically, I can edit the query all I want, but I have to refresh the fields in the Data Set, as well as "Rebuild Solution" to make sure the XML is built properly. A little confusing, but I think I am at a point where I can use the report wizard to start a report, and then alter it as I go to make it better. Thanks to all for the comments! – Brian Frick Nov 30 '16 at 16:59
  • If you feel that my answer/comments were of use you can vote on my answer. – benjamin moskovits Dec 01 '16 at 15:30