SRS SP2

I recently downloaded and installed SQL Reporting Services SP2. This is a much anticipated release because it fills some holes in the original release.

One of the most glaring weaknesses of SQL Reporting Services involves printing. I can navigate to a Report Server, select a report and display it. But if I want to print it, I have to export it to another format, open it in that format’s tool, then print. There is no “Print” button on the screen when viewing the report.

I’m glad to report that there is now a little picture of a printer on the screen when viewing a report, and the print functionality worked great in my tests.

The other new feature that I’ve tested is the SRS web parts. These web parts can be dropped into a SharePoint Site allowing you to view reports from a SharePoint web part page. I tried them out, and they work great. There are two web parts: Report Explorer and Report Viewer. The explorer can be pointed to a Report Server and it will display all folders and reports available on that server. Select a report, and the report will be shown in the Report View part. This is accomplished by setting the connections between the two web parts. It’s very easy to set up, and the results are very slick.