Design an SSRS data bar report using a table in Bold Reports®

To design a Data bar report in the Bold Reports® Web Report Designer, create a dataset, add a table report item, and place a data bar in a table column. The finished report shows the difference in sales between product subcategories.

How do I create the dataset?

The Bold Reports® Data bar report in this example uses the following dataset query.

SELECT PC.Name AS ProdCat, PS.Name AS SubCat, DATEPART(yy, SOH.OrderDate) AS OrderYear, 'Q' + DATENAME(qq, SOH.OrderDate) AS OrderQtr,SUM(SOD.UnitPrice * SOD.OrderQty) AS Sales
FROM Production.ProductSubcategory PS INNER JOIN
Sales.SalesOrderHeader SOH INNER JOIN
Sales.SalesOrderDetail SOD ON SOH.SalesOrderID = SOD.SalesOrderID INNER JOIN
Production.Product P ON SOD.ProductID = P.ProductID ON PS.ProductSubcategoryID = P.ProductSubcategoryID INNER JOIN
Production.ProductCategory PC ON PS.ProductCategoryID = PC.ProductCategoryID
GROUP BY DATEPART(yy, SOH.OrderDate), PC.Name, PS.Name, 'Q' + DATENAME(qq, SOH.OrderDate), PS.ProductSubcategoryID

To create the dataset with this query, see Create an embedded dataset. This example uses the AdventuresWorks database.

How do I add the data bar report item to a table?

You add a data bar to a table cell in the Bold Reports® Web Report Designer after you set up the table and its groups.

  1. Drag and drop the table report item to the design area. Data bar item in item panel

  2. Assign a dataset to the table. Assign dataset to table

  3. Create a simple table design with two columns, as shown in the following image. Table report design

  4. Click Details group in the Row Groups pane. The properties panel lists the respective tablix member properties. Group properties

  5. Click the Set Groups... button in the properties panel. The Grouping dialog opens. Group dialog

  6. Click the Add button, select SubCat, and click OK. Group data in table

  7. Select the Sales text box and assign an expression with the data assign menu. Use the expression =Sum(Fields!Sales.Value) in the cell. Sum sales value

  8. Format the numbers produced by the Sales field with the Format property. Set '$'#,0;('$'#,0) as the value of the format property field. Format textbox value

  9. Add a column to the right and name it Sales Indicator. Add column in table

  10. Drag and drop the data bar report item into the last cell of the table. Add data bar report item

    The following image shows the resulting report design.

    Basic design of data bar report

Cannot insert a data bar into a detail cell. Detail members can only contain the static inner members.

How do I assign data to the data bar?

You assign data to a Bold Reports® data bar in the DATA tab of the properties panel.

  1. Select the cell that contains the data bar report item and switch to the DATA tab in the properties panel. Assign data to chart
  2. Drag and drop the Sales field into the Y-Values section. Add series to data bar

How do I configure the data bar properties?

You configure the Bold Reports® data bar series and data labels in the PROPERTIES tab of the properties panel.

  1. Switch to the PROPERTIES tab in the properties panel.
  2. Choose the Sales series in the Choose Series dropdown. Choose series in chart
  3. Click the edit icon to open the series properties. Series properties
  4. Under the data label settings category, enable the Data Label property checkbox. Chart data label
  5. Format the numbers produced by the Data labels with the Format property. Set '$'#,0;('$'#,0) as the value in the format property field. Format datalabel value
  6. Change the background color and font styles of the table cells to improve the report design, as shown in the following image. Format table design

To style the table cell, see Cell Properties.

What does the data bar report look like in preview?

The Bold Reports® data bar report preview displays the difference in sales between each product category, as shown in the following image.

Data bar RDL report preview

Download the data bar report design (RDL) from GitHub

Frequently asked questions

Can I insert a data bar into a table detail cell?

No. You cannot insert a data bar into a detail cell, because detail members can only contain static inner members. Group the details first, as this example does with SubCat.

How do I show currency values on the data bar?

Enable the Data Label property in the series properties. Then, set '$'#,0;('$'#,0) in the Format property field.

See also