SSRS Chart Expressions and Custom Labeling
By Tom Nonmacher
Welcome to another blog post at SQLSupport.org. Today, we're going to delve into the world of SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) and discuss how to use chart expressions and custom labeling. SSRS is a powerful reporting tool that comes with SQL Server 2019. It allows you to create interactive, tabular, graphical, or free-form reports from relational, multidimensional, or XML-based data sources. One essential feature of SSRS is chart expressions and custom labeling, which can greatly enhance your data visualization.
Chart expressions in SSRS can be used to manipulate displayed data, control appearance and visibility, and create complex calculations. An expression can consist of a mixture of constants, operators, and references to built-in functions, fields, and collections. In SQL Server 2019, you can use the following T-SQL code snippet to create a simple chart expression.
-- T-SQL code for a simple chart expression
SELECT ProductName, SUM(SalesAmount) AS TotalSales
FROM Sales
GROUP BY ProductName
In MySQL 8.0, you can perform similar operations using the following syntax.
-- MySQL code for a simple chart expression
SELECT ProductName, SUM(SalesAmount) AS TotalSales
FROM Sales
GROUP BY ProductName
DB2 11.5 also supports SSRS and you can use the following SQL code to create a chart expression.
-- DB2 code for a simple chart expression
SELECT ProductName, SUM(SalesAmount) AS TotalSales
FROM Sales
GROUP BY ProductName
Custom labeling is another feature in SSRS that can enhance your charts. Labels can be added to any number of chart elements, including the chart area, plot area, data points, axes, legends, title, subtitles, and footnotes. The labels can be static text or they can be dynamic, based on expressions. For instance, you can use the following T-SQL code snippet in SQL Server 2019 to add a custom label to a chart.
-- T-SQL code to add a custom label to a chart
SELECT ProductName, SUM(SalesAmount) AS TotalSales, 'Sales Amount: ' + STR(SUM(SalesAmount)) AS SalesLabel
FROM Sales
GROUP BY ProductName
If you are working with Azure SQL or Azure Synapse, you can also utilize SSRS for creating rich visualizations and use expressions and custom labeling to further enhance your reports. The SQL code for creating chart expressions and adding custom labels in these platforms is similar to that of SQL Server 2019.
In conclusion, SSRS chart expressions and custom labeling are powerful features that can greatly enhance your data visualizations. By using these features, you can manipulate displayed data, control appearance and visibility, create complex calculations, and add static or dynamic labels to your charts. Whether you are using SQL Server 2019, MySQL 8.0, DB2 11.5, Azure SQL, or Azure Synapse, you can leverage these tools to create rich, interactive reports from your data sources.