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Chapter 6 Dynamic lists
6. Dynamic Lists
The dynamic list is the tool of choice in ReportServer when it comes to fast, user-specific evaluations or when the focus is on the subsequent further processing of the data.
From the simple selection of data using column selection and filters, to sorting, grouping or subtotals, through to complex analytical functions, the dynamic list can be used to map almost any evaluation requirement.
If you have opened a dynamic list for execution, you are then in the report area, where you can configure and finally execute the evaluation.
The basis of every dynamic list is a source table provided by an administrator. This is usually very extensive and can easily consist of hundreds of columns and several million rows. In order to extract information from this data, it is necessary to select the data to be viewed. For this purpose, ReportServer offers a variety of different tools with which even complex selection conditions can be formulated intuitively.
6.1 Selecting columns
The first step in creating a new dynamic list is to select the columns to be used. You can access the column selection via the toolbar of the List configuration aspect. This opens the familiar selection dialog (see chapter First steps). All available columns are offered for selection in the dialog box.
The selected columns are transferred to the List configuration aspect.
The following information is displayed for each selected column:
Column | The technical name of the column. |
Default column name | A possibly pre-assigned plain text name. |
Column name | Here you can assign your own name/alias for the column. |
Description | Contains an explanation of the meaning of the column, if available. |
Options | Indicates the configuration made using symbols. |
Aggregation | Allows aggregation on this column see section Aggregation. |
Sorting | Allows the data to be sorted by this column. |
Hidden | The column can be hidden using the Hidden option. |
Type | Specifies the underlying data type. |
6.2 Data types
Each column in a database is assigned a fixed data type, which determines the type of content possible in this column. There are different data types, e.g. for texts, numbers and dates. Common data types are
VARCHAR | Text with fixed maximum length |
INTEGER | A whole number |
DOUBLE/FLOAT | A floating point number |
DECIMAL | A decimal number |
CLOB/BLOB | Text of any length / binary data |
DATE | A date possibly incl. time |
The order of the columns in the finished report corresponds to the order of the columns in the list configuration. The order can be set using drag-and-drop or via the context menu.
To call up the data returned by the report in the current configuration, switch to the Preview aspect. The first 50 lines of the list you have configured are displayed in the preview. Information on the selected data is displayed in the preview toolbar (at the bottom). In addition to the total number of available data records, this includes information on the column selection and runtime. The runtime information is divided into the pure server time and the duration of the entire request. The Forward and Back buttons can be used to scroll through the results.
Double-click on a row to open the selected data record in a new window for a detailed view. To quickly adjust the configuration, you can also access many functions of the List configuration aspect via the context menu of a data cell.