• Article

Adding, Modifying, and Deleting Reports

If you are a report server administrator, you can use Report Manager to work with reports in the following ways:

  • Add reports to a report server by uploading report definition (.rdl) files or by creating linked reports.

  • Rename or move a report, or modify the report description.

  • Modify a published report by editing its report definition. You can also replace a report definition with a different one.

  • Delete reports from the report server.

Adding Reports

You can add new reports to a report server in two ways. If you are a report author, you can use Report Designer to publish a report to the server. If you are not a report author, you can upload a file to publish a report definition (.rdl) file from the file system to the report server.

You can also add report items by creating linked reports. A linked report is an item in a report server folder. A linked report wraps an existing report with a different set of parameter values or properties. You can move, rename, and delete the linked report without affecting the report upon which it is based.

Another way to add a report without creating one in Report Designer is to save the report definition of an existing report to the file system, and then upload it as a separate item to a report server. The following section describes the steps.

Modifying and Replacing a Published Report Definition

After a report is published to a report server, you can modify report properties to rename the report, add or modify the description, or move or delete the report. You can make small modifications to the report definition by editing the XML structure of the report. However, this is not recommended unless you are making a very minor change. Any changes that you make to the XML structure of a published report will not be preserved if the report is republished.

To view a report definition of a published report, use Report Manager. Navigate to the report, open the General Properties page, and then click Edit. A read-only version of the report definition (as originally published from Report Designer) opens in either Visual Studio or a code editor. You can view the XML structure of the report, save the report definition to the file system, or modify the XML to make specific changes.

To replace the report definition of a published report, or to upload a modified version that you just saved, open the General Properties page of the report, and then click Update. An Import Report page opens (identical to the Upload File page) so that you can select an .rdl file to upload.

If you are replacing a report definition, the file that you select is copied to the report server. The properties, subscriptions, report history, and security settings of the current report remain intact. If the report uses parameters, and the name or data type is different from the original report, you must reset any parameter properties that you previously set.

Deleting Reports

When you delete a report, the report, report history, and all associated metadata for that report are removed from the report server database. Deleted metadata includes subscriptions (including data-driven subscriptions) and report history. If the report is associated with linked reports, the linked reports become invalid.