When I started writing this blog I realized it has been several months since my last post. I guess that is what happens when you try to write two books at the same time. Oh well, on to the post. Back in November of 2009 I published a blog titled, How to Create a Reporting Services 2005/2008 Template . The post explained how to create a reusable template report. The steps to accomplish this in SSRS 2012 remains the same, however the directory where the template must be stored has changed. Once yo...
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Tomorrow at 11:30 CST Pam Shaw will be talking SQL Reporting Services (SSRS). If you have time, join us for some SQL Lunch . Here are the details: #64-Taking the Scary out of Monster Reports Speaker: Pam Shaw Add To Outlook: Add To Calendar Date and Time: 3/22/2012 11:30:00 AM CST BIO: Pam Shaw has been in IT for almost 30 years. Since 2001, Pam has been working with SQL Server, first 2000, then 2005 and now 2008. Pam is currently an independent contractor. Pam is also the Chapter Leader of the ...
Due to a few scheduling conflicts the SQL Lunch scheduled for tomorrow as been rescheduled. The event will be on March 22, 2012 at the same time. I apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused anyone. Here are the details of the lunch: #64-Taking the Scary out of Monster Reports Speaker: Pam Shaw Add To Outlook: Add To Calendar Date and Time: 3/22/2012 11:30:00 AM CST BIO: Pam Shaw has been in IT for almost 30 years. Since 2001, Pam has been working with SQL Server, first 2000, then...
Yep, that’s correct, the SQL Lunch has expanded to the UK with one slight change. Unlike the SQL Lunch that I host online here in the U.S., the SQL Lunch UK , which is hosted by Dave Bally (@davebally), will be held at a physical location. Well except for the first meeting. I have the great honor of being the first speaker. Since the presentation is in London you will have to wake up a little early (if you are in the U.S.) to catch the presentation. SQL Lunch UK Details Founder: Dave Balla...
So I found out on Friday that I am going to be a speaker at the Dallas SQL Rally , which is very exciting. I had the honor of not only presenting a pre-con and one regular session at the first SQL Rally in Orlando, but since there was a speaker no show I had the opportunity to give an impromptu session. You had to be there to get the full affect. The event was great and being a speaker made it ten times better. After presenting several times at many different events I have realized that one sess...
Now that you have AlwaysOn configured and your first Availability Group (AG) created, it’s time to start leveraging those secondary replicas. The first step is to set the connection access for the primary and secondary role, if you haven’t already done so. You have three choices: No : No user connections are allowed to the secondary replica. Read-intent only: Only read-only connections are allowed Yes: All connections are allowed, but only for read-only access So the main difference ...
I have been quiet over the past year trying to get acclimated to my new job and my new found work life balance. Now that I have figured it all out I am slowly beginning to present on a regular basis. Next Wednesday (2/8/2012) I have the opportunity to give a short talk on SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn to the Baton Rouge SQL Server and .Net Users group. If you are in and around the area please join me. While I only have 15 minutes to talk, I promise a great presentation. I may run over just a little t...
During a recent customer engagement I was asked if it was possible to ensure that the colors in a Line Graph for a particular value would be the same color for the same value on a Bar Chart. I thought, GOOD QUESTION. I launched PowerView and started creating a report. First I created the following chart: Notice the color of each line, blue for maximum, red for average and orange for minimum. I created a bar chart using the same values, but using a different axis value. Notice that the colors don...
I am excited to announce that I will be giving a virtual presentation to the Knoxville SQL Server User Group . While I have been giving several internal presentations at Microsoft, I have not been speaking in the community on a regular basis. I look to change that this year. There will only be two slides in this presentation. Most of the time will be spent discussing the new feature and building the model. The details of the meeting is as follows: Topic: Build Your First SSAS Tabular Model When:...
If you are in and around Dallas next week drop by my FREE half-day Business Intelligence workshop. The details are below: Unlock your Data with the Microsoft Business Intelligence Platform Event Details: November 8, 2011 Registration at 8:00am Microsoft Office, Las Colinas LC1 7000 N. State Highway 161 Irving, TX 75039 Registration Begins at 8:00am Click to Register Please join us for a free half day workshop where we will take off the covers for the next release of SQL Server and Business Intel...
One of the less advertised enhancements of SSIS in SQL Server 2012 is the Project Reference type available when using the Execute Package task. Open the Execute Package Task Editor and select Package from the left window. Select Project Reference for the ReferenceType property. Now you can reference any package that exists in the same project. Just click the drop down list labeled PackageNameFromProjectReference and select the package from the list. This is especially useful when building Master...
So recently I was doing a demonstration using the new SQL 2012 SSIS running in Visual Studio 2010. I needed to open my toolbox, of course I went to the menu bar selected View > Toolbox. To my surprise the toolbox was completely empty. What the #$%#? What to do? Well it’s actually pretty simple. Located on the top right corner are two icons. The first opens the variables window and the second opens the SSIS TOOLBOX . Nice, I like it. If your toolbox is empty, don’t worry it’s...
When working at large organizations with several users, managing security using Windows or SQL authentication could be challenging. However, there are a couple of solutions that can be used to quickly and easily resolve the problem. First, you could follow the steps in this whitepaper, Implementing Row and Cell Level Security in Classified Databases . In addition, you can use the SQL Server Label Security Toolkit to assist in the configuration. On the other hand, if your implementation does not ...
First, I want to apologize to the three people that read my blog. Sorry for going dark for such a long period of time. I am not going to commit to writing on a regular basis just yet, but I will be back consistently soon. Enough about me, let’s talk about the problem at hand. Recently, someone asked if it was possible to show column information (description, data type, etc…) in a tooltip. I never really gave that scenario much thought until I was posed with the question. So, is it p...
The indicators that are available in SQL 2008R2 adds great visualizations to your reports. I was recently building an SSRS demonstration and I stumbled upon an additional feature that makes the indicator even more visually appealing. Using a not so obvious property of the indicator you can set its size. The value must be between 0 and 1 or an expression that results in a value between 0 and 1. To change the size of an indicator, ensure that you have selected the indicator that you want to resize...
I know you have missed the crazy antics, but after taking a short hiatus from my community contributions, the SQL Lunch is back. #60-Let’s Talk about SQL Powershell Speaker: Max Trinidad Add To Outlook: Add To Calendar Live Meeting URL: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/join?id=G83CS9&role=attend Date and Time: 5/24/2011 11:30:00 AM CST BIO: Max Trinidad is a native of Puerto Rico and has been working with computers since 1979. He has worked with Dbase III/IV, Clipper, RPG, OS/400, O...
Ok, so what have I been up to? Well a lot has changed for me over the past couple of months, primarily my job. Initially I wasn’t going to blog about this, but after a couple of conversations with a few well respected people in the SQL community I decided to write a post. As many of you know I was a Business Intelligence Architect for Pragmatic Works, which was a great position. That job catapulted my career into orbit, literally. However, with the fast-paced I kind of lost myself. I was given s...
A question that I have been asked quite often is, “How can I change the Report Server that I am connected to in Report Builder?” I never really thought about it until then. To change the connection click the Disconnect link located at the bottom of the Report Builder Designer: Once you click it you will be allowed to re-connect using the Connect link: You will then be presented with the Connect to Report Server dialogue window: In dropdown list labeled Report server type the URL of the Report Se...
This week I am happy to announce the second SQL University SQL Lunch presentation. What’s makes this exciting is that the speakers are a group of some of the most respected and talented SQL Server women professionals in our community. If you have time on Friday join the meeting. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS MEETING STARTS AT 1PM EST TIME! #51-Women In Technology Speaker: Women In Technology Add To Outlook: Add To Calendar Live Meeting URL: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/joinid=C4CTDH&rol...
I was really excited about the concept of Shared DataSets when they were introduced. My excitement diminished a little when I ran into a small issue. When you create an embedded data set based on a SSAS Cube that includes a parameter, a hidden dataset is automatically created that provides the parameter values. Thus creating a drop down list of available choices on the report. However, if the data set was created from a Shared Dataset the Hidden Dataset is not created when you add the shared dat...
I rarely use filters in my SSRS reports. However, this was a client requirement. When we attempted to use the filter to our surprise it did not work. The actual problem involved using a table that contained a column that was of a CHAR data type. After a little digging we realized that the cause of the problem was the column data type. Assume you are using the following query as the source for your report, which can be run against the AdventureWorks sample database: SELECT Name, ProductNumber, CA...
Join us tomorrow on the SQL Lunch for a little SSIS. Topic: #50-Solitary Containment - An Overview of SSIS Containers If you’ve ever felt stranded, all by yourself, not knowing how or where to implement containers in your SSIS packages make sure you attend SQL Lunch Thursday March 3rd! Chris Albrektson will release you from your solitary confinement by covering all the different types of containers available to you in SSIS. Speaker: Chris Albrektson Add To Outlook: Add To Calendar Date and Time:...
As most of you know I am a consultant with Pragmatic Works , which requires me to travel a bit. During my travels I encounter new people, new places and what I realized recently new food. I am not going to say this is some type of new blog series that I am starting, because I have started several and just got bored with them after a few postings. What I am going to say is that if time allows I am going to share a few thoughts and photos on places that I eat during my travels. With that, here are...
Over the past couple of weeks I have given several presentations. At each presentation I have promised to post the slides and demos for each. Well finally here they are. I want to apologize for the long delay. SQL Lunch 47 – Introduction to Change Data Capture ( watch video ) Pragmatic Works Free Training Webinar – Change Data Capture with SSIS ( watch video ) SQL Saturday #57 Houston – SSIS: Configuring, Deploying and a Little Tuning SQL Saturday #57 Houston – What’s new in Reporting Services R...
Since I am working at a client this week in Houston, I begged Nancy Hide Wilson (President Houston SQL Server Users Group) to let me speak at her monthly Users Group meeting. Fortunately, she did not have anyone lined up, therefore she graciously agreed. If you are in the Houston Area or have access to a computer join the User Group. I will be giving a talk on Incremental Data Warehouse loads using SSIS and CDC. Visit the Houston Groups Site for more details. Talk to you soon, Patrick LeBlanc, M...