Simple Column Chart for Analysis Services Data

In this article, we will introduce the simple Column chart type and get some hands-on exposure to its creation and its general characteristics. This will serve as a basis for other, more in-depth, practical exercises in coming articles, where we will extend the value of our chart-enhanced reports in myriad ways. Among these ways, just for starters, are the capability to format chart and other objects within a host of options, to drill down to see the details behind the graphical / numerical summaries, to combine chart reports with other types of reports, and to access many other options in the powerful Reporting Services tool set.

My objective within this article is to assist the reader in quickly assembling a report containing a working simple Column chart (relying upon, for instance, already assembled datasets and other underlying support within an existing sample report), and to move efficiently into targeted reporting nuances that meet real world needs. While this initial introduction will focus more on the creation of a simple Column chart, the report we create will serve as a basis, in prospective articles, to demonstrate more detailed intricacies that I have found useful in meeting business requirements of my own clients and readers. The ultimate objective, as is typically the case within my various series, is to provide hands-on opportunities to learn overall, start-to-finish procedures, before homing in on specific options of interest (although we will certainly deal with many of these options in even our early exercises, as a part of completing the stated objectives of these sessions).

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