Using a Calendar for a Date Hierarchy Parameter with SSAS 2008 and SSRS 2008

When designing a Reporting Services report against a relational database, I would argue that developers most often prefer to utilize a Date/Time parameter type and calendar control for date parameter input. This makes it easy for the user to choose a date with the Reporting Services calendar control instead of requiring the user to type a well-formatted date value or providing the user with a long list of dates in a drop-down list.

However, when it comes to SSAS, if a developer chooses to add a parameter against a date hierarchy, the end-user is presented with a drop-down list to scroll through and choose dates. This is with good reason. Many times, the user will have the option to choose from different levels of date aggregation. Choosing an entire year or just one single date could be a valid option within the same report. This scenario would be confusing if not difficult to represent in a calendar control.