October 28, 2010 at 9:38 am
When I am in SSRS I can upload .doc, .xls, and .pdf files, making them viewable report options for users. But how would I automate this? I am looking into, for example, replacing an .xls file via an automated job or script that would simply copy the new .xls file in over the old one, done completely outside of SSRS. From what I can see the .xls file is not stored in the file system, rather it is in the ReportServer db in the Catalog table, which seems to make it virtually impossible to add to/replace via an automated, outside of SSRS job.
The reason I would want to do this is to use SSRS as a centralized locale that can provide reports to users even if the data for the reports is not available via SSRS, thus making it not possible to just build the report in SSRS and make the output .xls, .pdf, etc.
Any help, ideas, workarounds or confirmation of my findings are greatly appreciated!
October 28, 2010 at 9:53 am
you can call the url of the report and use the format parameter in the URL to automatically see the reports in Excel, this could also be used as part of an automation process outside of SSRS.
eg.
http://localhost/ReportServer?%2fDemoReportServer%2fSales+Report&rs%3aClearSession=true&rs%3aFormat=excel&rs%3aCommand=Render
Alternatively you could just set up a subscription within report manager.
October 28, 2010 at 10:05 am
Thanks for the reply, but more specifically I am looking to add other file types (that aren't necessarily created by an rdl) directly to SSRS, making them available for viewage by users.
For example, maybe we get a pdf report from an outside vendor that we want to make available to a user in SSRS. Right now I can click on "Upload" in SSRS and upload the pdf document into a user's folder. Then they can view the pdf.
I want to be able to automate this by replacing that pdf every month with a new pdf via a windows or ssis job that simply takes the new pdf we received and copies it over the old one. I just don't know if this is possible or not. I have uploaded a pdf into my dev SSRS setup and the only place behind the scenes that I can see it is in the catalog table of the ReportServer db, which I'm not sure I should be messing with.
November 30, 2010 at 7:44 am
Hi dmusson17,
I'm sorry, this is not a recommendation wrt your issue, rather this is a request for help regarding using excel in SSRS.
I've created the datasource but the ReportBuilder is displaying Reportmodels as existing datasources and there is no option to select my excel datasource at all! How do I go about selecting the excel sheet as the report datasource?
Could you please advice me!
Thanks in advance!
April 19, 2011 at 10:20 am
King Cobra, you should be able to add a new datasource and site your .xls(x) as the source of the data.
Regarding the original post, I'm wondering if anyone knows of a way to slyly place externally created reports (.pdf, .xls, etc) into the SSRS file structure and make them available to end users?
April 20, 2012 at 1:51 pm
there is an upload feature built in to SSRS. From the web interface you should see an "upload" button if you have the appropriate permissions. This will allow you to browse for a file and upload it to the folder you are viewing (.xls, .doc, etc.) Once uploaded it will be viewable to users just as the rdl reports.
April 23, 2012 at 10:50 am
Have you tried using the web service? This might help you: http://blog.infotoad.com/post/2009/07/08/Uploading-RDL-files-using-Reporting-Services-Web-Services-Application-Integration.aspx
April 23, 2012 at 10:59 am
Thanks Jason. I have used that to upload PDFs, which then become handsomely viewable by the users, but what I looking for is a way to automate getting the PDFs into Report Manager folders from outside of SSRS.
April 23, 2012 at 11:00 am
Mhlewis - this looks like it has potential. Going to give it a go. Thanks!
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