In this blog, we will explain how to configure a drillthrough action in an RDL report using the Bold Report Designer. Before getting into the steps, let’s look at what a drillthrough action is.
To call another report in the main report by clicking an object is known as the drillthrough action. The report that opens when you click the object in the main report is a drillthrough report. Users can add parameters in the drillthrough report to filter data based on their selection.
In the Bold Report Designer, you can configure drillthrough actions for text boxes, cells of a table or matrix, images, and charts using the Link property listed in the report item properties.
A drillthrough action can be configured in the main report as a report action or a URL action. The report action allows the user to navigate from one report to another.
On the other hand, the URL action allows the user to navigate from the report to the specified URL.
In this blog, we will explain how to configure a report action in a table report.
Design drillthrough report
Before configuring the drillthrough action in the main report, we need a drillthrough report. For this demo, we are going to use the report shown in the following image. You can download the report design from here: https://boldreports.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/InvoiceDetails.zip
It is an invoice report; at runtime it will display the details about an order.
The data set query used in this report runs against an Adventure Works database. It has a SalesOrderNumber parameter to filter the order details of specific order numbers from the data set.
Design main report
To configure drillthrough action, we are going to use the following report. You can download the report design from here: https://boldreports.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/SalesOrderReport.zip
The table design groups the order number based on customer name. At runtime, it will display the customer name and their sales order number.
The data set query used in this report also runs against an Adventure Works database.
Add drillthrough action to a table
Launch the Bold Reports Enterprise server demo site, referring to the steps to upload a report, and upload the invoice and sales order report into the server.
Referring to the steps to edit a report, edit the SalesOrderReport.
We aim to define the drillthrough action in order number cells in a table. If the user clicks on any order number, the second report has to display with the corresponding invoice details. Follow these steps to configure this:
- Open the properties panel.
Properties panel - Select the SalesOrderNumber data cell. Now, the cell properties will be listed in the properties panel.
Select table cell - Under the Link category, choose the Report option in the Link To drop-down.
Link property - In the Report field, click on the browse icon.
Browse button - In browse dialog, choose the InvoiceDetails report and click Open.
Browse Report - The InvoiceDetails report path is linked in the Report option as shown in the following.
Report path
Configure drillthrough parameters
To specify parameters for report linking, follow these steps:
- Click Set Parameters. Now, the parameters dialog will open.
Parameters Dialog - Click ADD in the dialog to configure parameter values.
Add parameter - In the Parameter Name field, select the SalesOrderNumber parameter.
Set parameter name - Provide the =Fields!SalesOrderNumber.Value expression value in Parameter Value field and click OK.
Set parameter value
Refer to the hyperlink documentation to display webpages in a report.
Report preview
You can preview the report using the built-in Report Viewer. Publish the report and switch to preview mode.
The report looks like a normal table report. If a user clicks an order number, the drillthrough report will open with the invoice details of that order.
Click the Go to parent icon to navigate from the drillthrough report to the main report.
You can download the final report design from here: https://boldreports.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/SalesOrderReport-final.zip
Conclusion
I hope this blog provided a clear idea on how to configure drillthrough actions in an RDL report using the Bold Report Designer. To explore further, go through our sample reports and Bold Reports documentation.
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