Are you wondering where the SSRS projects are in Visual Studio? In the past, you would need to install the SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) and check SSRS during the installation process. However, things have changed over the years. This article will guide you through the process of installing SSRS in Visual Studio 2019.
A Brief History of SSRS
Before we dive into the installation process, let’s take a quick look at the history of SSRS. In the past, the SQL Server installer included an option to install the Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS), which included Reporting Services. However, in SQL Server 2012, BIDS was renamed to SSDT (SQL Server Data Tools). The SSDT was a Visual Studio extension that allowed developers to handle various projects, including SQL Server Projects, SSIS, SSAS, and SSRS projects. In SQL Server 2014, the SSDT had to be installed separately from the website and was no longer included in the SQL Server installer. Different versions of SSDT were released for Visual Studio 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2017. With the release of Visual Studio 2019, the SSDT no longer included an installer for SSRS, which brings us to this article.
Getting Started with SSRS in Visual Studio
Assuming you already have Visual Studio 2019 installed, follow these steps to install SSRS:
- Open the Windows Search and look for the Visual Studio Installer.
- Open the Visual Studio Installer.
- Look for the “Data Storage and Processing” workload and check “SQL Server Data Tools”.
- Once installed, you will notice that the Reporting Service, Analysis Service, and Integration Services projects are not available.
Why is it Getting More Difficult to Install?
Some may wonder why it is becoming more difficult to install SSRS projects. One possible reason is that Microsoft is encouraging users to migrate to Azure technologies such as Synapse, Power BI, and Azure Data Factory. However, in general, Microsoft is trying to handle Visual Studio extensions as separate projects in a standardized way.
Installing SSRS Projects in Visual Studio
To create SSRS projects in Visual Studio, follow these steps:
- In Visual Studio, go to the “Extensions” menu.
- Select “Manage Extensions”.
- In the search textbox, search for “Reporting”.
- You will see “Microsoft Reporting Services Projects”. Check the box to install it.
Testing the Installation
To test the installation, follow these steps:
- In Visual Studio, go to “File” > “New” > “Project”.
- If you have multiple types of projects installed, search for “reports”. You will see two options.
- The “Report Server Project Wizard” is the easiest way for beginners to create a report from scratch without much knowledge of SSRS.
- The “Report Server Project” is used if you have experience creating reports and want to create your own report.
- Specify a report name and location.
Conclusion
SQL Server Reporting Services is a part of SQL Server, but the projects in Visual Studio are extensions. To install the SSRS extension, you need to install the SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) first using the Visual Studio Installer. Then, in Visual Studio, go to Extensions and install the SSRS extension. The same approach applies to Analysis Services and Integration Services projects, which need to be installed separately.
Remember, as of the time of writing this article, there is no SSRS extension available for Visual Studio 2022. However, Microsoft has acknowledged the community’s feedback and added the feature to their roadmap.
Happy reporting!