Basics of NAV Report Design using SQL Report Builder.

Visual  Studio versus Report Builder

Both Visual Studio and Report Builder can be used to Design and Customize the RTC report of NAV. NAV takes Visual Studio as its default report designer but we can change the setting to take sql report builder as the report designer. Report designer is inbuilt i.e.  Unlike Visual studio we don't need to install it. It is comparatively Faster but with some insignificant limitations. I personally prefer Report because its cool and fast.

STEP 1: Setting for Selection of Designer tool

We can set the Report Builder Option in Tools/Options/[Use Report Builder = YES]

STEP 2: Creating Simple Layout using Report builder

Lets design a new report with Dataset from Item Table.

STEP 3: Open the Report Builder from View/Layout

On the left-hand side you can see the Report Data section in Report Builder.

• Built-in Fields: The built in fields can be considered as constants or variables. They are not a part of   the dataset and can be used in the layout, in textboxes or in expressions.

• Parameters: Parameters contain the labels and captions that were added via the IncludeCaption      property on a column, or via the label designer.

• Images: Images can be imported into the report layout as embedded images.

• Data Sources: In Dynamics NAV RDLC reports, there is always exactly one data source. At runtime  it links to the report dataset, generated by the report dataset designer.

• Datasets: In Dynamics NAV RDLC reports, there is always exactly one dataset. It  has the name Dataset_Result and contains the columns that were added in the report  dataset designer.

STEP 4: Wizard Feature which is the Coolest of all. 

Report Builder contains wizards to help you to create a report layout. Let's use them to create our item list.

1. In the Insert tab in the ribbon, click on Insert, then Table, and then Table Wizard.

2. In the Choose a Dataset window select Dataset_Result and click on Next.

3. In the Arrange fields window you can now see the columns on the left. You can drag them to the right and put them into Values, Column Groups and/or Row groups. Let's drag the fields into Values:

4. For the inventory_item, click on the little arrow and select Sum. Click on Next.

5. In the Choose the Layout window, you can select grouping and totaling options, but only if you added a row and/or column group in the previous window. Click on Next.

6. In the Choose a Style window, you can select a style template.

7. The wizard has ended and it has added a table to the body of the report:

Now we can Save the Layout and Run the Report in RTC Environment.

STEP 5 : Run the Report

Conclusion:
The report design using Report builder is easy and with some enhanced feature. Its faster and smooth. It is only supported by latest version of NAV, for the older version of RTC we still require Visual Studio.