Linking to reports within QuickReportz is made simple by using the "Report Link" column type.


In the following example we will add a report link column (used as a drill-down) that will display the list of books for the selected author.



The first thing we need to do is add an additional column in the sql query to be used as our link column (the value of the link column will be automatically passed to the other report).

We want to pass the AuthorId to the linked child report to show the list of books so AuthorId is chosen for the column value and the name as "BooksLink":



The next step is to create the column definition to link to the books child report (to learn more about how to create child reports click here).  

In the columns section of the report editor choose the "Report Link" option and click "Add" as shown below:


Fill out the parameters in the column details dialog:



  • Datasource Field Name
    • The column name defined in the data source query in which you want to customize
    • In the example we want to customize the "BooksLink" column as defined in the query
  • Friendly Name
    • Change the column header name to the supplied value (of course you could also just change it in the data source query)
    • In the example we want to change the column name to "See Books"
  • Is Visible
    • Determines whether the column is visible (sometimes you may choose to make a column invisible but still use it in a calculation)
  • Data Format String
    • Allows an almost infinite list of formatting possibilities.  The formatting syntax is built on Microsoft string formatter and can be used as reference.
    • In this example no special formatting is supplied
  • Choose Linked Report
    • Locate the report by first selecting a report category and then choosing the report in the reports dropdown
  • Show as button
    • Check this option to have the link shown as a button
  • Open New Window
    • Check this option to have links open in new windows
  • Auto Execute
    • Check this option to have the child report execute on load.  This is useful in drill down reports so the user doesn't have to press execute once they have landed on the linked report
    • In this example this option is chosen so that the list of books is listed immediately after clicking the "See Books" link



CHILD REPORT

To learn how to create the child report click here.