Understanding Reporting Services - Microsoft Business Intelligence Tools for Excel Analysts - page 235

14. When you're happy with the report design, click the Preview tab to see the final report out-
come. (See Figure 12-10.)
Figure 12-10: You can see a preview of your report by clicking the Preview tab.
The Report Preview window shows the report exactly as it will be presented on the client's browser.
You can keep modifying the report in the Design tab and switch to the Preview tab to see your
changes in real time.
Defining a shared data source
In the previous section we showed you how to define the data source as a shared data source with
the Report Wizard. When you define a data source as a shared data source, you're essentially creating
a template of sorts. This template contains all the information for connecting to the specified data
source. Any new reports you create within your SSRS project can be pointed to that template (the
shared data source).
This way, if you need to make any changes to your data source connection, you can simply make the
change in the one shared data source. The change will take effect for all the reports in your project.
To create a new shared data source, follow these steps:
1. Right-click the Shared Data Sources folder in the Solution Explorer window and select Add
New Data Source.
2. In the Shared Data Source Properties dialog box (see Figure 12-11), enter a descriptive name,
select the type of connection you want, and then click Edit.
The Connection Properties dialog box opens. (Refer to Figure 12-4.)