Database Reference
In-Depth Information
then type in the code. You can also add code to this pane by double-clicking a selected property or function in the
Item pane. Unfortunately, this pane does not allow you to drag and drop your code here.
Microsoft has included a small description and example on the right side of the Expression dialog window.
This is a really nice feature, except for one really annoying fact : the examples are not always accurate! For
instance, the Today item example shows that typing in
= Today()
should do something; but in fact
Today
is a
property and not a function, and it does not use parentheses. Therefore, although the examples are still pretty
helpful when they work, you still have to keep an eye out and not take them too literally.
The Expression editing pane includes Visual Studio's IntelliSense technology to indicate when syntax is
incorrect. Notice in Figure
17-18
, when we typed in code
= Today()
(just as Microsoft's example indicated we
should), the IntelliSense displays a red squiggly underline beneath the parentheses indicating that the syntax is
not correct. So, at least there is that!
In Figure
17-19
, the
Today
property is used correctly without parentheses, and the IntelliSense does not show
an error. he
Weekday
function is also used correctly here, with parentheses.
Figure 17-19.
Using the Expression editing pane
■
in figure
17-19
, entering the following code in the Expression editing pane creates the same
output:
= FormatDateTime(Today, DateFormat.LongDate)
.
Tip
Placeholders
When you create an expression for an SSRS textbox, the default behavior (before it is configured) displays
