Advanced Report Design - Professional SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services - page 192

Figure 6-11
The list item works well when repeating graphical items such as images and charts. Although the list
offers a great deal of flexibility, it can require quite a lot of detail work if used for complex columnar
reports and those with multiple levels of grouping. Consider using a table instead of a list when all data
fits into rows and columns.
Creating a Tabular Report Using a Table
The Table data region is the most commonly used report item for columnar-style business reports.
One of the most significant lessons I've learned while designing reports with the earlier versions of this
product is to use tables to design most of my reports. A table may be used in place of a List item in many
cases and offers more structure and built-in functionality. A table may be used to create reports with
multiple levels of groupings and drill-down functionality. As you've already seen, groups give you the
ability to organize repeated data within hierarchies and related groups. The table naturally supports this
design paradigm.
I'd like to start with a simple example using a simple query, similar to the one used in Chapter 4. If you'd
like to follow along, create a new report and add a new data set called Products_by_Subcategory_and_
Category. Follow the instructions I gave when you stepped through the Report Wizard. Using this query,
we will create a simple report that demonstrates the use of groupings within a table. After demonstrating
groupings in a multilevel grouped table, drill-down and drill-through capabilities will be added.