Report Data Sets (SSRS)

A data set defines the data that a report uses. In SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), a data set consists of a query that retrieves data from a data source and the resulting fields that can be used in report items.

Creating a Data Set

Open the Report Designer.
Right‑click the Datasets node in the Report Data pane and select Add Dataset….
Enter a name, choose a data source, and define the query.
Click Refresh Fields to retrieve column metadata.

SELECT EmployeeID, FirstName, LastName, Title
FROM HumanResources.Employee
WHERE Title = @Title
        

Fields and Parameters

After creating a data set, the fields become available for drag‑and‑drop onto report items. Parameters can be added to the query to filter data at runtime.

Field	Data Type	Description
EmployeeID	Int	Unique identifier for the employee.
FirstName	String	Employee's first name.
LastName	String	Employee's last name.
Title	String	Job title.

Applying Filters

Filters can be defined at the data set level to limit the rows returned without altering the underlying query.

{
  "FilterExpression": "=Fields!Title.Value",
  "Operator": "Equals",
  "Value": "Sales Manager"
}
        

Examples

Below is a complete example of a shared data set used across multiple reports.

-- SharedDataSet.rdl

    AdventureWorksDW
    
      SELECT EmployeeID, FirstName, LastName, Title
      FROM HumanResources.Employee
    
    EmployeeIDSystem.Int32
    FirstNameSystem.String
    LastNameSystem.String
    TitleSystem.String