60 Reporting Tips in 60 Minutes
April 20 - 22, 2015 | Santa Clara, CAIke Ellis
Partner
Crafting Bytes
SSRS: HTML color picker websites
SSRS: Skip GIS, use MorgueFile
SSMS: Query Shortcuts
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM
SELECT TOP 100 * FROM
SSMS: Don’t forget the splitter bar
SSMS: Comment Shortcut Key
CTRL-K, C
CTRL-K, U
Lifehack: Start 2014 with a jar and fill it with notes of good things that happen
Next New Year’s Eve, empty the jar and see what awesome
stuff happened that year.
Performance: Check for heaps/clustered indexesSELECT t.[Name] FROM sys.Indexes i
JOIN sys.Tables t
ON t.Object_ID = i.Object_id
WHERE i.type_desc = 'HEAP'
ORDER BY t.[Name]
Performance: Index all the keys
select object_name(c.object_id), c.name from sys.columns c
where c.name like '%id'
and c.object_id not in
(
select object_id
from sys.index_columns
)
Lifehack: Readable Presentations
Take the average age of the people in your audience and
divide by 2: That’s your font size
Do you want to know what I think you’re average is? My font size is
typically 20 – 24.
SSIS: The proper way to execute an SSIS package
Power BI - Visualization: Bad Dashboard
Power BI - Visualization: Use color sparingly.
In nature, colors do two things:
1) Entice
2) Warn
So let’s use them sparingly..WARNING: POISON FROG!
Power BI -Visualization: Stephen Few
Power BI - Visualization: Cynthia Brewer
Power BI: Tips for Visualization
Make the most important information the biggest
Put it in the upper-left corner
T-SQL: No reason to use ISNULL CONCAT!Messy vs clean code
No + symbol needed
No ISNULL needed
Lifehack: If you backpack, but need news, search Wikipedia by month & year
Search Schema: Object Explorer Details
F7
Search Schema: T-SQL
select object_name(object_id), definition as name
from sys.all_sql_modules
where definition like '%cust%'
Search Schema: SQL Search - Free
SSDT: Search options
Spotlight
T-SQL: Use windowing functions
Neat evolution
Lifehack: Presentation tip
T-SQL: Prettify!
http://extras.sqlservercentral.com/prettifier/prettifier.aspx
RedGate PlugIn for SQL Server Management Studio
TSQL: Or use SQLPrompt - RedGate
T-SQL: Execute scripts over multiple servers
Tip: Life is so easy with a dates table
Find the sales numbers for the first Monday of every month
of the year
T-SQL with no dates table
T-SQL with dates table
Lifehack: Motorcyclist signaling cop to other motorcyclist
Looks like a siren on top!
T-SQL: Try_Cast
Avoiding terrible casting errors
T-SQL: Never reinvent the wheel – SQL#
Take SQL# for example
Good Documentation
Easy Syntax
Cheap (and much of it is free)
LIfehack: If you take a power strip to the airport during the winter, you’ll be a hero
T-SQL: Save scripts in a project for easy navigation
SSRS: Log, Log, Log (and beware of subscriptions)select c.Name
, e.InstanceName
, e.UserName
, e.Parameters
, e.TimeStart
, e.TimeEnd
, e.TimeDataRetrieval
, e.TimeProcessing
, e.TimeRendering
from executionlog e
join catalog c
on e.reportid = c.ItemID
Send a Link, or a file on a shared folder that you can audit. Find someway to audit who opened the link or the file
in the folder. Try to avoid sending the PDF without a way to audit it.
Performance: Big linesWhen troubleshooting, thick rows means lots of data, thin rows mean not much data.
You’re probably better off following the thick rows.
Lifehack: Today’s most precious commodity – FOCUS!
SSRS: Store colors in the database
Colors = Business Logic
Put it in the database
Use Expressions to read the colors
Include action colors and levels
SSRS: Get Buy-in to Export to Single FormatBuild to export to a single format
• Excel
• Word
• Web
Then get buy-in and make it a standard in the organization
Demo: Build to export to excel
Manage: Alias, Obscure, and De-couple
Views, Aliases
Lifehack: Keep notes daily on what you doMakes CVs easier
Makes reviews easier
Makes promotions easier
SSAS: Views are better than DSVs
• Easier to manage
• Can use SQL Search tools
• Can use SQL Dependency Tools
• Have a set of views only used by analysis services..so you
can change them without telling anyone else
SSRS: Used Linked Reports to Manage Security• Allows you to use Role assignments and
• Not have duplicate reports in folders
• Not have users in folders they shouldn’t be in
• Not manage security on individual reports
Management: Use Active Directory for report security and cube securityUser
Active Directory Group
Permission
One group – One Report
Management: Keep Report Quantity SmallToo many reports means that there are more things to keep
consistent
Reports that aren’t used, tend to get forgotten, and then
used with bad data
Manage: Interview one person at a time when gathering requirements
Manage: Find the key person
• They know a lot
• They have time
• They respond quickly
• They are most often right
• They might not be
likeable, and that’s OK
• Success – Work in their
office
Lifehack: If you want ambient light, do this
SSAS: Change one thing at a time
And break calculations down to their simplest form, deploy,
test, and change one more thing.
Manage: Very few KPIs and numbers!
""The well-intentioned desire to be great at everything is
precisely what leads to exhausted
mediocrity" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWKvSG_
9s5I"
Walmart customer service
SSRS: Use a report footer
Put row count there
SSRS: Report footer
Put executive sponsor there & email address
Data mart: Use friendly names everywhereUse spaces and long names
Manage: Use a wiki for taxonomy
Record owner
Record changes
Record technical calculation
Lifehack: Have the child call you
Whenever someone comes around saying "Would you like
to buy blah blah blah, my kid is going to do whatever."
I tell them, "Yes, I would love to! But your child has to be
the one to ask me." I then give them my number and say
the child can call anytime after 6pm.
Career: Learn in a group
SSMS: Status bar on top
SSMS: Color the status bar
Excel: Defer Layout Update
SSAS – Prevent load and delay when using
pivot tables.
Excel: Four Directional Arrow for custom sort
Excel: Sorting is by level
Excel: Filter – Keep only selected items
And hide selected item.
Notice the total changes.
Excel: Member Search
SSMS: Script parameters
Windows: Use the middle mouse button to close tabsClose windows fast
Works in Chrome, SSDT, SSMS, Excel, Everywhere
SSMS: Quickly alias columns
CTRL-ALT-DOWNARROW for block selection
Manage: How to share passwords
LAST TIP! My YouTube Channel!
https://www.youtube.com/user/IkeEllisData
Contact Me!
http://blog.ikeellis.com
http://www.ikeellis.com
YouTube • http://www.youtube.com/user/IkeEllisData
SQL Pass Book Readers • http://bookreaders.sqlpass.org/
San Diego Tech Immersion Group
Twitter: @ike_ellis
619.922.9801
Email address is just my first name @ikeellis.com
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