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SQL Server Analysis Services announcements

SQL Server Compact announcements

SQL Server Samples and Community Projects announcements

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    Welcome aboard! Community & Samples Forum Intro
    David Reed - MSFT

    This forum is the place to discuss all things "samplish" in the SQL Server community and samples space, whether it's an "official Microsoft sample" or a community project in CodePlex or Code Gallery. This is *not* the place to discussion specific nuances of T-SQL syntax or wage data modeling methodology wars: there are lots of other forums for those purposes. This one is for questions about samples, community projects and conversations between the collaborators that build them.

     

    Some examples of projects that are open for discussion can be found here: http://www.codeplex.com/SqlServerSamples/ It doesn't have to be listed there to be fair game, but it's a good bet that it is fair game if it's already listed there.

     

    Also, please post your project announcements here when you create a new release or a whole new project. If you're looking for people to work on your project or looking for a project to work on, this would be a good place to do both.

     

    Let us know what's missing, let know what could be better and let us know what we're doing right!

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    Samples bugs and suggestions.
    David Reed - MSFT
    All of the work items for our community projects and product samples are in TFS on CodePlex. If you want to report a bug, suggest a change for an existing sample or suggest a new sample, create a work item in the appropriate project so that our community team (not just Microsoft employees) can vote on them, help us triage and prioritize them.

    For example, here's the URL for the work items for AdventureWorks: http://www.codeplex.com/MSFTDBProdSamples/WorkItem/AdvancedList.aspx
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    How to Use this Forum - Please Read Before Posting
    Mr. Wharty MVP

    Welcome to the SQL Server Samples and Community Projects Forum.

    This forum is the place to discuss all things "samplish" in the SQL Server community and samples space, whether it's an "official Microsoft sample" or a community project in CodePlex or Code Gallery. This is*not* the place to discussion specific nuances of T-SQL syntax or wage data modeling methodology wars: there are lots of other forums for those purposes. This one is for questions about samples, community projects and conversations between the collaborators that build them.

    Some examples of projects that are open for discussion can be found here: http://www.codeplex.com/SqlServerSamples. It doesn't have to be listed there to be fair game, but it's a good bet that it is fair game if it's already listed there.

    Below are a few guidelines to help you find your answer quickly and also to help the people who answer the questions, answer yours correctly.

    • Is your question about SQL Server Samples and Community Projects . If it's not please locate the correct forum otherwise your question may be moved, closed/locked or deleted.
    • Try searching the forum . Search the forum to see if your question has been asked before and answered.  If you cannot find what you are looking for, please start a new thread rather than adding to an old one as some people do not see answered questions in their forum views so you may not get the assistance you're looking for.
    • Don't be brief . The more information you can give in your question, the better the response will be.
    • Check your alerts . You can subscribe to a question so that you can see any update on it (ReferSetting up your alerts below).
    • No Spam. Spamming will have your thread deleted and may also result in your account being banned.
    • Be polite.  You will get better assistance if you're polite to other members so no flaming or trolling.  If you persist with flaming or trolling, your accountmay get banned.
    • Mark your question answered. If someone answers your question please mark their reply as the answer to your question. You can also mark multiple replies as answers if you think they answered your question.  Marking replies not only assists others with similar questions, it also let's people know that you're grateful for their assistance.

    Dead thread/Answer policy.

    Where possible the moderators will allow sufficient time for the original poster to come back and mark the replies to their questions as answers. The amount of time is at the discretion of the individual moderator but is suggested that it will be declared dead after a week if the original poster does not respond . We will always try to be fair and mark suitable replies as answers.

    Setting up your alerts

    If you are having trouble receiving alerts on the threads you have created or replied to please see thisthread for troubleshooting advice.

SQL Server Notification Services announcements

SQL Server Reporting Services, Power View announcements

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    Reporting Services 2008 - Resources & Latest Downloads (SP2)
    Robert Bruckner Microsoft employee
    Last update: Mar 27, 2011.


    Get an overview and the latest information on Reporting Services 2008 at the MSDN aggregation page for Reporting Services! 

    Important downloads for Reporting Services 2008:  

    SP2:

    SP1:

    RTM:


    Also check related discussion threads in this forum about the Reporting Services 2008 release, and Report Builder 2.0 release.

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    Reporting Services 2005 - Resources & Latest Downloads (SP4)
    Robert Bruckner Microsoft employee

    Last update: Mar 27, 2011.

    MSDN information aggregator site for Reporting Services 2005. 

    Important downloads for Reporting Services 2005:

    SP4:

    SP3:

    SP2:

     

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    Reporting Services 2012 - Power View
    Robert Bruckner Microsoft employee

    SQL Server 2012 has been released in early 2012.

    This post summarizes much of the new functionality in Power View with RC0. A few more capabilities were added in the RTM Version.

    Multiple Views in a Single Report

    You asked for it, and we are delivering it! Power View reports now support multiple views per report. The report pictured below contains a total of five views that you can see previews of to the left of the canvas.

    MultipleViews

    Export to Microsoft PowerPoint

    Along with the ability to create reports with multiple views, you can also export your report to PowerPoint. These are not just static images. Power View reports inside PowerPoint are fully interactive.

    PowerPoint Export

    PowerPivot Gallery Preview Images

    Power View now produces preview images in the PowerPivot Gallery, just like Excel workbooks. They are supported in all views of the PowerPivot Gallery (gallery, theater and carousel).


    PowerPivot Gallery Preview
    In addition, now that Power View reports support multiple views in a single report, when you click on a specific view of the report, Power View will launch with that view as the active view.

    Storyboard

    When you are presenting reports with multiple views in them, there is way to navigate the views in a report called storyboard. Just hover to preview any of the views and select the one you want to display.

    Storyboard

    Sorting

    We are certain you saw this one coming, but Power View now supports sorting on all data regions. On tables and matrices, all you have to do is click on the column headers to sort. For charts, there is an area above the chart that we call the “floatie” that allows you to choose to sort the chart by a measure or its categories.ChartSorting

    For charts that are displayed as multiples, you can sort those too. For multiples, sorting sorts the charts themselves by a subtotal, and of course, it’s just a click away via the floatie as well.
    MultipleSorting

    More Chart Features

    Power View has added more functionality to charts. In particular, charts now support
    • more than 20 series,
    • multiple measures,
    • and color (series) in scatter and bubble charts.
    The chart below shows multiple measures in action, depicting the average win percentage of major league baseball both at home and on the road over a set of years.
    MultipleSeries
    In the next chart, you can see colors assigned on the scatterplot.
    ScatterPlot
    Of course, the feature works with legend highlighting as well. Select a market size from the legend and all of the points associated with that entry will be highlighted in the chart.
    ScatterPlotHighlighting

    Chart Highlighting Enhancements

    There is also significant change to the highlighting feature with charts. When your column and bar charts contain non additive data, Power View will now display the highlighted values with a thinner column that is overlaid on top of the previous values. This is done to make it possible to see the previous values, regardless of the highlighted values.
    It also makes it possible to see cases where the selected item from another visual has no representation in the chart. For example, in the chart below, not only can we see how Expressjet compares against the average of all carriers for flights delayed by carrier, but we also can see that Expressjet did not operate any routes greater than 1,500 miles.
    ChartHighlighting

    Number Formatting for Tables and Matrix

    Power View now supports number formatting on both tables and matrix.
    NumberFormatting

    Slicers Cross Filter Other Slicers

    When you have multiple slicers on a view now, if you select an entry in one slicer, the other slicers in the view are filtered by it.

    Per Data Region Filtering

    Filtering improvements are available in RC0. Power View now supports filters on each data region. The picture below shows the chart region filter selected in the filter pane. If you want to switch to filtering the entire view, just hover over the grey “view” text and select it and you’ll be on your way to filtering the entire view.
    Filtering

    Measure Filters and Filter Restatement

    There are two other new features in the filter pane depicted above as well. The filter pane now supports measure filters and will also restate your filters even when a specific filter is in its collapsed state.
    MeasureFiltering

    Search in Filters

    But we’re not done yet. Have a long list of categories that you don’t want to wade through, use the search feature.
    SearchFilter

    SearchFilterResult

    Drag Your Data to the Canvas

    You can now drag fields directly to the canvas from the model explorer. If you hover the field over the canvas, it will create a new table. If you hover the field over an existing visualization, it will add that field to the next logical location in the visualization.
    DragDrop

    Print it!

    You can now print your current view. Print is “what you see is what you get”.
    Print

     

    Support for DirectQuery mode

    DirectQuery mode for Analysis Services tabular models allows you to keep your data in a SQL Server relational database and still get the benefits of interactive reporting with Power View. You can read all about direct query mode here.

    Database Image Support

    Power View now supports database images stored directly in the model.
    DatabaseImages

    Show Items with No Data

    Often referred to as “outer join”, Power View now supports the ability to display items with no data. The table below shows this feature in action.
    OuterJoin
    And just like everything else in Power View, this feature is just a click away in the field well.
    FieldWellOuterJoin

    Measures as Non-Measures

    PowerView also supports the ability to treat measures as non-measures (i.e. as categories). To do this, you just go to the field well and choose the option on the field to “Do Not Summarize” as shown below.
    MeasuresAsNonMeasures
    Below is an example of a report showing the count of airline flights by minutes late. Minutes late is a measure in the table on the left. The table on the right is the same table with the “Do Not Summarize” feature turned on.
    DoNotSummarize

    All New Canvas Look

    We’ve changed the overall look of the canvas and many of the items that you can place on the canvas. Here are a couple of examples of the new look in action.

    PowerView1

    PowerView2



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    Reporting Services 2008 R2 - Resources & Latest Downloads
    Robert Bruckner Microsoft employee

    Last Update: Mar 4, 2011.

    SQL Server 2008 R2 was released to manufacturing on April 21, 2010.  You can read more about it here.

    Downloads available: 

    Cumulative Updates:

    You can read about specific new Reporting Services features added in November CTP on top of what was available in August CTP.  You can research and ask questions on the dedicated MSDN forum. 

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    Reporting Services Migration Tool v1
    Tristan Fernando

    We have released a beta version of the Reporting Services Migration Tool.  The tool is available for download at:

    http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=29560

    This tool essentially allows you to create a backup store of a native mode Report Server and then migrate that content to a SharePoint-integrated mode Report Server.  Migrated content includes all report items (reports, shared data sources, models, shared datasets, report parts), along with associated metadata (shared schedules, subscriptions, history snapshots, etc.).  Some additional details are in this blog post, along with the download link:

    http://blogs.msdn.com/b/jameswu/archive/2012/04/21/reporting-services-migration-tool.aspx

    We are working on enabling more features in this tool, so feel free to share any feedback or report any issues.  Thanks!

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    ** Please Include SSRS Version When Posting Questions
    Sean Boon
    When posting questions in this forum, please include the version of SQL Server Reporting Services you are using.  This will help us be more efficient in answering questions.  If you are using the Report Viewer Control, it will helpful if you include the version of the control as well. 

    Thanks,
    Sean

Microsoft StreamInsight announcements

.NET Framework inside SQL Server announcements

SQL Server Express announcements

SQL Server Database Engine announcements

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    SQL Server 2008 SP1 released
    Ed Lehman

    Service Pack 1 for SQL Server 2008 is now available for customers. The Service pack is available via download at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/default.aspx and is primarily a roll-up of previous cumulative updates, quick fix engineering updates and minor fixes made in response to requests reported through the SQL Server community. While there are no new features in this service pack, customers running SQL Server 2008 should download and install SP1 to take advantage of the fixes which increase supportability and stability of SQL Server 2008.

     

    Customers have no reason to wait to upgrade to SQL Server 2008 and many are already taking advantage of SQL Server 2008 as a smart IT investment. In fact, there have been over 3 million downloads of SQL Server 2008 since the RTM in August. With this Service pack, Microsoft is introducing 80% fewer changes to customer configurations compared to previous SQL Server Service Pack releases. This remarkable decrease is a testament to a revised product development process and updated servicing strategy that is focused on ease of deployment while keeping customer environments stable.

     

    With this service pack, Microsoft has made investments to ease deployment and make management of service packs more efficient. Key improvements in SP1 include Slipstream, Service Pack Uninstall and Report Builder 2.0 click-once deployment.

    ·         Slipstream allows administrators to install SQL Server 2008 and Service Pack 1 in a single instance. This decreases the total time for an installation, including a fewer number of reboots thereby increasing productivity and deployment availability.

    ·         Service Pack Uninstall allows administrators to uninstall the service pack separately from the database release.  This feature also improves DBA productivity, reduces the cost of deployment and improves overall supportability

    ·         Report Builder 2.0 Click Once improves the existing SQL Server end-user report authoring application by easing deployment to business users

     

    To download the SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 1, please click here.

    For more information on SQL Server 2008, please click here.

Data Mining announcements

Database Design announcements

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    Database Design Resources
    Arnie Rowland MVP

    The following list of database design resources is not intended to be exhaustive or ‘the correct list’. Items are included simply because one of the Moderators knew the material and offered it as a suggestion. If you wish to offer suggestions for inclusion, please do so.

     

    Books

     

    A Developer's Guide to Data Modeling for SQL Server: Covering SQL Server 2005 and 2008

    Eric Johnson and Joshua Jones

    An Introduction to Database Systems

    Chris Date

    Applied Mathematics for Database Professionals

    Lex de Haan, Toon Koppelaars

    Architecting Regulatory-Compliant Architectures
    Mike Walker, Microsoft

    Data Modeling Essential

    Graeme Simsion and Graham Witt

    Database Modeling and Design: Logical Design

    Toby Teorey

    Information Modeling and Relational Databases

    Terry Halpin

    Practical Issues in Database Management: A Reference for the Thinking Practitioner

    Fabian Pascal

    Pro SQL Server 2008 Relational Database Design and Implementation

    Louis Davidson, Kevin Kline, et al

     

    Online Resources

     

    A Simple Guide to Five Normal forms and Relational Database Theory
    http://www.bkent.net/Doc/simple5.htm

    Data Modeling vs. Database Design
    http://www.aisintl.com/case/library/R-Theory_vs_ER/r-theory_vs_er.html

    Data Models
    http://www.databaseanswers.org/data_models/index.htm

    Database Design - Ten Common Database Design Mistakes, Louis Davidson
    http://www.simple-talk.com/sql/database-administration/ten-common-database-design-mistakes/

    Database Design Issues -EAV Model Discussion (Querying an EAV Table)
    http://tinyurl.com/yks8hu

    Database Design Issues –EAV and OTLT
    http://tonyandrews.blogspot.com/2004/10/otlt-and-eav-two-big-design-mistakes.html

    Database Design ROI by Paul Nielsen
    http://www.sqlserverbible.com/files/databasedesignroi.pdf

    Introduction to the Unified Dimensional Model (UDM)
    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms345143(SQL.90).aspx

    Library of database models
    http://www.databaseanswers.org/data_models/

    On Normalization and Repeating Groups by Fabian Pascal
    http://www.dbdebunk.com/page/page/622318.htm

    ORM white paper
    http://www.orm.net/pdf/ORMwhitePaper.pdf

    Overview of the Relational Model
    http://www.utexas.edu/its/archive/windows/database/datamodeling/rm/overview.html   

    Understanding Data Model Quality, Graeme Simsion
    http://www.tdan.com/view-articles/5100

     

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    Please READ before Posting or Replying to Posts
    Arnie Rowland MVP

     


    Out of Scope
     

    Some topics are out of scope for this forum.

    1. Bugs, Product Decisions, and Feedback: The purpose of this forum is not to ask the product team why decisions were made and to ask them to make other changes. That feedback belongs in Connect. The purpose of this forum is to help you out with specific issues, if possible. Please post your feedback via Connect:

    https://connect.microsoft.com/SQLServer

      

    Rules of Conduct

    ·         Relevance to Topics: We encourage you to keep your postings as close to the subject as possible.

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    Forum Moderators may, at their discretion, edit posts for clarity, readability and inappropriate language; split post into separate threads when appropriate; and delete post that do not positively contribute to the thread. Failure to comply with these 'Rules of Conduct' may result in your posts being edited to remove the offending comments, censure, or expulsion from participating in the Forums. The bottom line is: this Forum should feel like a ‘safe’ place to ask hard questions that invoke passionate responses.

    Marking Answers

    By their very nature, many database design questions will not have a easily decernible 'answer'. You are encouraged to give folks 'credit' for helping you when appropriate. If someone's response was 'Helpful', use the 'Vote as Helpful' button. If a response answered some part of your question, or provided you one or more clues that led you to a solution, then use the 'Mark as Answer' option. Just as a thread may evolve into multiple questions, it may also have more than one 'Answer'.

    Welcome to the Database Design Forum

    This is a Forum for questions and discussions about database designs for Microsoft technologies, including: SQL Server, Access, SQL Azure, SQL Express, SQL Compact, etc. Often Database Designs will be generic and can be ported to any vendor's technology. Design problems that are best solved with other technologies will be welcomed and addressed to the best of our knowledge and ability.

    We ask that you recognize that database design is a mixture of art and science. You may receive conflicting suggestions, for there can be multiple paths to a workable solution. You will have to use your own judgment and knowledge of your business requirements to determine the best solution for your particular problem. The 'right' design is compounded by many factors, including business, regulatory, hardware/software requirements, as well as staff expertise. We also encourage you to share your experiences with a particular design issue if it will serve to help others encountering similar problems.

    In order to receive useful responses, please spend some time and properly present your scenario. Attempts to 'save time and effort' by cutting out parts of the scenario will often lead to wasted time and effort as the suggestions have to be discarded because they don't work with other parts of the unseen puzzle.


    But there are limits to what you can expect from volunteers through a disconnected medium. The questions most likely to receive a good and targeted answer, are those that present a small problem, that give a very clear description of that problem within its context, and that are placed by people with a fair understanding of the subject who need help getting over a few nasty bumps. The questions that are almost impossible to answer satisfactorily are those that present a huge problem, with no clear description, and asked by someone totally new to the subject matter.

    We hope that you will understand when we say that most of us that volunteer our time on this Forum do so in order to help folks learn. We will be pleased if you find the Forum to be useful. However, it is difficult or impossible for us to engage with folks privately. We don't have time to do both, and our commitment is help folks using the Forums.

    Do not hesitate to read all of the threads, join in the discussions, offer your own experiences and information, and ask questions to increase your knowlege. Seek out blogs from those who write in a manner that you appreciate, and consider reviewing the Database Design Resources for additional guidance and help.

     

Power Pivot announcements

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    Fix for PowerPivot November CTP Expiration Released
    Kathy MacDonald [MSFT] Microsoft employee

    The PowerPivot team is pleased to report that the fix for the November CTP expiration issue has been released. We know many of you have been eagerly awaiting this fix since last week when the PowerPivot for Excel add-in expired. We do sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you.

    We have released a new version of the November CTP for the PowerPivot for Excel add-in. This new version is functionally identical to the old one except that it extends the expiration date to end of the year. You can download it from the same locations as in the past:

    Please note that the new version will take some time to replicate across all servers in the Microsoft download center. If you download it from the above links and still get the expiration error message, then try again periodically. It might also help to clear any browser/download caches on your computer.

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    PowerPivot Beta will not work with released versions of Excel, Sharepoint 2010 and others. Pls read!!
    Vikram Jayaram Microsoft employee


    Summary

    =============================

    If PowerPivot for Excel 2010, Excel 2010, SharePoint 2010, or the Reporting Services Addin for SharePoint 2010 are beta versions, PowerPivot and its related functionality will not work with the Released versions of these components.

     

    More Information

    =============================

    The beta versions of the components listed above are not compatible with the released versions of these components. If the beta versions of the components are installed, they will not function with the released versions. For example, if you have a beta version of the PowerPivot download installed and upgrade to the released version of Excel 2010, the PowerPivot addin will not be available in Excel.

     

    The solution is to upgrade the beta components to their released versions when they become available.

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    PowerPivot for Excel 2010 November CTP Expired
    Kathy MacDonald [MSFT] Microsoft employee

    If you are running the November 2009 CTP version of the PowerPivot for Excel 2010 add-in, your add-in expired on April 1st. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

    The SQL Server team will re-release the November 2009 CTP version of the PowerPivot for Excel 2010 add-in with an extended expiration date very soon. We will post an availability announcement with the download location and installation instructions on the PowerPivot blogs and forums as soon as possible.

    Kathy MacDonald
    SQL Server Analysis Services

SQL Server Migration announcements

SQL Server Replication announcements

SQL Server PowerPivot for SharePoint announcements

SQL Server Master Data Services announcements

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    Please Indicate "Mark as Answer" if a Post has Answered the Question
    edhickey

    While reading a reply to your question, you will notice a button with an icon that says "Mark as Answer."   Please select this button when a reply answers your question.

     

    There are several reasons to do this:

     

    • Our search engine weights Answered questions more highly. By marking Answers you increase the chances that others searching this forum will find the answer directly rather than re-posting the question.
    • You give credit to the hard working folks who answer your questions. This is peer to peer support, so recognition is our only reward. (Check out the Top Answerers in 30 Days chart at the bottom of the thread list to see who is currently answering questions.)
    • You help Microsoft to track the health of this forum. Our forum gets 'measured' based on how many unanswered questions are in it at any time and we work hard to keep those numbers to as low a level as possible. By marking answers, others get a more accurate understanding of how well (or badly) things are going on the forum.

     

    You can also vote "Yes" or "No" if the reply was helpful.

     

    Thank you!

     

    Ed Hickey

SQL Server Setup & Upgrade announcements

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