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Lesson 2: Define a data connection and data table for the parent report

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After you create a new website project using the ASP.NET website template for Visual C#, your next step is to create a data connection and a data table for the parent report.

This article requires the AdventureWorks2022 sample database, which you can download from the Microsoft SQL Server Samples and Community Projects home page.

Define a data connection and data table by adding a DataSet (for the parent report)

  1. On the Website menu, select Add New Item.

  2. In the Add New Item dialog box, select DataSet and choose Add. When you see the prompt, you should add the item to the App_Code folder by selecting Yes.

    This action adds a new XSD file DataSet1.xsd to the project and opens the DataSet Designer.

  3. From the Toolbox window, drag a TableAdapter control to the design surface. This action launches the TableAdapter Configuration Wizard.

  4. On the Choose Your Data Connection page, select New Connection.

  5. If this lesson is your first time creating a data source in Visual Studio, you should see the Choose Data Source page. In the Data Source box, select Microsoft SQL Server.

  6. In the Add Connection dialog box, perform the following steps:

    1. In the Server name box, enter the server where the AdventureWorks2022 database is located.

      The default SQL Server Express instance is (local)\sqlexpress.

    2. In the Log on to the server section, select the option that provides you access to the data. Use Windows Authentication is the default.

    3. From the Select or enter a database name drop-down list, select AdventureWorks2022.

    4. Select OK, and then choose Next.

  7. If you selected Use SQL Server Authentication in the Step 6 (b), select the option whether to include the sensitive data in the string or set the information in your application code.

  8. On the Save the Connection String to the Application Configuration File page, type in the name for the connection string or accept the default AdventureWorks2022ConnectionString. Select Next.

  9. On the Choose a Command Type page, select Use SQL Statements, and then choose Next.

  10. On the Enter a SQL Statement page, enter the following Transact-SQL query to retrieve data from the AdventureWorks2022 database, and then select Next.

    SELECT ProductID, Name, ProductNumber, SafetyStockLevel, ReorderPoint FROM  Production.Product Order By ProductID

    You can also create the query by selecting Query Builder, and then verify the query by choosing Execute Query.

  11. On the Choose Methods to Generate page, be sure to uncheck Create methods to send updates directly to the database (GenerateDBDirectMethods), and then select Finish.

    Warning

    Be sure to uncheck Create methods to send updates directly to the database (GenerateDBDirectMethods)

    You configured the ADO.NET DataTable object as the data source for your report. On the DataSet Designer page in Visual Studio, you should see the DataTable object you added, listing the columns specified in the query. DataSet1 contains the data from the Product table, based on the query.

  12. Save the file.

  13. To preview the data, select Preview Data on the Data menu, and then choose Preview.

Next step

You successfully created a data connection and a data table for the parent report. Next, you design the parent report using the Report Wizard. See Lesson 3: Design the parent report using the Report Wizard.