Microsoft CRM 4.0 : Report Wizard / SSRS

Question

I have a very basic question with the Microsoft CRM 4.0 Report wizard. I am very experienced in SQL syntax and database queries, but I have no knowledge of MS CRM and SSRS.

I was helping someone create a SSRS report via the CRM wizard tool, and I'm trying to understand what the "Primary record type", and the "Related record type" is. In the Report Wizard. There is a page that mandates that you select a "Primary Record Type" in a populated drop down list. This drop down list is filled with the tables in the database (I believe). There is also an optional "Related Record Type" field that is filled with the tables.

What are these "Types"? Behind the scenes, how are these joined?

Answer 1

The primary record could be an account or a contact or a custom entity. The key is that the report you create will show up when you are looking at a view of that primary entity and it is basically the top of your select for reporting data. Everything else in the report should be related to that primary entity.

The related record is typically a child entity to the primary entity. You may want a rollup with information from the children in your report.

If you were a little more well versed in SSRS I would suggest that you Download the report Available Reports -> Edit -> Actions -> Download Report to generate an RDL file that you could edit in Visual Studio. Then you could see exactly how it looks internally.

One of the great things about the wizard is that you can use it to rough a report in and then download the RDL file to send to a reports writer to tweak or add features beyond the scope of the wizard.