Is it possible to create a row that spans all columns of a Matrix in SSRS 2008?

Question

Is it possible to have add a row to an SSRS 2008 Matrix that spans all of the matrix's columns?

This crude diagram shows roughly what I'm looking for:

The basic idea is that each line item is a person, and each column is a field in a form for that person. The fields themselves are dynamic (and implemented as column groups on the matrix). Additional column groups are included to append non-dynamic form fields, like the time the record was entered and who entered it. Under each person's record is a comments field, which should span all of the form fields above it.

At the moment I have the matrix embedded in another tablix, with the name and fields in the matrix and the comments in the parent tablix. This works for the data (each instance of the matrix ends up being one row), but the header repeats too often (once per person) because it's attached to the matrix. The only thought I have as to how to fix this is to create another matrix in the parent tablix with the same grouping and use it to display the headers... But this will require quite a lot of manual synchronization to keep the two matrices the same.

Answer 1

[Edit]

After several attempts, I'm going to say this isn't possible in SSRS. The best I could come up with is a group footer that spans columns 1,2, and 3, but not the User column.

[Original Response]

I recently did something similar to this.

First, what tool are you using to create SSRS reports? (I used SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio)

• You'll want to create a row group (grouped on Person)

• Append a row to your table in "Design" view (Right click, "Insert Row --> Inside Group - Below").

• Add an expression to the row that pulls the value for your "Comment" column (=Fields!Comment.Value).

Let me know if that helps...