OfficeWriter allows Microsoft Excel and Word to serve as the design tools for Reporting Services reports.

Designing reports require only a few steps to insert data markers or merge fields into the document to define where data is to be placed. The Excel or Word user, who knows the database schema, inserts the data markers using the OfficeWriter toolbar.

The OfficeWriter toolbar generates an RDL file. The Excel or Word template is encoded and stored in RDL’s <Custom> element.

In addition, those wishing to use Visual Studio .NET will find that the RDL is still fully editable in VS.NET.

Utilizing this method is a major benefit because inserting data markers is fairly trivial compared to designing an entire report using a proprietary business intelligence tool.

During report publishing, the OfficeWriter Renderer will understand the custom blocks and regenerate the document, preserving all semantics. Using data supplied by Reporting Services, OfficeWriter will replace the data markers in the document much like the declarative usage today.

It’s a typical renderer for Excel and Word that enhances the current Excel renderer bundled with Reporting Services. Calls from the renderer API will be mapped into equivalent formatting and data placement using the Programmatic API of OfficeWriter.

The integration of the OfficeWriter Designer and Renderer still allows the user to take advantage of all of the Reporting Services features like security, scheduling and delivery.