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William Vaughn

William Vaughn is an expert on Visual Studio, SQL Server, Reporting Services, and data access interfaces. He’s author of the Hitchhiker’s Guide series, including Hitchhiker’s Guide to Visual Studio and SQL Server, 7th ed. (Addison-Wesley).
Email: billva@betav.com

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Author Articles

SSRS How-To: Create Reports by User to Protect Sensitive Data

By William Vaughn, 12/13/2011

In SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), you can create reports that automatically morph based on who is viewing them.

A Candid Look at Report Builder 3.0

By William Vaughn, 04/15/2011

Report Builder 3.0 includes many new features, but it has the same goal as its predecessors: providing end users with an easy-to-use alternative to the report-authoring tools in ...

Managing Multi-Select Parameters in SSRS

By William Vaughn, 02/11/2011

You can let users choose more than one option in a report's pick list even when the report uses a parameter-driven query. Improvements to the SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) ...

Managing TableAdapter Timeouts

By William Vaughn, 03/25/2010

There are plenty of reasons you might need to set your own timeout values for your Fill methods, but for now, it isn't too easy. Learn how to work around current limitations.

Report Builder 2.0

By William Vaughn, 01/13/2010

This reincarnated tool is easy to use but creates certain security risks when users modify reports.

Are You Ready for Report Builder 2.0?

By William Vaughn, 01/13/2010

Report Builder 2.0 Security

By William Vaughn, 01/13/2010

Report Builder vs. ReportViewer

By William Vaughn, 01/13/2010

Passing NULL Parameters

By William Vaughn, 11/12/2009

Have you ever had a stored procedure that could accept a NULL value as a parameter but didn't seem to work correctly when you did so? Here's what might have gone wrong.

Importing Access Reports into SQL Server Reporting Services

By William Vaughn, 07/22/2009

Learn how to convert your Access reports into SQL Server Reporting Services–supported RDL.

Unlock the Secrets of SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services

By William Vaughn, 02/17/2009

See what Microsoft changed in SQL Server Reporting Services 2008 and how these new features will affect you.

Exporting SSRS Reports—For Free

By William Vaughn, 02/16/2009

A free utility, Reporting Services Scripter, can help you export SQL Server Reporting Services 2008 reports.

Navigating Microsoft’s Report Designer Maze

By William Vaughn, 02/16/2009

A confusing array of Report Designers is available to SQL Server Reporting Services developers. Here's a list of the versions and what they support.

What’s New for SQL Developers in Visual Studio 2008 SP1

By William Vaughn, 02/16/2009

Visual Studio 2008 SP1 enables many features that didn’t make the cut in the initial Visual Studio 2008 release to manufacturing (RTM). Learn about SP1 reporting and data caching ...

Q: How can I create unique primary keys that are easy for customers to use?

By William Vaughn, 08/28/2008

Learn how to create unique primary keys for customer use.

Q: How can I extract reports from a data source for field agents to access while on the road?

By William Vaughn, 08/28/2008

Learn how to use Visual Studio’s Microsoft ReportViewer to extract reports.

Q: What's the best way to keep client data on a SQL Server Compact Edition database in sync?

By William Vaughn, 08/28/2008

Learn how to use ADO.NET 3.5 Synchronization Services classes to keep data in sync.



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