You must have the Enterprise, Developer, Standard, or Evaluation edition of SQL Server to use Report Builder.

The client computer must have the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 installed. The .NET Framework provides the infrastructure for running ClickOnce applications.

You must use Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or later.

Report Builder always runs in full trust; you cannot configure it to run in partial trust. In previous releases, it was possible to run Report Builder in partial trust, but that option is not supported in SQL Server 2008.

Report Builder is enabled by default. Report server administrators have the option of disabling the Report Builder feature by setting the report server system property EnableReportDesignClientDownload to false. Setting this property will disable Report Builder downloads for that report server.

To set report server system properties, you can use Management Studio or script:

• To use Management Studio, connect to the report server and use the Advanced Server Properties page to set EnableReportDesignClientDownload to false. For more information about how to open this page, see How to: Set Report Server Properties (Management Studio).
  
• To view a sample script that sets a report server property, see Scripting Deployment and Administrative Tasks.
  

On a native mode report server, create user role assignments that include tasks for using Report Builder. You must be a Content Manager and System Administrator to create or modify role definitions and role assignments on items and at the site level.

The following instructions assume that you are using predefined roles. If you modified the role definitions or if you upgraded from SQL Server 2000, check the roles to verify they contain the necessary tasks. For more information about creating role assignments, see How to: Grant User Access to a Report Server (Report Manager).

After you create the role assignments, users will have permission to do the following:

• Users assigned to the System User and Browser roles can view published Report Builder reports on a report server, without having to launch Report Builder.
  
• Users assigned to the System User and Report Builder roles can generate models, start Report Builder and create reports, and save reports to the report server.
  
• Users assigned to the System User and Publisher roles can publish models from Model Designer to the report server. Models are used as data sources in Report Builder.
  
• Users assigned to the System Administrator and Content Manager roles have full permissions to create, view, and manage Report Builder reports.
  

 To verify required tasks are in the role definitions

1. Start Management Studio and connect to the report server.

2. Open the Security folder.

3. Open the System Roles folder.

4. Right-click System Administrator, and select Properties.

5. Select Execute report definitions and click OK.

6. Right-click System User, and select Properties.

7. Select Execute report definitions and click OK.

8. Open the Roles folder.

9. Right-click Browser, and select Properties.

10. Select View models and click OK.

11. Right-click Content Manager, and select Properties.

12. Select View models, Manage models, Consume reports, and click OK.

13. Right-click Publisher, and select Properties.

14. Select Manage models and click OK.

15. Create the Report Builder role if it does not exist:

    1. Open the Security folder.
       
    2. Right-click Roles, and select New Role.
       
    3. In Name, type Report Builder.
       
    4. In Description, enter a description for the role so that users in Report Manager know what the role is for.
       
    5. Add the following tasks: Consume reports, View reports, View models, View resources, View folders, and Manage individual subscriptions.
       
    6. Click OK to save the role.
       

On a SharePoint integrated mode report server, Report Builder access is granted to SharePoint users who have either Contribute or Full Control permission levels.

If you use custom permission levels, you must include Add Items and Edit Items in the permission level. For more information about Report Builder access through built-in permission levels, see Using Built-in Security in Windows SharePoint Services for Report Server Items. For more information about permission requirements for custom permission levels, see Setting Permissions for Report Server Operations in a SharePoint Web Application.

Report Builder uses ClickOnce technology to download and install its application files on a client computer. ClickOnce technology is intended for one-way application deployment that places program files on a client computer and runs the application as a separate process under the identity of the default user. Because Report Builder must connect back to the report server to get application files and report server data, it is important to understand how ClickOnce sets the security context and issues requests to remote computers under different scenarios:

• ClickOnce always runs as a separate process on the client computer. The process identity is the default Windows user credentials. ClickOnce does not share session data with Internet Explorer or obtain the current user security context from Internet Explorer.
  
• ClickOnce sends requests that specify Windows integrated security in the authentication header. If a server is configured for a different authentication type, the server will fail requests from ClickOnce with an authentication error. To work around this issue, you must either configure a server for Windows integrated security or you must enable Anonymous access to eliminate the authentication check.
  
• Report Builder opens its own connection to a report server. If you are not using Windows integrated security with single sign on, users must re-type their credentials for the Report Builder connection to the report server.
  

The following table describes the authentication types supported by the report server, and whether additional configuration is required to access Report Builder.

Tasks

Concepts

Other Resources

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