Chapter 10. Import and Export

You can export various objects from a ReportServer instance to save or import them to another instance. The export options can be found in the Administration section under the respective object (e.g., a report). You can export individual objects or entire subtrees. This allows you to move the complete report inventory of one installation to another.

When exporting a ReportServer object, all the reference objects required to use the object will also be exported. For example, a report will be accompanied by the respective data source.

To export an object or a subtree, open the respective section in the Administration module (e.g., Reports). Click on the object or the superordinate folder of the subt-ree to export. In the toolbar, click the Export button. When exporting a report, you can choose to include or exclude variants. Once the export is finalized, ReportServer will prompt you to either display or download the export. Please note that this process may take longer for more comprehensive subtrees. Direct download as a zipped archive is recommended for comprehensive exports.

ReportServer exports objects in an XML dialect. This allows export files to be edited with common XML tools. Additionally, it makes it easy to adapt export files to later versions of ReportServer.

To upload exported objects to ReportServer, open the Import section in the Administration module and click Start import in the toolbar. In the window that opens, you can upload an export file (.zip) or enter an exported XML file directly.

After uploading the exported data, the object types included in the export will appear in the left part of the window. Different import options are available depending on the section.

Once you have successfully completed the configuration, click on the Complete import in the toolbar to execute the import. Click on Cancel import to interrupt the current import process. To reset the configuration, select Reset. Note that after a successful import, you will be asked if you want to reset the import configuration. Therefore, you can comfortably import multiple objects from an export file.

Select the target folder for the import in the Options tab and click on Create random key if key exists: to avoid double keys. From the Objects tab, select the reports to import. Additionally, you may add imported variants directly to a TeamSpace. From the tool bar select the Import options button and configure the respective TeamSpace.

Remember that reports include further objects such as datasources. They will only be imported if you set the relevant configuration options (refer to Importing Datasources). If you fail to set these options, the relevant fields will remain empty after the import.

Datasources are imported in the same way as reports. In the Options tab you define a target folder and from the Objects tab you select the objects to import. You have the option to specify a Default datasource which will be entered at all locations where you want to avoid to import a datasource that was included in the export. For instance, if you run a test and a production system and you wish to move reports from the test system to the production system, the underlying datasource is usually the one of the production system. Select the production datasource via the option Default Datasource; it will then be entered in all relevant reports and parameters while importing.

Users and files are imported in the same way as reports. There are no additional options available here.

Under Import Options Merge Options, you can check for Use Merge-Importer (selected per-default) and the merge routine is applied. This involves taking one object and transferring its values to another object in the system, with the exception of the key and ID. No entity is deleted after merging. In general, only entities of the same type can be merged.