Use OfficeWriter and Reporting Services to Create Excel Spreadsheets with Live Links to Analysis Services Cubes

(Chris Webb) One of the biggest complaints about SQL Server Reporting Services’ out-of-the-box functionality is that when you export a report to Excel you only get static values pasted into cells in the resulting workbook – all connections with the underlying database which you used to create the report have gone. This is a particular problem when you’re working on a business intelligence project and you’re chasing after that elusive ‘one version of the truth.’ As soon as that export happens, the data in Excel gains a life of its own. It can (and probably will) be used to create new reports or be emailed out to other users, and all the time it will be getting more and more out of sync with the original database.