Enhancing Readability of Custom Report Fields Using SSRS Expressions (Switch case)

 Hi Everyone,

I have received a custom report where one of the fields displays non-readable strings based on different processing levels. To improve clarity, I need to convert these codes into meaningful descriptions. To achieve this, I'm utilizing the Switch function within the SSRS report field expressions.

=Switch(

    Fields!Name.Value = "Step1", "L1 Team Review",

    Fields!Name.Value = "Step2", "L2 Team Review",

    Fields!Name.Value = "Step3", "L3 Team Review"

)

In this expression, when the Name field has a specific value (e.g., "Step1"), it displays the corresponding descriptive text ("L1 Team Review"). If none of the specified conditions are met, the expression returns Nothing by default.​

Handling Unmatched Values:

To display the original value when it doesn't match any specified condition, you can add a default case using True as the final condition:​

=Switch(

    Fields!Name.Value = "Step1", "L1 Team Review",

    Fields!Name.Value = "Step2", "L2 Team Review",

    Fields!Name.Value = "Step3", "L3 Team Review",

    True, Fields!Name.Value

)

This approach ensures that if the Name field's value doesn't match any of the specified cases, the original value is displayed. This technique is commonly used in SSRS to provide a default case in Switch expressions. ​

Note on Single Value Replacement:

For replacing a single value, the Replace function can be used:​

=Replace(Fields!Name.Value, "Step1", "L1 Team Review")

However, this method is limited to replacing one value at a time. For multiple replacements, the Switch function is more efficient.​

Additional Considerations:

Handling Null or Empty Values: To prevent errors when the Name field is null or empty, incorporate a check using IsNothing:​

  =IIF(IsNothing(Fields!Name.Value), "No Data", 

      Switch(

          Fields!Name.Value = "Step1", "L1 Team Review",

          Fields!Name.Value = "Step2", "L2 Team Review",

          Fields!Name.Value = "Step3", "L3 Team Review",

          True, Fields!Name.Value

      )

  )

This ensures that if the Name field is null, the expression returns "No Data" instead of causing an error.