Microsoft introduced a breaking change in how SSRS reports are exported to CSV files between SQL 2005 and SQL 2008. Specifically, previously in SQL 2005 when a matrix was exported to CSV Microsoft preserved the pivoted layout of the data within the matrix so that column headers remained column headers and rows beneath column headers where aligned beneath the column headers as you would expect. However, in SQL 2008 when you export a tablix the presentation of the data is not preserved in CSV and the dataset is presented without regard to its presentation in the report. Does anyone know how to recover from it? I don't see any simple way to force the CSV export to behave properly. Idea #1: Completely scrap the existing report and dataset. Create a pivot table using dynamic sql and use this as the dataset of a new report. Idea #2: Create a completely new custom rendering method that emulates the layout of the old CSV export. (I don't want to think about how much this would cost in terms of development time.) Idea #3: ???

"Idea #1: Completely scrap the existing report and dataset. Create a pivot table using dynamic sql and use this as the dataset of a new report. " Ok, so that isn't going to work either, because there doesn't seem to be any support for datasets with dynamic fields. I could programmatically create the report on the fly, but once again now we are talking about alot of development time.

Hi, As you noticed, this is a by design behavior in exporting to CSV file from Reporting Services 2008. In other words, we cannot display the format like a matrix in the CSV rendering. Personally, I agree it is reasonable to keep the original behavior. So I would suggest submit a feedback at https://connect.microsoft.com/SQLServer/Feedback and hope add the feature back in the next release. We appreciate your understanding. If you have any question, please feel free to ask. Thanks, Tony Chain Tony Chain [MSFT CSG] | Microsoft Community Support Get or Request Code Sample from Microsoft Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help.