I'm using SQL Server Data Tools 2012 in Visual Studio. I have a Reporting Services report containing a table with some columns that are optional, based on selections from a multivalued parameter, and other columns that are required.
Among the required columns, the first two - call them SalesOutlet and ProductType - are to be used to create separate worksheets when downloaded to an Excel spreadsheet. For instance, I want a worksheet for each of these combinations:
... etc. Since these columns are used to create the separate worksheets, it would be redundant to show them in the sheets, so I want to hide them.
I can create the separate worksheets by making SalesOutlet and ProductType be row groups and selecting page breaks "Between each instance of a group" in the Page Breaks tab of the Group Properties dialog. However, if I then go to the Visibility tab and select to Hide the groups, it hides all the columns in my report, since Hide will hide all columns of a group.
How do I use columns for grouping and page break criteria, and hide them in my downloaded result, while still showing their child member columns?
It turns out that you can delete the group columns after you've specified them to be used for grouping and page break. You simply right-click on the the handle of the column(s) to be removed and select "Delete Columns" -> "Delete columns only".