Introducing SQL Server Data Tools for Analysis and Reporting Services for Visual Studio 2017

Visual Studio 2017 brings improvements to performance, navigation, IntelliSense, Azure development, mobile development, and boosts productivity through live unit testing and real-time architectural dependency validation. There are many good reasons for developers to use Visual Studio 2017. And thanks to the timely availability of SSDT AS and RS for Visual Studio 2017, BI Pros do not have to wait or run multiple versions of Visual Studio side by side.

The release version of Visual Studio 2017 is available for download at https://visualstudio.com

The full SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) for Visual Studio 2017 stand-alone download is not yet available. This is still a work in progress and should be available in the near future. The good news is that the installation packages for the preview versions of SQL Server Analysis Services and SQL Server Reporting Services project types are already available as Visual Studio Deployment (VSIX) packages. VSIX packages provide a straightforward way to deploy extensions and they open new deployment options. For example, you no longer need to search for a separate download if you already have Visual Studio. From any edition of Visual Studio 2017 – including Community – just check out the Visual Studio Marketplace for convenient access to the AS and RS project types. Select the Tools > Extensions and Updates menu option, and search for “SSDT”. The two new BI VSIX packages should be displayed, as the following screenshot illustrates.

ssdt-2017

The Visual Studio Marketplace can also keep the AS and RS project types updated automatically, which comes in very handy if you want to stay on the latest and hottest with every new release. A little notification in Visual Studio reminds you when we make new updates available. You can configure the update settings through the Extensions and Updates dialog box in Visual Studio.

Support for Integration Services for Visual Studio 2017 is in progress, but is not yet available. For now, we recommend using SSDT for Visual Studio 2015 if you need to use all the BI project types together in a solution.

Of course, we are also going to continue to provide a unified SSDT setup experience, which, as mentioned, will be available in a forthcoming release. But don’t delay! Download and install the SSDT AS and RS packages through the Visual Studio Marketplace and let us know how you like your new Visual Studio 2017 development environment!

Please provide feedback to the Microsoft Engineering team: ProBIToolsFeedback at microsoft.com.