Aliases can make it easier to understand expressions in reports. If you have a variable called “VariableA” and you have set an alias for it to “VA,” the variable can be referenced by Name OR Alias.
By Name:
{VariableA}
By Alias:
{[VA]}
Syntax – Variables
Square brackets are optional unless you are using characters that are not permitted under VB.Net or C#, in which case, square brackets are mandatory.
Examples of VALID aliases:
{VariableA}
{VariableAndVariableB}
{[Variable and VariableB]}
{[Variable&Values]}
{[Variable-First]}
Examples of INVALID aliases:
{Variable and Value} – Spaces are illegal characters.
{Variable&Value} – The ampersand is an illegal character.
Syntax – Data
The same rule is used when creating the names of data sources and columns. When referring to the data column, only a part with incorrect characters for identifiers should be bracketed. Examples:
{DataSource.[Data Column]}
{[Data-Source].DataColumn}
{[Data=Source].[Data=Column]}