Column headers not repeating on each excel sheet in SSRS?

Question

I have a SSRS report which has a row grouping of order number. My stored procedure returns a data for a week, month and year depending on the end date. So as a result I wanted three excel sheets from one SSRS report, one sheet for week , one sheet for month and one sheet for Year. I added another parent row group and grouped by 'group_column' ( which is either week / month or year ) from my SP. Now I see three sheet exported and data is repeated per order number. But I don't get the header rows ( column names ) on each sheet, its only on first sheet. I followed this article to set the static properties "KeepWithGroup" set the value to "After" and for "RepeatOnNewPage" set the value to "True". https://www.mssqltips.com/sqlservertip/3527/export-sql-server-reporting-services-report-data-into-multiple-excel-worksheets/ But no matter what I don't see the column names repeated on week and year sheets !.. What am I missing?

Answer 1

You're close to the right solution! In SSRS, when exporting to Excel with multiple sheets, maintaining header visibility on each sheet depends on how the tablix header row is structured and how grouping and page breaks are configured.

Here’s a checklist and a few key fixes to ensure the column headers repeat on every worksheet (Week, Month, Year):

✅ 1. Verify Static Header Row Is in the Tablix Header

Make sure the column headers are in the static row in the tablix header area, not inside a group. You can confirm this by:

1. Clicking the corner of your tablix.
2. Opening the Row Groups pane.
3. Expand the small drop-down next to the (Static) row and confirm it's not under a group.

✅ 2. Set These Properties on the Header Row

Select the tablix header row, then go to the Properties window:

1. RepeatOnNewPage = True
2. KeepWithGroup = After (or Before depending on the grouping)
3. FixedData = True (optional; keeps it in view when scrolling)

Be sure you’re applying this to the static header row, not a data row or grouped row.

✅ 3. Set Page Breaks Correctly for Excel Sheet Split

If you added a parent group on 'group_column' (Week/Month/Year), go to its group properties:

1. Under Page Breaks, check:
2. ✅ "Between each instance of a group"
3. Also enable:
4. ✅ "Page Name", and set it to =Fields!group_column.Value (to get Week, Month, Year as sheet names).

✅ 4. Important: Export to Excel, Not Print Layout

When testing:

1. Don't use Print Layout preview.
2. Export to Excel directly to check if headers repeat. SSRS sometimes behaves differently in preview vs. export.

Bonus Tip:

If you're still not seeing headers, try moving the column headers out of the grouped rows into the tablix header above the row group. Right-click the topmost row > Insert Row > Above and manually place your headers there.

Summary Fix Steps

1. Put headers in static tablix row (not in any group).
2. Set RepeatOnNewPage = True, KeepWithGroup = After for the header row.
3. Add page breaks between group instances.
4. Set Excel sheet names using PageName expression.
5. Export to Excel for accurate testing.