Concept: Element Hierarchies in Reports

Most elements have multiple layers of hierarchies. An element with subelements is a parent and its subelements are children. By default, a report user can expand and collapse elements in rows. To change the default behavior, you can clear the

Allow rows to be expanded

check box in report properties. A report user can’t expand or collapse elements in columns.

After you add elements to a report, when the hierarchy icon is:

Gray, the element is collapsed. Only the rollup value of the subelements displays.
Bold, the element is expanded. The values of the element and subelements display.

You can select how to display an element hierarchy in the report viewer:

Always expanded:
Displays the parent and all its children.
Always collapsed:
Displays only the parent.
Custom:
Displays the expansion state of the element when you apply it to the report (expanded, collapsed, or partially expanded). Custom is the default setting.
The option is unavailable for elements that include 500 or more hierarchy levels.

You can change the expansion state before or after you add an element to a report.