Is there an easy way to rearrange tablix columns in SSRS design mode?

Question

I have an SSRS report which contains more than 20 columns in a tablix. Our users have decided that the data is OK, but they want the columns moved around (sigh!).

It seems like it should be easy to re-arrange the columns (move column 3 to column 1, swap columns 4 & 5 etc.). But, drag and drop does not seem to work and the only solution seems to be deleting the original column and re-inserting it in the correct place (and re-applying any expressions & formatting already created for the column).

Is there any easier way of doing this? Please note that I don't want a programmatic solution, but just need to change it once in design mode.

Answer 1

There is a way to move columns through the designer:

1. insert the number of blank columns you want to move in your destination spot
2. shift-left-click on the cells (NOT the header column) you want to move
3. right-click and select the Cut command
4. right-click on top of the destination columns and select Paste
5. delete the now empty old columns