Fix SSRS / Paginated Reports Using Proper or Sentence Case

Ever had to deal with someone who insists on storing their titles in all capital letters? It is a frustrating habit that can wreak havoc on the presentation of your reports. Titles in all caps tend to scream at the viewer and disrupt the visual harmony of your layout. If you are working with SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) or Power BI Paginated Reports, there is a simple way to clean up those caps without having to alter the source data.

You can use this expression within SSRS/Paginated Reports to convert the text into proper case, which capitalises the first letter of each word while leaving the rest in lowercase:

=StrConv(Fields!FieldName.Value, VbStrConv.ProperCase)

Keep in mind this is proper case (1st letter in each word is uppercase).

This is especially handy when you want consistent formatting across reports but do not want to modify the underlying data in your stored procedure.

Why Case Matters in Reporting

Text case is more than just a design choice. In professional reporting, consistent use of case improves readability and helps maintain a polished, user-friendly interface. Excessive use of all caps can make data harder to read and can come across as unrefined. On the other hand, proper case and sentence case feel more natural and professional.

Some systems may also be case sensitive, particularly in sorting and searching. A mismatch in case handling could lead to inconsistent results or duplicated rows if "john smith" and "John Smith" are treated as separate values. That is why choosing a consistent case handling approach (either in your source or at the presentation layer) is essential.

What About Sentence Case?

If you are looking to convert all caps to sentence case, where only the first letter of the sentence is capitalised, you will need a more custom solution. Unfortunately, StrConv does not support sentence case directly. You can use a custom code block in your report or a VB function to achieve this, like so:

Public Function ToSentenceCase(ByVal input As String) As String
    input = LCase(input)
    Return UCase(Left(input, 1)) & Mid(input, 2)
End Function

Then call it from your expression like this:

=Code.ToSentenceCase(Fields!FieldName.Value)

This is a quick and effective way to ensure your titles or descriptions follow sentence case, especially if your content includes longer paragraphs or natural-language text.

Final Thoughts

Cleaning up all caps titles might seem like a minor detail, but these small adjustments add up to better, more polished reporting. Whether you prefer proper case or sentence case, SSRS gives you the flexibility to shape the output without altering the original data, making your reports easier to read and far more professional.