An RDL report layout is the most interactive report type, where controls grow vertically to accommodate data. Controls can grow and shrink, you can set up interactive sorting, you can set up drill-down reports in which detail data is initially hidden, and can be toggled by other items, and you can add drill-through links to other reports and to bookmark links within reports.

Key Features

Master Reports

The unique RDL report layout feature is the ability to create master reports. A master report is one that you use to add common report functionality like data, company logos, and page headers or footers, while using the ContentPlaceHolder control to designate areas where content reports can add data. In this way, you can quickly change the data source or company address and logo for an entire suite of reports in one convenient place. See Master Report (RDL Report) for more information.

Page Break and Pagination

You can add a page break by using the PageSize setting or by specifying the PageBreakBefore and PageBreakAfter properties of data region, group, and rectangle. In RDL reports, you can easily verify data that does not include any page breaks, therefore it can be more appropriately used for browsing large reports.

Themes

RDL reports (and Page reports, too) can use themes to apply standard formatting to a range of report controls. When you want to change the look, you can do it all in the *.rdlx-theme file and it will apply to each report when it runs. See Themes for more information.

Shared Data Sources

You can create and use shared data sources, so that you need not enter the same connection string every time you create a report.

Custom Resource Locators

You can create a custom resource locator for items to use in your reports. In this way, you can locate images for reports, or even reports to use in subreports or in drill-through links. This task is mostly for developers, see Custom Resource Locator for more information.

Data Regions and Report Controls

RDL reports have controls that can display data differently than in Section reports. You can use Sparkline and Bullet report controls for dashboard reports, plus there is a List, Table, and Tablix data regions to display your data. See Page/RDL Report for details on the report controls available in Page/RDL reports.

Data Visualizers

The Image and TextBox report controls have a Data Visualizer feature that allows you to display data in small, easy-to-comprehend graphs. This is a powerful tool to really make your data pop. See the page on DV for details.

Interactivity

The RDL report interactivity includes such features as Parameters, Drill Down, Drill Through, Bookmark Links, and more. See the page on Interactivity for details.

Printing

By setting the PageSize.Height property to Auto, you can print an RDL report in a single page despite the report page height at design time. For details on printing in desktop viewers, see Print in Desktop Viewers page and for details on printing via code, see Printing page.