PDF report item in Bold Reports®

The PDF report item in the Bold Reports® Web Report Designer lets you embed PDF documents within a report. It automatically converts the PDF into images without opening the file. It renders the images across multiple report pages, matching the total number of pages in the original PDF.

How do I add a PDF report item?

You add a PDF report item in the Bold Reports® Web Report Designer from the item panel. Follow these steps:

  1. Find the PDF report item in the item panel under the Documents category. PDF listed in item panel
  2. Drag and drop the PDF report item from the item panel into the design area. Drag and drop PDF report item into design area
  3. After you place the PDF item in the design area, its properties are displayed in the properties panel. PDF item with properties view

General Properties

The general properties of the PDF report item in the Bold Reports® Web Report Designer set where the PDF comes from and how it is sized.

Basic Settings

The Basic Settings category of the PDF report item contains the Source, URL, and Sizing properties.

pdf custom reportitem basic settings

Source

The Source property specifies the input type for the PDF document. You can choose from URL, Database, or Server. pdf source property

  • URL

    Use the URL option to provide a PDF document as an online URL or as a Base64-encoded string. An online URL is a direct link to a PDF file hosted on the web. A Base64-encoded string represents the PDF content. Use this option when the document is accessible through a web link, or when you have the PDF encoded as a Base64 string for secure or offline usage.

  • Database

    Use the Database option to provide a PDF document stored in your database. The document can be a direct URL to the PDF file, a Base64-encoded string of the PDF content, or a byte array of the raw binary data. You can also use an expression to provide the PDF document dynamically by clicking the Expression box.

  • Server

    The Server option displays the list of PDF files that have been uploaded on the Bold Reports® server. You can select any of these uploaded PDF files and use them directly in your report.

Sizing

The Sizing property lets you control the size of the PDF document displayed as an image in the report viewer. It offers two options to adjust the size of the rendered image: AutoSize and FitToPageSize. pdf sizing property

  • AutoSize

    The AutoSize option displays the original size of the given PDF document as an image in the report viewer. If the image size is larger than the report paper size, the image is cropped across multiple pages to prevent data loss.

  • FitToPageSize

    The FitToPageSize option displays the given PDF document as an image in the print layout dimension.

Other properties

The PDF report item in the Bold Reports® Web Report Designer also supports name, appearance, link, position, visibility, and miscellaneous properties.

Name

The Name property gives the PDF report item a unique name in the report.

Appearance

The appearance properties of the PDF report item include border style, color, and width. They style the PDF report item and customize its appearance in the report design. These options are available under the Appearance category in the properties panel.

The Linking property lets you create interactive and user-friendly reports by adding actions such as Hyperlink and Report Linking. See Linking to learn more about linking. PDF link property

Border

The Border properties add or customize the border around a PDF report item to visually separate it from other elements in the report design. To set border properties in the properties panel, see Border Properties.

Position

The Position property sets the width, height, left, and top position of the PDF report item in the report design. To handle these properties in the properties panel, see Position.

Visibility

The Visibility property conditionally shows or hides the PDF report item during report preview or export. To set the visibility of the PDF report item in the properties panel, see Visibility.

Miscellaneous

The Miscellaneous category of the PDF report item holds the tooltip, bookmark, and custom style properties.

Tooltip

The Tooltip property displays informative text or values when the user hovers over the report item in report preview. To set a tooltip for the PDF report item in the properties panel, see Tooltip.

Bookmark

Bookmark links let users navigate to different parts of an SSRS report. You can add bookmarks to textboxes, images, tables, charts, or unique group values in a tablix to direct users to specified locations in the report. The value of the bookmark property can be either custom strings or expressions. See Bookmark to configure bookmarks in the report design.

You can set static or dynamic text as the value for the bookmark property. To set and reset dynamic text, see Set Expression and Reset Expression.

Custom Style

The Custom Style property enables the use of external CSS for styling report items, providing enhanced flexibility beyond the built-in styling options. Use this property to meet specific design requirements and keep styling consistent across multiple reports. For a step-by-step guide on setting up custom styles in your report, check the How To section of this guide.

custom style property

Set expression

The Bold Reports® Web Report Designer lets you apply expressions to certain properties of the PDF report item, so the property values are processed based on expressions. To set expressions for the PDF custom report item properties, see Set Expression.

Reset expression

To Reset the expression applied to a PDF report item property in the Bold Reports® Web Report Designer, see Reset Expression.

Advanced properties

Some properties of the PDF report item in the Bold Reports® Web Report Designer contain nested properties. To open and handle nested properties, see Advanced Properties.

Frequently asked questions

Which sources can the PDF report item use?

The Source property lets you choose URL, Database, or Server as the input type for the PDF document.

How does the PDF report item render multi-page PDFs?

It converts the PDF into images and renders them across multiple report pages, matching the total number of pages in the original PDF.

See also