UWP Report Viewer Component Overview

The UWP Report Viewer is a Bold Reports® XAML component that renders SSRS, RDL, RDLC, and Bold Report Server® reports inside Universal Windows Platform (UWP) desktop and tablet applications. You add it to your project through NuGet packages and use it to display, interact with, and export reports directly inside a native Windows app.

This page introduces what the UWP Report Viewer does, its key capabilities, common use cases, and where to go next to add it to your application.

What is the UWP Report Viewer?

The UWP Report Viewer is a XAML control that you place on a page in a Universal Windows Platform application, the same way you would any other native Windows control. It can display reports with or without a connection to SSRS or Bold Report Server®, so you can bind it directly to local RDL or RDLC report definitions and data sources, or point it at a report server for centrally managed reports.

Because it runs as part of the UWP app itself rather than in a browser, the Report Viewer is well suited to desktop and tablet scenarios that need offline access, touch-friendly interaction, or distribution through the Microsoft Store. You control its placement, sizing, and lifecycle within your XAML layout, while the underlying reporting engine handles report processing, rendering, and export.

With the UWP Report Viewer, you can

  • Render RDL and RDLC reports inside a UWP app with full support for major RDL reporting capabilities.
  • Bind data sources and report parameters directly from your application code.
  • Export rendered reports to PDF, Excel, Word, and HTML formats.
  • Connect to SSRS or Bold Report Server®, or run reports locally without either.

Key features

Interactive report rendering

  • Drill-down and drill-through navigation.
  • Hyperlink navigation within report content.
  • Interactive sorting.

XAML-first customization

  • Customize every visual element through XAML and styling.
  • Hook into exposed events for report processing customization.

Multi-framework component parity

  • The same reporting engine backs the Bold Reports® viewers for jQuery, Angular, React, Blazor, ASP.NET Core, ASP.NET MVC, and ASP.NET Web Forms.
  • Report behavior stays consistent if your organization uses more than one platform.

Flexible report sourcing

  • Render reports from local RDL or RDLC files.
  • Connect to a Bold Report Server® instance or an existing SSRS deployment.

Common use cases

Embedding reports in Windows desktop and tablet apps

  • Add the Report Viewer to a line-of-business UWP application.
  • Let field staff or internal teams view operational reports on a Windows desktop or tablet device.

Delivering offline or low-connectivity reporting

  • Bind the viewer to local RDL or RDLC report files.
  • Display reports without a live connection, useful for kiosks and field devices.

Migrating from SSRS-only reporting

  • Bind the viewer to an existing SSRS report server.
  • Modernize the presentation layer in a native Windows app while keeping report definitions and data sources unchanged.

Building export and print workflows

  • Let users save or print reports directly from a UWP application.
  • Support offline review, sharing, and distribution.

Who should use this guide?

This guide is intended for:

  • UWP and .NET developers integrating reporting into a new or existing Windows application.
  • Teams building line-of-business or Microsoft Store apps that need embedded reporting.
  • Developers migrating desktop or web reporting to a Universal Windows Platform app.
  • Technical teams connecting a UWP application to SSRS or Bold Report Server®.

Prerequisites

Before you begin:

  • Visual Studio with the Universal Windows Platform development workload installed.
  • A UWP application project that you can add the Report Viewer component to.
  • The Bold Reports® UWP NuGet packages, configured as described in the NuGet Packages guide.
  • An RDL or RDLC report file, or access to an SSRS or Bold Report Server® instance, to render.

No server-side installation is required to render local report files; a report server is needed only if you plan to connect to SSRS or Bold Report Server®.

Considerations and limitations

  • The Report Viewer does not support the RDL specification for SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005.
  • Rendering fidelity depends on the features used in the RDL or RDLC report definition; verify complex report layouts after migrating from another viewer.
  • Connecting to SSRS or Bold Report Server® requires network access and valid credentials for that server.

FAQ

Do I need SSRS or Bold Report Server to use the UWP Report Viewer?

No. The Report Viewer can render local RDL or RDLC report files directly, without any report server. SSRS or Bold Report Server® is only required if you want to serve reports from a centrally managed server.

How is the UWP Report Viewer installed?

It is installed through NuGet packages into your UWP application project, then added to a XAML page as a native control, as described in the NuGet Packages guide.

Which report formats does the UWP Report Viewer support?

It supports RDL and RDLC report definitions, and can export rendered reports to PDF, Excel, Word, and HTML.

Can the same reports be used with other framework viewers?

Yes. The underlying report format and processing engine are shared across the Bold Reports® viewers for jQuery, Angular, React, Blazor, ASP.NET Core, ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET Web Forms, and WPF, so RDL and RDLC reports are portable between them.

Can I customize the toolbar and other UI elements?

Yes. The toolbar and other visual elements can be customized, and the component exposes events for further customization of report processing.

Getting help

If you run into an issue while integrating the UWP Report Viewer, start with the getting-started and how-to guides linked below, which cover common integration steps in detail. For questions not covered in the documentation, reach out through the Bold Reports® support channels for further assistance.