Design an RDL report in Bold Reports® Web Report Designer

Designing a report in Bold Reports® Web Report Designer lets you connect to data, add a table report item, assign fields to it, and preview the result, all in the browser. The following steps show how to design a simple RDL report in Web Report Designer.

Report designer initial view

What is RDL report design in Web Report Designer?

RDL report design in Bold Reports® Web Report Designer means building a report’s data connections, layout, and report items in RDL (Report Definition Language) format directly in the browser. You use the browser-based Web Report Designer rather than a separate desktop tool.

The designer combines a data configuration panel, a design surface, and a properties pane. You can connect to a data source and drag report items such as tables onto the canvas. You can then bind fields to them and adjust their appearance in one continuous workflow.

With Web Report Designer, you can

  • Connect to a SQL data source and query data using the built-in query designer.
  • Drag and drop report items such as tables onto the design surface.
  • Assign column headers and data fields to table cells using the data assign menu.
  • Resize columns and rows, and customize appearance from the properties pane.

How do I create data for the report?

You create data in Web Report Designer from the Data panel by connecting to a SQL data source.

  1. To add data, click the Data icon in the Data Configuration panel. The Data panel opens. Data panel icon

  2. Click the New Data button in the data panel. New data button

  3. Choose the SQL type to connect data. Data source types panel

  4. In the new data source panel:

    • In the Name field, enter the data source name without special characters.
    • In the Server Name field, select an existing server in the local network from the drop-down list, or enter a remote server name like myserver.domain.com.
    • In the Authentication Type field, choose Windows or SQL Server authentication.
    • If you chose SQL Server authentication, enter the username and password of the server.
    • In the Database field, choose or enter an existing valid database, for example AdventureWorks. Data source fields panel

  5. Click the Connect button. The following view is displayed. Query designer initial view

    This example uses an AdventureWorks database for demonstration.

Edit dataset name

You edit the name of the Data in Web Report Designer in the Name field in the toolbar pane.

Dataset name field

Drag and drop table in query designer

The left pane of the Web Report Designer query designer holds the tables, views, and procedures of the connected database. Drag the table or view you want from the left pane and drop it into the center pane labeled Drag and Drop table here, as shown below:

Drag and drop query table to design area

The table is dropped in the design area as shown below.

Query designer with query table

Execute query

You run the query in Web Report Designer with the Run option in the tools pane.

  1. Click the Run option in the tools pane to execute and visualize the data. Run query icon

  2. The data is retrieved based on the specified query. Execute query output

Save Data

You save the data in Web Report Designer by clicking Finish in the tools pane.

  1. Click the Finish button in the tools pane. Finish data button

  2. Your dataset is now listed in the Data panel as shown below. Data list view

  3. Expand the icon to view the data fields. Data fields list

Add table report item

The left pane in the Web Report Designer design view contains basic items, data regions, data visualization, and sub reports for designing an interactive report.

This example uses the Table report item for demonstration.

  1. Select the Table item under Data Regions in the item panel, and then drag and drop it to the design area. Table report item

  2. The Table renders with two rows and three columns in the design area. Table initial view

Assign data

You bind data to the table in Web Report Designer by assigning the dataset to the Dataset property of the table.

The Assign data step applies only to report items in the data visualization and data region categories.

Assign dataset to the table

Add column header

You add a column header in Web Report Designer by entering text in a table cell.

  1. Select the first cell in the table. Click the Text Editor icon or the Add Text option from the Data Assign Menu to open the dialog. Enter ProductID as the column header text.
  2. To set the column header text as ProductID, follow the steps in the Set header text using data assign menu section. Enter text in table cell
  3. Add the column header text you need to the other cells in the table in the same way. Assign column text output

Assign data fields in table cell

You assign data fields to table cells in Web Report Designer from the data assign menu.

  1. Select the table cell and click the Data assign menu icon to open the data assign menu. Open data assign menu

  2. Assign the ProductID field to the table cell. Assign fields to table cell

  3. Assign the other data fields you need to the table cells in the same way. Output of assign fields procedure

  4. To add the =Fields!OrderQty.Value*Round(Fields!UnitPrice.Value,2) expression to a selected Tablix cell, follow the steps in the Set expression using data assign menu section.

  5. The table now looks as shown below. Assign expression to table cell

Resize the column

You resize table columns in Web Report Designer by dragging the column gripper. Resizing row height and column width improves report readability.

  1. Place the mouse pointer on the column border. Resize the table column

  2. Drag the column gripper horizontally to adjust the column width. Adjust column width of the table

Resize the row

You resize table rows in Web Report Designer by dragging the row gripper.

  1. Place the mouse pointer on the row border. Resize the table row

  2. Drag the row gripper vertically to adjust the row height. Adjust row height of the table

Customize the appearance

You customize the table appearance in Web Report Designer from the PROPERTIES pane. The pane holds general settings and settings specific to the report item. Configure the settings you want on the table for a better design and better readability.

Customize table cell properties

Add total

You add a total row in Web Report Designer from the table cell context menu.

  1. Select the first cell of the second row, right-click, and choose Add Total. Add total menu

  2. Select the first four columns of the third row, right-click, and choose Merge cells. Merge cells in table

  3. Change the cell content to Total in the Multi-Text Run Editor dialog, and align the content to the Right side. Modify the cell content

  4. Select the last cell in the third row. To add the expression =Sum(Fields!OrderQty.Value*Round(Fields!UnitPrice.Value,2)), follow the steps in the Set expression using data assign menu section.

The table design now looks as shown below.

Final design view

How do I save the report?

To save a report in Web Report Designer after you finish designing, read the How to save report section.

How do I preview the report?

You preview the report in Web Report Designer with the Preview button in the report header.

  1. Click the Preview button in the report header. Preview icon in design view

  2. The report preview is displayed as shown below. Table report preview

    Download the above report design from the RDL report design sample on GitHub

What are the key features?

Bold Reports® Web Report Designer offers the following features for designing a table report:

  • Browser-based query designer: Connect to a SQL data source and build a query visually, without leaving the Web Report Designer.
  • Drag-and-drop table design: Add a table report item to the design surface, then assign column headers and data fields directly from the data assign menu.
  • Expression support: Use expressions such as =Fields!OrderQty.Value*Round(Fields!UnitPrice.Value,2) to compute values and totals in table cells.
  • Live preview: Preview the report at any point in the design process to check layout, data binding, and totals before saving.

What are common use cases?

Common use cases for designing RDL reports in Bold Reports® Web Report Designer include:

  • Building a tabular report against a SQL database: Connect to a SQL Server data source, query the required tables, and present the results as a table report.
  • Adding computed totals to a report: Use expressions and the Add Total action to summarize numeric columns, such as order quantities and prices.
  • Adjusting report layout for readability: Resize table columns and rows, and customize cell properties to improve how the report reads once rendered.
  • Prototyping a report design quickly: Design and preview an RDL report entirely in the browser before publishing it to the Bold Reports® Report Server.

Who should use this guide?

The Bold Reports® RDL report design guide is intended for:

  • Report authors designing a table-based RDL report for the first time.
  • Developers connecting reports to SQL Server data sources.
  • Anyone adapting this walkthrough to design similar table reports with their own data.

What do I need first?

Before you design an RDL report in Web Report Designer, you need:

  • Access to a SQL Server (or compatible) database and valid connection credentials.
  • Familiarity with the table you want to report on, including its columns and any computed values you plan to use.

What are the considerations and limitations?

Keep the following in mind when you follow this Web Report Designer walkthrough:

  • This walkthrough uses a SQL data source and the AdventureWorks sample database for demonstration; steps for other connector types may differ slightly.
  • Expressions used in table cells, such as Sum and arithmetic operations, follow the report expression syntax described in the linked Tablix sections.
  • Column header and data field assignment steps are shared with the Tablix report item documentation, linked below.

FAQ

Do I need a SQL Server database to follow this guide?

The steps here use a SQL data source and the AdventureWorks database for demonstration, but the same table design workflow applies to other supported connector types.

Can I add computed totals to a table report?

Yes. Select the target cell, and use Add Total or a custom expression such as =Sum(Fields!OrderQty.Value*Round(Fields!UnitPrice.Value,2)) to compute a total.

Can I preview the report before saving it?

Yes. Click the Preview button in the report header at any point during design to see the current output.

Where can I download the sample report used in this guide?

A downloadable copy of the report design used in this walkthrough is linked in the Preview report section above.

How do I get help?

If a data connection fails or a report item does not render as expected in Web Report Designer, check your data source credentials and query. For embedding data sources, adding report parameters, and working with the Tablix report item, read the related sections below.

See also