How to open an .rdl file in Visual Studio?

visual-studio reporting-services reporting
Anupa Sankar picture Anupa Sankar · Feb 7, 2017 · Viewed 68.9k times · Source

I have an .rdl file that I need to open in Visual Studio. When I try to open this file, I got an XML file. However, I am unable to see the designer format.

I don't know which version of Visual Studio is used to create this .rdl file.

Is it possible to open a random .rdl file in Visual Studio and see the designer format and, if so, how can I do that?

Answer

Paul Bambury picture Paul Bambury · Feb 8, 2017

Correct, the Report Definition Language is just XML. And, as with any other file, you can just open it (File/Open/File...) in Visual Studio, just like in a text editor. In order to see a designer you need to give Visual Studio a bit of context about what sort of file it is by making it part of a Report Server Project.

  • Install SSDT for Visual Studio if you haven't already done so
  • Create a new project using the 'Report Server Project' template
  • Copy/move the .rdl file(s) you have into the folder for the newly created project (eg ..\Visual Studio 2015\Projects\My Report Project\My Report Project)
  • Use the "Add Existing Item..." context menu option in Solution Explorer to add the .rdl to the project
  • Open report designer by double-clicking the newly added report project item(s)

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