How do I create an RDL file?
Daniel Johnson
Published Feb 08, 2026
How do I create an RDL file?
Creating a report definition file (RDL)
- In the Solution Explorer pane, right-click on the Reports folder.
- Select Add > New Item.
- In the Add New Item window, select the Report icon.
- Type “Sales Orders.
- Select the Add button on the lower right side of the Add New Item dialog box to complete the process.
How do I create a SSRS report in Visual Studio 2015?
The Business Intelligence Development Studio is used to create the reports.
- Click next.
- You see the next screen. Give DataSource name and click edit.
- Choose SQL Server and database.
- Click Next.
- Click query builder.
- Click the symbol (add table), select and add the tables required and click close.
- Click Next.
How do I create a SSRS report?
Create a report server project
- The first step is to open SQL Server Data Tools.
- After this, you need to click on the Business Intelligence.
- Click on the Reporting Services and then Report Server Project.
- If you want to display Report test project to get you started, you can type Report test in Name.
How do I create an RDL report in Visual Studio 2017?
The steps given below are required to create SSRS report.
- Open Visual Studio => File = > Project.
- Select Reporting Services = > Report Server Project = > Set Location & Project Name, followed by clicking OK button.
- Right click on Share Data Source => Add New Data Source.
How do I open an RDL file in Visual Studio 2015?
4 Answers
- 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…”
How do I run a RDL file?
Introduction
- Put a report into SSRS and use the ReportViewer control to call SSRS to run your report.
- Add the .RDL or .RDLC file into your project and create some objects to house the data so the report has an interface to the database.
- Just run it like SSRS does, but without installing the SSRS server.
How do you create a report in Report Builder?
To create a report
- Start Report Builder either from your computer, the Reporting Services web portal, or SharePoint integrated mode. The New Report or Dataset dialog box opens.
- In the left pane, verify that New Report is selected.
- In the right pane, select Table or Matrix Wizard.
How do I create a .RDL file in Visual Studio 2015?
3 Answers
- 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…”
How do I create a report in Visual Studio?
Create a report
- In Visual Studio, create or open a Report Server project. For more information, see Create a Report Server Project.
- On the Project menu, select Add New Item.
- Select Report Wizard, and then select Add.
- Select the TFS2010ReportDS shared data source, and then select Next.
- Select Query Builder.
What is a RDL file?
Report Definition Language (RDL) is a standard proposed by Microsoft for defining reports. RDL is an XML application primarily used with Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services. There are three high-level sections in a typical RDL file: Page style – The objects to display including fields, images, graphs, tables.