SSRS ReportViewer Export Opens in New Tab

Question

Hello,

I'm using the Microsoft.Reporting.WebForms.ReportViewer control in an ASP.NET Web Forms application. I want the report to render on the page and for export actions (like PDF, Excel) to download in the same browser tab, not open a new one.

<rsweb:ReportViewer ID="ReportViewer1" runat="server" BackColor="#F2F3F6" ProcessingMode="Remote" ShowZoomControl="True"
    Width="100%" PromptAreaCollapsed="False" ShowBackButton="True" AsyncRendering="False" SizeToReportContent="False" Height="800px" OnReportRefresh="ReportViewer1_ReportRefresh" ShowCredentialPrompts="False">
</rsweb:ReportViewer>

Despite setting AsyncRendering="False", which should render the report directly on the page (not in an iframe), clicking the export icon still opens the exported file in a new browser tab instead of downloading it within the same one.

I've verified:

The report is not inside an iframe (confirmed via browser dev tools).

The behavior is consistent across browsers (Chrome, Edge).

No custom JavaScript is used for export.

• No relevant browser extensions are active (e.g., PDF viewers, download managers). Help me to fix this issue. Thanks,
  Akshayaa

Answer 1

Download is typically implemented by defining an anchor in the html report. The target attribute defines if a new tab is used. Sometimes the anchor is hidden and JavaScript is used click it or JavaScript may generate the anchor and click it.

the behavior is deliberate. See docs:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/reporting-services/html-viewer-and-the-report-toolbar?view=sql-server-ver16