Configuring ReportViewer for Local Processing

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You can configure a ReportViewer control to process reports locally so that they use the built-in processing provided by the control. When you configure the ReportViewer control for local processing, all report processing is performed on the computer that hosts the application. All data used by the report must be provided by the host application.

Data sources that are used in your reports must be defined in advance, during report design. At run time, your application must retrieve the data that is used in the report. The steps for configuring a data source for a locally processed report vary depending on whether you are using the Web server control or the Windows Forms control. For more information about supported data sources, see Creating Data Sources for a Report.

How to Configure ReportViewer for Local Processing

To configure a ReportViewer control for local processing, you select or create a client report definition (.rdlc) file to use with the ReportViewer control:

  1. Add the ReportViewer control from the Reporting section of the Toolbox to the Windows form or Web form in your project.

  2. In the ReportViewer Tasks smart tags panel, click Design a new report to create the .rdlc file you want to use. Or, you can select Choose Report to use an existing .rdlc file that is already part of your project. You can only choose one report.

    Clicking Design a new report adds an empty .rdlc file to your project, opens a blank report in graphical design mode, and provides menus and design surfaces so that you can create a new report. To create a report, you must have already defined the datasets you want to work with. For more information about creating .rdlc files, see Creating Client Report Definition (.rdlc) Files.

  3. Build or deploy the application to verify that the report appears correctly in your application.

You can use the walkthroughs to learn how to configure and use ReportViewer controls in local processing mode. All of the walkthroughs include control configurations that process reports locally. For more information, see Samples and Walkthroughs.

You can modify a report and change the processing options so that the report processes on a remote SQL Server Reporting Services report server.

When to Use Local Processing

Local processing mode is recommended for applications that include small to medium-sized reports and datasets. Because all data and report processing is performed on the client, you might encounter performance degradation or memory limitations if you attempt to process large or complex reports and queries.

Local processing mode is less scalable than remote processing and is intended for standalone applications that do not require a report server. Users who are familiar with server reports that run on a remote SQL Server Reporting Services report server should note the following differences:

  • In remote processing mode, the report server both retrieves the data and processes the report, whereas in local processing mode, the ReportViewer control processes the report only, and the the host application must retrieve the data and supply it to the ReportViewer control.

  • Client report definitions do not include query information.

  • Report parameters in client report definitions (.rdlc) do not map to data source query parameters.

  • There is no parameter input area for a client report definition that accepts values that are subsequently used in a query.

See Also

Concepts

Adding and Configuring the ReportViewer Controls
Configuring ReportViewer for Remote Processing

Copyright © 2012 by Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Build Date:

2012-08-02