The report definition for report 'xxx' has not been specified

Question

Hello,

I have to confess that I never did anything with reporting services, reports, or whatsoever.

For a rather huge database application (based on sql express) I thought it might be best to do the printing with local reports, which I planed to bind to the objects, I already used as data layer in my project.

I created a simple report (just a table, with two fields), bound the report to the ReportViewer-Control, set the bindingsource-properties in form load.

But the only thing I see is this error message

"The report definition for report 'xxx' has not been specified"

So: What *is* a report definition and how *do* I specify it?
Are there any infos I can get somewhere, to learn more about the whole concept?

Thanks,

Klaus

Answer 1

Report definition is the RDL (or RDLC) file. You can specify it by setting reportViewer.LocalReport.ReportPath property to the path of the RDL file.

I'll post a "Hello World" type sample separately.

Answer 2

Thanks for the quick response!

But isn't this file supposed to get taken out of my dll's resource at runtime?
Why isn't it enough to determine the report (and therefore the report file or the source of the report file?) via the task menu of the report viewer control in the forms designer?

Answer 3

The ReportViewer control can load the RDL file from the file system (if you set LocalReport.ReportPath property), it can load it from your dll's resource (if you set LocalReport.ReportEmbeddedResource property) or you can supply the RDL definition as a stream by calling LocalReport.LoadReportDefinition().

In Visual Studio IDE, if you add an .RDLC file by default it's Build Action is set to Embedded Resource. If you select the report in ReportViewer control's smart tags panel then the LocalReport.ReportEmbeddedResource property gets set. ReportViewer should be able to find the RDL without your having to do anything extra.

Answer 4

Does it probably has to do with the fact, that the report, the dialog containing the reportviewer and the datasource is hosted in a dll-assembly-project (and for that matters in a subfolder called "analysis" inside the project) of the whole solution? (which consists of 13 assemblies, btw).

I also notice when a change the build action from "embbeded resource" to "Content/Copy Allways", the report file is not copied to the solution's target output directory. It's only copied to that assemblies' output directory (and there it stays in a sub folder called analysis).

Could a workaround be to create a post build action which than copies the reportfiles to the target output directory of the whole solution (or copy the files manually there)?

So - it's not working, one way or the other. Should I open a bug in the pfc?
Do you have any other workarounds for that problem - I'm really stuck, here.

Thanks a lot,

Klaus

Answer 5

If the report is an embedded resource in a separate assembly then ReportViewer may not be able to find it. You can load the resource yourself and call the reportViewer.LocalReport.LoadReportDefinition() method to supply the RDL to ReportViewer as a stream. You can also load the RDL from the file system by adding a build action to copy the RDL to the same folder as the .exe and then setting the LocalReport.ReportPath to the name of the RDL file.

Answer 6

Hi
I am getting the same error message with a local, embedded report - my code:

Sub DoReportA(ByVal d1 As Date, ByVal d2 As Date, ByVal a As String)

Me.tblWRTableAdapter.FillBy(Me.dsReport1.tblWR, d1, d2, a)

Me.rv1.LocalReport.ReportEmbeddedResource = "report1.rdlc"

Me.rv1.RefreshReport()

Me.ShowDialog()

End Sub

What am I missing?
Gotta say the new reports stuff is just great (apart from this and a couple of other minor probs!)
Thanks

Answer 7

OK Found the problem, or rather two problems.
1The rdlc has to be qualified by the application name
2It's case-sensitive!

Answer 8

I'm having a similar error. I get "The report definition for report 'xxx' has not been specified.
Object Reference not set to an instance of an Object"

Here's my code:

The error occurs on the Refreshreport step.

             ' See the Activate event
            Dim aparm_report_parms(0) As Microsoft.Reporting.WinForms.ReportParameter
            Me.ReportViewer_Cleanup.Reset()
            Me.ReportViewer_Cleanup.LocalReport.ReportEmbeddedResource = "MJ_Outlook_EntContacts.Cleanup_Summary.rdlc"
            aparm_report_parms(0) = New Microsoft.Reporting.WinForms.ReportParameter("Contact_Book_ID", ls_Current_Contact_Book)
            Me.ReportViewer_Cleanup.LocalReport.SetParameters(aparm_report_parms)
            Me.ReportViewer_Cleanup.LocalReport.DataSources.Add(New ReportDataSource("MJ_Dataset_MJ_Cleanup_Stats", Me.MJ_Cleanup_StatsBindingSource))

            Me.ReportViewer_Cleanup.RefreshReport()

Answer 9

I'd be willing to bet that the embedded resource could not be found due to not prefixing the application root namespace to the report definition for the embedded resource.  e.g. if your root namespace is WindowsApplication1 and your embedded resource is report.rdl then the report definition should be specified as WindowsApplication1.report.rdl  if you only specified report.rdl the report viewer will not find the embedded resource.

Answer 10

The answer isnt really to hard:

reportViewer1.LocalReport.ReportEmbeddedResource = "<application namespace>.[optional <folder>].<filename.rdlc>"

Answer 11

I've got a winforms project with a Reports subdirectory off the project root.

I've got several report definition files there.

Using the Report Viewer control, I can select the correct report and it all works fine.

But following the Microsoft tutorial on how to print without previewing a report, I had to enter the ReportPath.

I've tried several different ways of entering that path, but the program always causes an exception because it says "The report definition for report 'xxx' has not been specified"

I've tried:

LocalReport report = new LocalReport();

report.ReportPath = @"Golko_CashBooks.Reports.rptCashBookCover.rdlc";

I've tried

report.ReportPath = @"Golko_CashBooks\Reports\rptCashBookCover.rdlc";

I've tried

report.ReportPath = @"Reports\rptCashBookCover.rdlc";

I've even tried the full path from "D:\etc.\Reports\rptCashBookCover.rdlc@

But it can never find the darn report!

I checked the report properties and it says "Compile" which is fine.

What is the secret to making this work?

As I said I can view the report in report viewer, but I also want to be able to just print the report without viewing it with another button.

Thanks in advance

Answer 12

Isnt your report embedded? Quote:

reportViewer1.LocalReport.ReportEmbeddedResource = "<application namespace>.[optional <folder>].<filename.rdlc>

Answer 13

 

Hello,

I migrated my web project from ASP.NET 1.1 to ASP.NET 2.0 using Visual Studio 2005. There are two conversion models: Web App and Web Site.

I converted my web project to Web App. Then I added a simple local report (just a table, with two fields), bound the report to the ReportViewer-Control, and added reference to Microsoft.ReportViewer.WebForms.

But the only thing I see when I run this app is the error message "The report definition for report … has not been specified."

I tested the same simple code with Web site - works fine.

Any ideas how to make ReportViewer working in Web App?

Thanks!

Answer 14

EIG,

I'm having the exact same problem.  It works in Web Site but does not work with the new Web App type application.

I've spent a whole day on this already :(

Please help...

ScAndal

Answer 15

Could somebody from Microsoft team take a look at this issue?  Please help!

Answer 16

We were having a similar problem...

I found an example in DEVX.com, and when I made the following modifications, everything worked inside the compiler as well as when the application was distributed via ClickOnce...

BTW: Our reports are in a sub folder in the IDE called \Reports, and are set as EmbeddedResource, Do Not Copy...

Private Sub frmDept_Snapshot_Preview_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load

    Me.Text = " Org Snapshot Report Preview"

    Me.ClientSize = New System.Drawing.Size(950, 600)

    Dim colDept As New Creighton.SalaryPositionBudget.colPositionReport(Main.FiscalYear, OrgnList)

    Dim ReportViewer1 As New Microsoft.Reporting.WinForms.ReportViewer

    With ReportViewer1

.        ProcessingMode = Microsoft.Reporting.WinForms.ProcessingMode.Local

        .LocalReport.ReportEmbeddedResource = "SalaryPositionBudget.OrgSnapshot.rdlc"  ' AppName: SalaryPositionBudget   ReportName: OrgSnapshot.rdlc

        .LocalReport.DataSources.Add(New Microsoft.Reporting.WinForms.ReportDataSource("Creighton_SalaryPositionBudget_colPositionReport", colDept))

        .Dock = DockStyle.Fill

        Me.Controls.Add(ReportViewer1)

        .RefreshReport()

    End With

End Sub

Once the ReportEmbeddedResource line was added, everything began to fall into place...

Hope this clears up some of the confusion others have been having as well...

Answer 17

Try adding the ReportPath attribute of the LocalReport element and enter the path and name of the rdlc file? I did that and it seems to be working now.

Answer 18

Same here. Works on Web Site project but not with Web App project

Answer 19

I am having this same problem on a windows app.  It works great in testing...but when I deploy the app to another computer it can't find the report!!!

I need help

Answer 20

I had the same problem when I moved my report to a sub directory of the project. To fix it I opened the reportviewer and reselected the report that it should use (smart tag on the upper right). That seems to have fixed the problem. It is possible that the resource reference name needs to be changed to match the directory structure.

Answer 21

For a web application (not web site) I was able to get it to work by switching the report from an embedded resource to content.  Then switch the LocalReport element to use the ReportPath attribute.

<LocalReport ReportEmbeddedResource="WebReports.Report1.rdlc"></LocalReport>

to

<LocalReport ReportPath="Report1.rdlc"></LocalReport>

 

Answer 22

For my reportViewer I have all that specified in Form1.Designer.cs.

 

// reportViewer1

//

reportDataSource1.Name = "SLA_DATA_TABLE_HPD";

reportDataSource1.Value = this.HPDBindingSource;

this.reportViewer1.LocalReport.DataSources.Add(reportDataSource1);

this.reportViewer1.LocalReport.ReportEmbeddedResource = "SLA_Chart.Report1.rdlc";

this.reportViewer1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(83, 119);

this.reportViewer1.Name = "reportViewer1";

this.reportViewer1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(400, 250);

this.reportViewer1.TabIndex = 2;

 

Yet I still get an error "The source of the report defintion is unspecified." Any ideas as to why?

Answer 23

Hi Rajeev,

I have several (@50) Crystal Reports in separate assembly "Reports" which are accessd in "MainUI" project. Some of the report have 4 to 5 sub-reports. Now, trying to converts to MS Reports. Using reportViewer's LoadReportDefinition(), it may require 4 to 5 stream read to get a complete report in and a separate parameter passing for each :-(

If I put a report, .xsd & all it's sub-reports in same project folder as "MainUI" it works fine - may not be good solution as project grows.

Any suggestions on separate assembly and avoid Streams for sub-reports ??

prp

 

Answer 24

I am having the same issue, and somehow It was fixed but when I deployed and install the application - it started giving the error

it is really annoying as it works during development but after deploying it does not

Answer 25

my report work if i go with the path, it does not work with embedded resource

however when i deploy then nothing works, wierd

Answer 26

Steve did you get this to work?

Answer 27

The rdlc file is never copied to the output directory - if you are using the filename only, copy this file manualy to the user local activation directory. or - use some static global share on the network.

Answer 28

Hi everyone,

Since  have also been struggling quite some time with this issue, I would like to share my findings.

First of all, if your report definition is in a different assembly than the assembly where you are referring to the report, like report.ReportEmbeddedResource = "xxx.rdlc", this will not work!!!

When I had this setup, I always received the error that the report definition could not be found. The easiest solution is to move the report definition RDLC out of the other assembly and into the assembly that is referring to it.

Now, when using the RDLC as an embedded resource, specify this as the Build Action of the report. Set Copy to Output Directory = Do not copy.

To reference the report as an embedded resource, build your project, open ILDASM (found under Start -> VS -> Tools -> Command Prompt -> ildasm [Enter]. Then open the location where your project was built and drag-drop the generated DLL/EXE into ILDASM. Double click the manifest and look for your report RDLC. You will find something like this:

.mresource public XXX.YYY.ZZZ.Report.rdlc
{
  // Offset: 0x0000AC71 Length: 0x00013D1E
}

The path XXX.YYY.ZZZ.Report.rdlc is what you need in
report.ReportEmbeddedResource = "XXX.YYY.ZZZ.Report.rdlc"
to refer to the embedded resource. Mind that this could be shorter or longer than in this example. The XXX.YYY.ZZZ is the root namespace of your EXE or DLL.

I added a blog post for this as well, as well as some other rdlc report related stuff .

Hope this will help someone!

Answer 29

Hi All,

I had the same issue and the code mentioned in the post above worked fo me.

reportViewer1.LocalReport.ReportEmbeddedResource = "<application namespace>.[optional <folder>].<filename.rdlc>

My code:

Microsoft.Reporting.WebForms.LocalReport report = new Microsoft.Reporting.WebForms.LocalReport();

report.ReportEmbeddedResource = "MyApp.WebPages.Reports.MyCustomReport.rdlc";

here "MyApp.WebPages.Reports" is the namespace where the physical report file exist

"MyCustomReport.rdlc" is the name of the report file

 

Hope this helps

 

-Amit

Answer 30

If you are loading the resource from a different assembly use this method:

 

var report = new LocalReport();
var stream = Assembly.GetAssembly(typeof(some_type_in_reports_assembly)).GetManifestResourceStream("namespace.report.rdlc");
report.LoadReportDefinition(stream);

 

Answer 31

I have same problem here is my code :

ctrlRptViewer.ProcessingMode = ProcessingMode.Remote;

ctrlRptViewer.ServerReport.ReportServerUrl = ReportViewerHelper.GetReportServer();

 

string rpt = Request[ReportViewerHelper.REPORT];

can some one help me urgent

Answer 32

I had the same issue. The report viewer control hosted by a FormReportViewer which is part of assembly A and I was trying to set the FormReportViewer.theReportViewer.LocalReport.ReportEmbeddedResource as the result of a call performed from assembly B where the resource .rdlc was contained

Inside the executing assembly: A, when it was asigned the resource , LocalReport.ReportEmbeddedResource == "B.Reporting.MyReport", the local report control is not able to locate it within the executing assembly which is A. Solution:

Having the resourceID in assembly B equal to "B.Reporting.MyReport.rdlc"

Instead of doing this:

 

this.theReportViewer.LocalReport.ReportEmbeddedResource = resourceID

You should do this:

 

Stream resourceStream = Assembly.GetCallingAssembly().GetManifestResourceStream(resourceID);

 

this.theReportViewer.LocalReport.LoadReportDefinition(resourceStream);

 

and you're done..

Answer 33

Ariel Popovsky,

 

This worked great for me.  Thanks a lot.  Simply putting the full namespace of the report didn't work.

Answer 34

Hi Psychlotron,

 

What "Simply putting the full namespace of the report" mean?

I have a same problem, but I try follow your guide, but it still doesn't work because:

Assembly.GetCallingAssembly().GetManifestResourceStream(resourceID); always return null to me

what can I do? please tell me

I'm waiting for your reply

Thanks.

Answer 35

Hi Psychlotron,

 

What "Simply putting the full namespace of the report" mean?

I have a same problem, but I try follow your guide, but it still doesn't work because:

ReportViewer.LocalReport.ReportEmbeddedResource = "rdlcCRCertificate.reports.rdlcAffReady.rdlc

give me error as

An error occurred during local report processing.

• The report definition for report 'D:\atvt\rdlcCRCertificate\rdlcCRCertificate\rdlcAffReady.rdlc' has not been specified
  • Could not find file 'D:\atvt\rdlcCRCertificate\rdlcCRCertificate\rdlcAffReady.rdlc'.

if remove  reports folder then working fine

what can I do? please tell me

I'm waiting for your reply

Thanks.

 

Answer 36

The answer isnt really to hard:

reportViewer1.LocalReport.ReportEmbeddedResource = "<application namespace>.[optional <folder>].<filename.rdlc>"

 

This is great answer! tnx.

Answer 37

I spent half a day on this, getting progressively more fed up.

None of the suggestions above worked for me.

What worked for me in the end was this:

I added the rptInvoicePDF.rdlc file to my project as a resource of type file. Visual Studio 2010 made a copy in a sub folder called Resources.

I then used

rptViewer.LocalReport.LoadReportDefinition(

New MemoryStream(My.Resources.rptInvoicePDF))

Intellisense provided the name of the resource as a byte array

Answer 38

Re-Choose Report

(Select server report on list, then select 'xxx' report again)

Answer 39

If you are loading the resource from a different assembly use this method:

 

var report = new LocalReport();
var stream = Assembly.GetAssembly(typeof(some_type_in_reports_assembly)).GetManifestResourceStream("namespace.report.rdlc");
report.LoadReportDefinition(stream);

 

Thanks!

I did have to remove all statements setting the LocalReport.ReportEmbeddedResource before the above code worked for me.  I was trying to override it in form load and the designer was setting it too.

I also tried calling LoadReportDefinition() after it was called once with a different report and I couldn't get it to load the new report.  Is there a way to do this?

 

---

Regards, Mike DePouw