Table of Contents
Problem
You’re trying to use the ReportViewer control in Visual Studio but it’s not in the toolbox.
Other symptoms:
- After manually adding the ReportViewer control to the toolbox clicking Design a new report does nothing.
- The RDLC report designer does not open and opening the RDLC file just opens the report markup.
Solution
Note: Tested in Visual Studio 2017 and Visual Studio 2019. The exact instructions may have slightly different steps depending on which version of VS you’re using.
ReportViewer for .NET Core projects
- Install the ReportViewer nuget package (View > Other Windows > Package Manager Console).
Install-Package ReportViewerCore.WinFormsCode language: PowerShell (powershell)- Open a Windows Form.
- Drag and drop the ReportViewer control from Toolbox > Microsoft.ReportViewer.WinForms > ReportViewer.
ReportViewer for .NET Framework projects
There doesn’t seem to be an official nuget package for ReportViewer v12 that works with .NET Framework projects. However, Microsoft does have an official Visual Studio extension for this version of ReportViewer. In the steps below, I’ll show how to add the ReportViewer extension.
Step 1 – Add the ReportViewer extension
- Click Extensions > Manage Extensions > Online.
- Search for RDLC Report Designer
- Select Microsoft RDLC Report Designer from the list and click Download (Note: This may say Install if it’s already been downloaded at some point).
- After it’s done downloading/installing, you’ll see a notification that says Your changes will be scheduled. The modifications will begin when all Microsoft Visual Studio windows are closed.
- Close Visual Studio.
- You should now see the VSIX Installer initializing.
- On the VSIX Installer prompt, click Modify.
- Wait for it to finish installing, then close the VSIX Installer window.
Step 2 – Add ReportViewer to the toolbox
- Open Visual Studio.
- Click View > Toolbox.
- Right-click in the toolbox > Choose Items.
- In the .NET Framework Components tab, scroll down and check ReportViewer, then click OK
I am using VS 2019. I follow your instructions but after getting the Microsoft RDLC Report Designer and going to ‘choose toolbox items… the ‘ReportViewer’ is not in the list of .NET Components.!?
I tested the instructions in VS2019. This made me realize I needed to add more explicit steps, and also add a separate section for when you’re dealing with .NET Core projects.
Did you close VS2019 after adding the extension and let the VSIX installer run? If not, you’ll need to do that to see the ReportViewer component.
If you’re doing a .NET Core project, check the updated instructions in the article. You can install a nuget package instead of an extension, which is simpler.