+# to a newer Visual Studio version. Backup files are not needed, +# because we have git;-) + +# SQL Server files + +# Business Intelligence projects + +# Microsoft Fakes + +# GhostDoc plugin setting file + +# Node.js Tools for Visual Studio + +# Visual Studio 6 build log + +# Visual Studio 6 workspace options file + +# Visual Studio 6 auto. By default, the Location text box displays the path to your 'Documents Visual Studio 20xx Projects' folder. Report Designer creates a folder named Tutorial below this path, and creates the Tutorial project in this folder. If the project doesn't belong to a VS solution, then VS also creates a solution file (.sln). Select OK to create the project. 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.' Context menu option in Solution Explorer to add the.rdl to the project Open report designer by double-clicking the newly added report project item (s). Download and install SSDT for Visual Studio. Create new project by selecting “Report Server Project” template. Right click on “Reports” folder and select “Add” then “Existing Item” 4. Now file browser window will open. Now open design by double-clicking on included.rdl file.

When creating SSRS reports in Visual Studio, there is a feature that can sometimes be annoying, helpful other times, and also a potential security issue. This feature would be the rdl.data file. When you create a report and click the preview tab in Visual Studio, the queries run, and you are given a preview of how the report will look when executed. When working with queries that take a noticeable amount of time to return data, you may notice that the repeated executions in Visual Studio do not take nearly as long as the first. This is because of the rdl.data file.

How to edit .rdl file in visual studio 2010

The data file is responsible for caching results when youpreview reports. This is quite a useful feature when you are working on areport that you constantly need to preview. However, you might also notice thatthis feature is only helpful depending on what it is you are changing andtrying to view in the report.

Open the directory where the Visual Studio projects are stored and find an SSRS solution. Depending on what version of Visual Studio you are using this could be in either your documents folder, or in the users folder under your username, source, and repos. In the solution folder, there are the definition files for every report (.rdl files) and every definition file will have a data file (.rdl.data). Well, just to clarify, every report will have a data file once it has been previewed.

As I stated a moment ago, this file is great for saving timeeach time the report needs to be previewed. Most of the time the data fileswill only be useful if you are making visual changes or altering someexpressions. I have noticed that if I make a change to a query and then previewthe report again, the query results don’t change. This can be incrediblyannoying if you don’t know about these data files. If this happens, all youneed to do is delete the data file. Once the file is gone, it will be recreatedwith the next preview of the report. Just make sure you are deleting thecorrect file.

Possible Security Issues

What exactly is in the data file? You probably won’t ever have to open a data file, but it’s good to know what they contain. The file is in XML format, so I would recommend opening it with something like Notepad++ or a similar application.

How To Edit .rdl File In Visual Studio 2013

This is where I need to be careful with my screenshots. Most of what is in this file is not very useful, but you will find some data that may be sensitive. In the screenshot below, you can see data like the username that previewed the report, parameter values and even the query.

Scrolling further down, you will likely see query results. To me, this would seem like a bit of a security concern. This is data stored in plain text that can be easily read by anyone. After looking through a collection of data files I have on my laptop, I couldn’t find any that didn’t contain sensitive data, so I can’t post screenshots here, but just look at a few of your own and you will definitely notice the data.

Turning this feature off

Unfortunately, there is no sure-fire way of turning this off. It would be nice it there was a property setting that could easily be accessed in Visual Studio, but since there is no setting in the GUI, we are left to the mercy of the config file. According to what I have read in various forums and even from Microsoft, this method doesn’t always work, but it’s all we have at the moment. First, you need to find the RSReportDesigner.config file. The location of this file depends on what version of Visual Studio you are using. For versions up to 2015, this file can be found in C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0Common7IDEPrivateAssemblies. I am using Visual Studio 2017 so this file was located in C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft Visual Studio2017ProfessionalCommon7IDECommonExtensionsMicrosoftSSRS. Right click the file and choose the option to edit in Notepad (or whatever file editor you use). Just a few lines from the top, you should see the line that reads Add Key=”CacheDataForPreview” Value=”true”. Change ‘true’ to ‘false’ and save the file.

How To Edit .rdl File In Visual Studio 2010

Again, this is not guaranteed to work, but it’s the onlyoption. If it doesn’t work for you, the only alternative is to regularly deletethe rdl.data files either manually, or through some automated process.Hopefully, just knowing that they are there and how they work will save youlots of time and frustration when trying to determine why your report resultsaren’t changing.