About report definition files

The foundational phase of creating an SSRS report is the creation of the report definition file. Report definition files are special XML files that contain all the data and formatting specifications for a named report that can be generated. The system uses this file, which must have the extension ".rdl", to generate and render reports when requested.

Report definition files are created using tools provided by Microsoft. It is beyond the scope of this topic to specify and explain those tools. We recommend that you search online for the current set of report building tools from Microsoft.

It is possible to create a report definition from scratch but it is much easier if you begin with one of the report definition templates provided by Infor. These report templates are typically available in this directory:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Infor\Mongoose-based application\Report\Reports\Templates

where Mongoose-based application is the name of your Mongoose-based application.

The report templates can also be obtained from the Infor Support Portal site. They are contained in a zip file named SSRS_Report_Templates.zip, which you can download and unzip to the directory specified above. To find the zip file, you can search on "SSRS Report Templates". This and related topics discuss only the techniques for creating report definition files using these templates.