RDL Editor - Overview
The RDL Editor is a visual editor for Business Central RDLC report layouts that runs entirely inside the BC web client. It replaces the traditional round-trip — export the layout, rename .rdlc to .rdl, edit in Report Builder, rename back, re-upload — with a single flow: open, edit, save.
What it does
- Visual canvas editing of report layouts: textboxes, images, lines, rectangles, and tables (tablix), with drag, resize, snap, ruler, multi-select alignment, and copy/paste.
- Structure-aware table editing: insert and delete rows and columns, merge and split cells, manage groups and drilldown — with span and group bookkeeping handled automatically, so the classic tablix corruptions can't happen.
- Dataset-aware expressions: field binding and autocomplete come straight from the report's dataset, parameters, and textbox names, plus a snippet library for the common BC patterns (page numbers, hidden-helper
ReportItems!references, alternating row colors, and more). - A safety net: reference-checked deletes, expression lints for renderer rules, and printable-width guardrails that catch the #1 cause of blank PDF pages before you save.
- Fidelity: a zero-edit open→save changes nothing, and an edit changes only what you edited. Everything without a dedicated editor — charts, subreports, custom properties — is preserved byte-faithfully.
What you need to know first
Two rules govern everything else:
- If a field is not in the report's dataset, the layout cannot use it. The dataset is defined by the report's AL code; adding a field means changing the AL report or a report extension first.
- For document reports, the PDF is the truth. The editor renders faithfully, but fonts, the real dataset, and the PDF renderer live in Business Central — use Test Print to see what actually prints.
The guide
| Chapter | What's in it |
|---|---|
| 1 · Getting Started | Opening layouts, the screen, saving, Test Print, undo, the one rule about datasets |
| 2 · Canvas & Editing | Selection, multi-select & alignment, move/resize, snap & ruler, copy/paste, the Structure tree, hidden-item discovery, inline editing |
| 3 · Tables (Tablix) | Rows/columns, group-boundary inserts, merge/split, groups & drilldown, row/column visibility, page breaks, the width trap |
| 4 · Data & Expressions | Field binding, autocomplete, snippets, the page-header ReportItems! pattern, format strings, visibility, interactive sort |
| 5 · Styling | Fonts, per-side borders, padding, backgrounds & background images, images, what the canvas promises |
| 6 · Page Setup & Report Properties | Page size/margins, the width budget, bands, print-on-first-page, the Code block |
| 7 · The Safety Net | Delete protection, "Referenced by", expression lints, width guardrails, the fidelity guarantee |
| 8 · Troubleshooting | Blank pages, the field-not-showing decision tree, header/footer issues, totals, upgrade breakage |
| 9 · Keyboard Reference | Every shortcut |
New here? Read chapters 1–2, skim 3–4, and keep 7–8 for the day something behaves unexpectedly.