27x Hosting Controls

Hosting the viewer and designer in your UI framework (27.x)

27.x only (the main branch, not yet released). This page describes the upcoming 27.x release. It does not apply to the current 26.x packages, where the WinForms/WPF viewer pages (WinForms, WPF) are still correct.

The report viewer (Majorsilence.Reporting.RdlViewer) and designer (Majorsilence.Reporting.RdlDesign) are Majorsilence.Forms controls. Majorsilence.Forms draws them itself with SkiaSharp and ships a host package per UI framework. Each host turns the control into a native element of that framework with a To...() extension method, so there is no Reporting-specific host code to maintain.

Your app uses	Install	Embed with
Majorsilence.Forms (cross-platform, WinForms-style API)	Majorsilence.Forms + a backend, usually Majorsilence.Forms.Avalonia	use the control directly, Application.Run(form)
System.Windows.Forms	Majorsilence.Forms.WinForms	control.ToWinFormsControl()
WPF	Majorsilence.Forms.Wpf	control.ToWpfElement()
Avalonia	Majorsilence.Forms.Avalonia	control.ToAvaloniaControl()
Uno Platform	Majorsilence.Forms.Uno	control.ToUnoControl()
GTK 4	Majorsilence.Forms.Gtk4	control.ToGtkWidget()
Terminal	Majorsilence.Forms.Terminal	the viewer is the app (TerminalApplication.Use()); nothing to embed into

Forms have a matching window method: ToWinFormsForm(), ToWpfWindow(), ToAvaloniaWindow(), ToUnoWindow(), ToGtkWindow().

Keep a reference to the RdlViewer (or RdlUserControl) instance and call its normal API on it (SetSourceFile, Rebuild, SaveAs, ...). The element returned by To...() is only the host.

Every host's package page and samples/Embedding* folder in the Majorsilence.Forms repository has a complete runnable project; see also its platform backends page.

Only the cross-platform pieces are exercised by the Reporting repository's CI (Linux, macOS and Windows build and test). The WinForms, WPF and Uno snippets below depend on a Windows (or desktop) UI stack and have not been run by our CI; the method names come from the Majorsilence.Forms packages. Check them against the Majorsilence.Forms version you install.

In every snippet below:

var viewer = new Majorsilence.Reporting.RdlViewer.RdlViewer { Dock = Majorsilence.Forms.DockStyle.Fill };

System.Windows.Forms (existing WinForms apps)

This is how existing WinForms users keep embedding the same controls they had before the move to Majorsilence.Forms: add the WinForms host and wrap the control.

dotnet add package Majorsilence.Reporting.RdlViewer
dotnet add package Majorsilence.Forms.WinForms

using Majorsilence.Forms.WinForms;

System.Windows.Forms.Control host = viewer.ToWinFormsControl();
host.Dock = System.Windows.Forms.DockStyle.Fill;
myWinFormsForm.Controls.Add(host);

await viewer.SetSourceFile(new Uri(rdlPath));

Use Majorsilence.Forms.WinForms.MajorsilenceFormsPresenter directly (new MajorsilenceFormsPresenter { Content = viewer }) if you prefer a named control in the Visual Studio toolbox. Popups (combo dropdowns, menus, tooltips) are real borderless windows, so they are not clipped by the host form.

The designer works the same way: new Majorsilence.Reporting.RdlDesign.RdlUserControl().ToWinFormsControl().

WPF

In 27.x LibRdlWpfViewer (a WPF UserControl wrapping the viewer in a WindowsFormsHost) is retired; use the regular viewer with the WPF host instead. The project must target net8.0-windows or net10.0-windows and set <UseWPF>true</UseWPF>.

dotnet add package Majorsilence.Reporting.RdlViewer
dotnet add package Majorsilence.Forms.Wpf

<!-- MainWindow.xaml -->
<Window x:Class="MyApp.MainWindow" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" Title="Reports">
    <Grid x:Name="ViewerHost" />
</Window>

using Majorsilence.Forms.Wpf;

public partial class MainWindow : System.Windows.Window
{
    private readonly Majorsilence.Reporting.RdlViewer.RdlViewer _viewer = new() { Dock = Majorsilence.Forms.DockStyle.Fill };

    public MainWindow()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
        ViewerHost.Children.Add(_viewer.ToWpfElement());   // a MajorsilenceFormsPresenter (WPF Grid)
    }

    public Task ShowReport(Uri rdl) => _viewer.SetSourceFile(rdl);
}

If no Majorsilence.Forms backend is configured, ToWpfElement() installs the WPF one for you.

LibRdlWpfViewer	Now
new RdlWpfViewer()	new RdlViewer().ToWpfElement()
viewer.SetSourceFile(uri)	rdlViewer.SetSourceFile(uri)
viewer.Rebuild()	rdlViewer.Rebuild()
viewer.SaveAs(...)	rdlViewer.SaveAs(...)

Avalonia

dotnet add package Majorsilence.Reporting.RdlViewer
dotnet add package Majorsilence.Forms.Avalonia

using Majorsilence.Forms.Avalonia;

Avalonia.Controls.Control host = viewer.ToAvaloniaControl();
myAvaloniaPanel.Children.Add(host);

Uno Platform

dotnet add package Majorsilence.Reporting.RdlViewer
dotnet add package Majorsilence.Forms.Uno

using Majorsilence.Forms.Uno;

Microsoft.UI.Xaml.FrameworkElement host = viewer.ToUnoControl();
myUnoGrid.Children.Add(host);

GTK 4

dotnet add package Majorsilence.Reporting.RdlViewer
dotnet add package Majorsilence.Forms.Gtk4

using Majorsilence.Forms.Gtk4;

Gtk.Widget widget = viewer.ToGtkWidget();
someGtkBox.Append(widget);

RdlGtk3Viewer in this repository is the older GTK 3 viewer and is separate from this route.

Terminal

There is no host application to embed into: the terminal backend is the app. The viewer runs in a terminal using Kitty graphics, Sixel or block characters, with mouse and keyboard input. Ctrl+C exits.

dotnet add package Majorsilence.Reporting.RdlViewer
dotnet add package Majorsilence.Forms.Terminal

using Majorsilence.Forms;
using Majorsilence.Forms.Terminal;

TerminalApplication.Use();
var form = new Form();
var viewer = new Majorsilence.Reporting.RdlViewer.RdlViewer { Dock = DockStyle.Fill };
form.Controls.Add(viewer);
form.Load += async (_, _) => await viewer.SetSourceFile(new Uri(rdlPath));
Application.Run(form);

Majorsilence.Forms directly (no host framework)

Install Majorsilence.Forms and a backend (Majorsilence.Forms.Avalonia is the cross-platform default), put the viewer on a Form, and call Application.Run(form). RdlReader and ReportDesigner in this repository are built this way.