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Peter Gill edited this page Jun 8, 2026 · 1 revision

Getting Started — Choose Your Path

Majorsilence Reporting covers several different use cases. This page helps you find the right starting point.

"I want to show reports in a desktop application"

Choose a viewer based on your UI framework:

Framework Viewer Platform
WinForms WinForms Viewer Windows
WPF WPF Viewer Windows
Avalonia Avalonia Viewer Windows, Linux, macOS
GTK# GTK# Viewer Linux, macOS

Recommended for new projects: the Avalonia viewer works on all platforms and is the most actively developed.

Minimum working example (WinForms):

// One time per app instance
RdlEngineConfig.RdlEngineConfigInit();

// In your Form Load event
await _rdlView.SetSourceFile(new Uri(@"C:\reports\report.rdl"));
await _rdlView.Rebuild();

"I want to generate PDFs (or Excel, CSV, HTML) on a server"

Use the engine directly — no GUI required. Works on Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Minimum working example:

RdlEngineConfig.RdlEngineConfigInit();

var rdlp = new RDLParser(await File.ReadAllTextAsync("report.rdl"))
{
    Folder = @"/reports"
};
using var report = await rdlp.Parse();
await report.RunGetData(null);

var ofs = new OneFileStreamGen("output.pdf", true);
await report.RunRender(ofs, OutputPresentationType.PDF);

Next steps:

"I want to pass my own data — no database"

The engine can take data from any C# collection. You don't need a database connection at all.

Minimum working example:

public record SaleRow(string Region, string Product, decimal Amount);

RdlEngineConfig.RdlEngineConfigInit();

var rdlp = new RDLParser(await File.ReadAllTextAsync("report.rdl"));
using var report = await rdlp.Parse();

var data = new List<SaleRow>
{
    new("North", "Widget A", 1500m),
    new("South", "Widget B",  800m),
};
await report.DataSets["SalesData"].SetData(data);

await report.RunGetData(null);

using var ms = new MemoryStreamGen();
await report.RunRender(ms, OutputPresentationType.PDF);

Next steps:

"I want to use my existing database"

Point the report at your database with a connection string. Supported databases include SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, ODBC, and more.

RdlEngineConfig.RdlEngineConfigInit();

var rdlp = new RDLParser(await File.ReadAllTextAsync("report.rdl"))
{
    Folder = @"C:\reports",
    OverwriteConnectionString = "Server=myserver;Database=mydb;..."
};
using var report = await rdlp.Parse();
await report.RunGetData(null);

Next steps:

"I want to filter reports with user-supplied values"

Use report parameters to pass values at run time — to filter SQL queries, control layout, or display user selections.

var parameters = new Dictionary<string, string>
{
    { "StartDate", "2024-01-01" },
    { "EndDate",   "2024-12-31" }
};
await report.RunGetData(parameters);

Next steps:

"I want to design reports visually"

Use RdlDesigner — a Windows application included with the project.

"I'm upgrading from version 4"

See the Migration to v5 guide. Key changes:

  • Namespace: fyiReporting.* → Majorsilence.Reporting.*
  • All API methods are now async/await
  • Target framework: .NET Framework 4.x → .NET 8.0+
  • Rendering backend: GDI+ → SkiaSharp (enables Linux/macOS)

NuGet packages — which to install

Scenario Windows Linux / macOS
Server-side export Majorsilence.Reporting.RdlEngine + RdlCri ...RdlEngine.SkiaSharp + ...RdlCri.SkiaSharp
WinForms viewer Majorsilence.Reporting.RdlViewer — (Windows only)
WPF viewer Majorsilence.Reporting.LibRdlWpfViewer — (Windows only)
Avalonia viewer Majorsilence.Reporting.UI.RdlAvalonia Same
GTK# viewer — Majorsilence.Reporting.RdlGtk3
Code-first report creation Majorsilence.Reporting.RdlCreator (or .SkiaSharp) Same

See Downloads for the full package list.

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