In an RDL report, you can create a master report and apply it to any number of content reports to keep common styles in one easy-to-maintain location. See Master Reports for more information.

To design a master report

1. With focus on the report, from the Report Menu, select Convert to Master Report to create a master report.
2. Right-click the ruler area to the top or left of the report and choose Page Header. Repeat and choose Page Footer.
3. From the toolbox, drag and drop controls into the page header and footer sections. These controls appear on every page of a content report when you apply the master report. For example, a company logo image, or a textbox with the company Web site address.

4. A ContentPlaceHolder control appears in the toolbox when you convert an RDL report to a Master Report. This control defines regions where users can add content. Use the following instructions to add the ContentPlaceHolder control in the master report.

   • From the toolbox, drag and drop the ContentPlaceHolder control onto the report design surface.
   • Right-click the control and from the context menu that appears, select Properties to open the properties window.
   • Set the following properties for the ContentPlaceHolder control.
     

     Property	Description
     Location	To position the control with respect to the top left corner of the container.
     Size	To set the control size for determining the space available to design a content report.
     Text	To add instructive text for the user. E.g. "Design your content report here." This caption appears in the design view and not in the final output.

5. Save the master report locally on your system.

   1. In Visual Studio, select the report, and from the Report menu, select Save Layout. In the stand-alone designer, the option is in the File menu. You can also save the master report from File menu of the stand-alone designer.
   2. In the Save As dialog that appears, navigate to the location where you want to save the report and click Save to save the report in rdlx-master file format.

To use a master report

1. With focus on the report to which you want to apply the master report, from the Report menu, select Set Master Report, then Open Local File.
2. In the Open dialog that appears, navigate to the location where you saved the master report and open it. The master report layout is applied to the content report with all areas locked except for the region with the ContentPlaceHolder, which is available for use.