Summary

In this chapter, we have covered the basics on how to create a simple report. We've seen how to implement sorting, grouping, totalling, and how to indent data items. You also have an idea on what's involved to be able to print a report to Microsoft Excel. And when you want to make changes or customizations to these kinds of reports it can quickly become complicated.

Furthermore, you should also have an idea by now of the limitations of the Classic report designer. A good example is the lack of colors at runtime. Also, the steps that need to be performed to have an Excel look and feel can become very tedious. Regarding the interactivity features of Classic reports, those are limited to what you can do with the request form.

A lot, if not all, of the shortcomings or difficulties that are inherent to the Classic report designer are solved, more intuitive and more user and developer friendly in RDLC reports for the Role Tailored Client.

The idea of this chapter was to give you a good introduction...