How to Use Master Reports in Your C# .NET Application

September 29 2025

Quick Start Guide
What You Will Need	ActiveReports.NET (License or Free Trial)
Controls Referenced	ContentPlaceHolder Master Reports
Tutorial Concept	Master Reports enable you to define a centralized template that enforces consistent branding, layout, and shared resources across multiple reports, while providing content authors with controlled areas to add their own data and visualizations. This tutorial guides you through creating a master report, adding placeholders, linking it to content reports, and understanding how properties, datasets, and themes merge at runtime.

Quick Start Guide

What You Will Need

ActiveReports.NET (License or Free Trial)

Controls Referenced

Tutorial Concept

Master Reports enable you to define a centralized template that enforces consistent branding, layout, and shared resources across multiple reports, while providing content authors with controlled areas to add their own data and visualizations. This tutorial guides you through creating a master report, adding placeholders, linking it to content reports, and understanding how properties, datasets, and themes merge at runtime.

When managing multiple reports, maintaining both efficiency and consistency can be a challenge. With ActiveReports.NET, you can simplify the process using Master Reports—a template-based approach that keeps shared elements like headers, logos, and footers consistent across every report. By centralizing these common design pieces, Master Reports streamline your workflow and ensure every report your team produces looks polished and cohesive.

Ready to Start Using Master Reports? Download ActiveReports.NET Today!

What are Master Reports?

Master Reports are a dynamic template that can be utilized across numerous reports to share common elements, such as logos, page headers, page footers, and more. A Master Report functions as the blueprint or template of your reports. They set the stage for consistent design across various content (Emails, Documents, Reports, etc.)

A key feature of ActiveReports is our dynamic loading. Unlike static templates, Master Reports are loaded every time a report is run, meaning that any changes made to the template are automatically applied to the generated report. Remove the repetitive report editing from your workflow.

Simplifying Styling and Data Source Management

Another key advantage of Master Reports is its ability to centralize styling and data source management. With Master Reports, you can create a predefined layout with limited modification options. This means you can control who can edit the template.

Lock in your branding elements, design choices, and styling on your template to maintain a cohesive design and to restrict report makers from getting too creative.

Master Reports also give you the control to minimize errors and enhance usability for the end-user by obscuring the complexities of data sources. By hiding the data sources, ActiveReports will provide a simplified interface for content report creators. ActiveReports makes it easy to provide the end user with needed resources while locking and hiding others to maintain privacy.

Designing a Master Report

Designing a Master Report follows the same process as creating a standard report. You can access all controls, code, data sources, and layout properties, just as you would for any other report. This offers a familiar experience while providing the added advantage of centralized control over design elements.

An important distinction is that a Master Report remains a standalone entity, capable of being executed independently, while altering all reports that utilize it. To ensure the integrity of your Master Report is preserved, permissions can be set to restrict modifications by end-users.

Master Reports can be created as RDL (Report Definition Language), RDL Multi Section, and Page Report types. Creating a Master Report is as simple as saving it as an .rdlx-master file. This format can be easily applied as a template to reports to maintain design consistency.

You can also convert an RDL report to a master report with a couple of clicks in the designer by opening the Master Report dropdown in the Report menu tab and selecting Convert to Master Report.

C# Master Reports

ContentPlaceHolder Control

When transitioning from an RDL report to a Master Report, a valuable tool emerges in the toolbox: the ContentPlaceHolder control. This control defines a region where users creating/editing content reports linked to the master report can add content.

Creating a Content Report

Once you’ve created a Master Report and added a ContentPlaceHolder control to hold the content of any child reports, you can start creating your content reports. Aside from the restrictions imposed by the master report, creating a content report is just like creating any other normal RDL report. To turn an RDL report into a content report, simply open the Master Report dropdown in the Report menu tab, select Set Master Report, and then select the file you created for your master report in the file explorer window to link them together.

C# Master Reports

Thank you for reading our Master Reports Blog! If you are interested in learning more and how to use them in greater detail, please check out our documentation.

Conclusion

ActiveReports.NET Master Reports revolutionizes the way reports are designed and managed. By facilitating dynamic templates that enforce consistency, simplify styling, and streamline data source management, Master Reports empowers users to create top-quality reports effortlessly.

The dynamic loading nature ensures that changes in the Master Report are reflected in content reports, thereby reducing maintenance efforts. Whether you’re seeking to standardize branding, create/maintain unified designs, or save time on all future reports, Master Reports is an indispensable tool in your arsenal.

Ready to Start Using Master Reports? Download ActiveReports.NET Today!