AR6 SectionReport RDF generated at runtime not render data rows in AR18JsViewr

Posted by: triloknathn on 28 January 2026, 3:49 am EST

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triloknathn
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Posted 28 January 2026, 3:49 am EST - Updated 28 January 2026, 3:57 am EST
AR18 SectionReport RDF generated at runtime not rendering data rows in AR18 JS Viewer

Hello,

We are in the process of migrating our legacy ActiveReports implementation and would like guidance on how to support our existing reporting workflow in the newer versions.

1. Previous (working) architecture – AR6 + AR10

In our legacy setup, we had the following architecture:

ActiveReports 6

Used SectionReport

Reports were generated entirely at runtime

DataSource, grouping, summaries, calculated fields, charts, etc. were all created programmatically

After
Run()
, the report was saved as an RDF file (
Document.Save()
)

ActiveReports 10 HTML5 Viewer

Reports were viewed in the browser using the AR10 HTML5 Viewer

We implemented a custom ReportService (.asmx) inheriting from
GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Web.ReportService

When paging or navigating pages in the viewer, the viewer called back to the ReportService

The ReportService loaded the RDF, returned a
SectionReport
, and the runtime executed:

As a result, all rows, totals, and charts rendered correctly in the browser

This approach worked reliably for many years.

2. Current migration target – AR18

We have now migrated to:

ActiveReports 18/

Using:

Web Designer

JS Viewer

ASP.NET MVC (.NET Framework 4.7.2)

OWIN startup using:

app.UseReportViewer(...)

app.UseReportDesigner(...)

Custom implementations of:

IReportStore

IResourceRepositoryProvider

The reports created using Web Designer are previewing as expected in the JsViewer.

3. What we are trying to do (legacy compatibility)

We still have a large number of legacy SectionReports that:

Are generated fully at runtime

Cannot be easily recreated in the designer immediately

Are still required by the application

So we attempted the following:

Converted the AR6 Section report generator project to AR18 using the conversion tool and following the solution (https://developer.mescius.com/forums/activereports/activereports-v6-v18-how-to-migrate-our-runtime-sectionreport-generator)

Namespaces and base classes were updated

No major logical changes were made

At runtime:

We generate the SectionReport

Assign DataSource, DataMember, calculated fields, grouping, etc.

Call
Run()

Save the document as
.rdf

In the AR18 JS Viewer:

We load this RDF using
viewer.openReport("filename.rdf")

Our
IReportStore.LoadReport()
returns the RDF stream

4. Current issue

When opening the generated RDF in:

AR18 JS Viewer (browser), or

AR18 Desktop Viewer

We observe the same behavior:

Page headers, footers, column headers render correctly

Charts and images that are on header/footer pages render

Detail rows do NOT render

Group totals/subtotals that depend on data do not appear

This behavior is consistent across:

RDF generated by legacy AR6 SectionReport code

RDF generated by converted AR18 SectionReport code

5. Observations

In AR18,
SectionDocument
only exposes:

Save(stream)

Save(stream, RdfFormat, SaveOptions)

RdfFormat
only has:

AR20

ARNet

There is no
Snapshot
or equivalent format for SectionReports

There is no web ReportService that executes SectionReport logic during viewing

From this, it appears that:

The JS Viewer is not executing SectionReport runtime logic

RDF files are treated as static document definitions

FetchData / Detail processing is not triggered during viewing

6. Questions for guidance

Is it supported in AR18 to view runtime-generated SectionReport RDF files (with data rows) in JS Viewer?

If yes:

What is the correct way to save a SectionReport so that all data rows are included and viewable?

Is there an equivalent to the old AR10 ReportService execution model?

If no: Is there any other recommended approach?

Is there any officially supported bridge or compatibility mode for legacy SectionReport + RDF + web viewing?

Or is there any other report viewer we need to add to open reports?

Thank you for your time and guidance.

We want to follow a supported and future-proof approach while planning the migration path for our legacy reports.

Regards,

Triloknath

Senior .NET Developer
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anand.sinha
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Posted 29 January 2026, 5:28 am EST

Hi Triloknath,

If you are using an RDF file created with a different version of ActiveReports, then it may not work as expected with the ActiveReports 18 viewer.

Please Note: An RDF file is just like a PDF file but for ActiveReports Viewer. It contains the only statically rendered objects and data that the viewer understands and renders; data cannot be dynamically updated in an RDF file.

So make sure you pass your data to the SectionReport when you call its ‘Run()’ method, and then call ‘SectionReport.Document.Save’ to save your RDF with all the data rows.

That said, if the RDF is of the same version as the viewer, then it will work as expected. Otherwise, the breaking changes over time can cause issues when previewing an RDF of a different version in the v18 Viewer.

We tried generating an RDF of a code-based SectionReport in v18 and tried previewing the generated RDF in the Desktop viewer as well as the JSViewer, and it seems to work as expected.

We have attached the files for your reference.

However, if the issue persists, please try sharing your sample application that contains the v18 Code-based SectionReport along with your RDF file so we can test generating the RDF files on our end and further investigate the issue (Please attach any sample data required to run your report if required).

Thanks,

Anand

SampleReport.rdf.zip

SectionReportMetadata.zip

JSViewer_MVC.zip