6.2 Report Layouts: RDLC, Word, Excel & Multilanguage

6.2 Report Layouts: RDLC, Word, Excel & Multilanguage

Once a report's dataset is constructed in AL, Business Central requires a layout engine to format, style, and render the raw data into human-readable documents or analytical workbooks. Business Central supports three distinct built-in layout technologies—RDLC (Report Definition Language Client), Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel—as well as tenant-level user customizations.

1. Modern Layout Architecture: The rendering Block

Starting with Business Central 2022 Release Wave 2 (runtime 10.0+), the modern and recommended approach for declaring layouts in AL is the rendering block. This architecture decouples reports from a single hardcoded layout and allows multiple layout definitions within the same report object.

report 50105 "Standard Sales Invoice"
{
    DefaultRenderingLayout = StandardRDLC;
    ApplicationArea = Basic, Suite;
    UsageCategory = Documents;

    dataset
    {
        // DataItems and Columns
    }

    requestpage
    {
        // Request page definition
    }

    rendering
    {
        layout(StandardRDLC)
        {
            Type = RDLC;
            LayoutFile = './src/reports/layouts/SalesInvoice.rdlc';
            Caption = 'Standard Sales Invoice (RDLC)';
            Summary = 'Standard corporate invoice layout with precision headers and tax breakdown.';
        }
        layout(WordTemplate)
        {
            Type = Word;
            LayoutFile = './src/reports/layouts/SalesInvoice.docx';
            Caption = 'Editable Word Invoice Template';
            Summary = 'Clean, modern Word template for customer-facing communication.';
        }
        layout(ExcelAnalysis)
        {
            Type = Excel;
            LayoutFile = './src/reports/layouts/SalesInvoiceAnalysis.xlsx';
            Caption = 'Sales Invoice Data Analysis';
            Summary = 'Raw dataset with pre-configured Pivot Tables and Margin charts.';
        }
    }
}

Comparison of Layout Engines

Extension Layouts vs. Tenant Custom Report Layouts

Business Central differentiates between built-in layouts supplied by extensions and custom layouts created by tenant administrators:

1. Built-in Layouts: Defined in the AL rendering block or extension manifest. They are immutable and deployed with the .app package.
2. Tenant Custom Layouts (Report Layouts page): Users can navigate to the Report Layouts page in the Web Client, select any report, and export its layout file (RDLC, Word, or Excel). After modifying the file locally, the user uploads it back to Business Central as a custom tenant layout. Users can designate custom layouts as the company default without modifying AL extension code.

2. RDLC Layout Design Mechanics

RDLC layouts represent Report Definition Language files rendered on the client or server using the Microsoft Reporting Services engine.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                         RDLC REPORT LAYOUT                            |
|  +-----------------------------------------------------------------+  |
|  | Page Header: [=First(Fields!CompanyName.Value, "DataSet_Result")]|  |
|  +-----------------------------------------------------------------+  |
|  | Body: Tablix Data Region                                        |  |
|  |  +----------------+---------------+---------------+----------+  |  |
|  |  | Header Group   | Order No: [=Fields!OrderNo.Value]        |  |  |
|  |  +----------------+---------------+---------------+----------+  |  |
|  |  | Details Row    | [ItemNo]      | [Description] | [Amount] |  |  |
|  |  +----------------+---------------+---------------+----------+  |  |
|  |  | Footer Group   | Total: [=Sum(Fields!Amount.Value)]       |  |  |
|  |  +----------------+---------------+---------------+----------+  |  |
|  +-----------------------------------------------------------------+  |
|  | Page Footer: Page [=Globals!PageNumber] of [=Globals!TotalPages]|  |
|  +-----------------------------------------------------------------+  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

Key RDLC Design Principles

1. The Single Dataset Rule: In RDLC, all data arrives in one flat table named DataSet_Result. You reference fields with =Fields!FieldName.Value.
2. Tablix Controls: A Tablix is the universal data region. It combines Table, Matrix (cross-tab), and List functionalities. Developers establish Parent/Child Row Groups (e.g., grouping by OrderNo) and detail rows for line items.
3. Aggregation Expressions: When referencing parent data inside group headers or summaries, use aggregate functions:
   • =First(Fields!CustomerName.Value, "OrderNoGroup"): Retrieves the customer name for the active group.
   • =Sum(Fields!LineAmount.Value, "OrderNoGroup"): Calculates group totals.
4. Visibility & Conditional Formatting: Controls can be hidden dynamically using Boolean expressions in the Hidden property: =IIf(Fields!Quantity.Value = 0, True, False).
5. The Page Header Limitation: RDLC does not allow direct field references (=Fields!Field.Value) inside page headers or footers. To display dynamic data (such as the active invoice number) in a page header, developers place a hidden textbox in the body and reference it in the header using =ReportItems!HiddenTextBoxName.Value.

3. Microsoft Word Layout Design

Word layouts provide an intuitive approach for creating editable, customer-facing business documents using Microsoft Word's standard formatting tools.

Designing Word Layouts via the XML Mapping Pane

1. Generate the initial Word layout file by compiling the AL report in VS Code (Ctrl+Shift+B), which outputs the .docx schema shell specified in LayoutFile.
2. Open the .docx file in Microsoft Word and enable the Developer ribbon tab.
3. Open the XML Mapping Pane and select the Custom XML Part corresponding to the report namespace: urn:microsoft-dynamics-nav/reports/<ReportName>/<ReportID>/.
4. Mapping Single Fields: Insert a Plain Text Content Control into table cells or paragraphs where scalar values (e.g., CompanyName, PostingDate) should appear.
5. Mapping Repeating Tables (Lines): Highlight the entire table row designated for line items, right-click the parent Line node in the XML Mapping Pane, and select Insert Content Control > Repeating Section.

Exam Watchout — Word Layout Limitations: Word layouts excel at visual design and typography, but they lack advanced computational capabilities. Running totals across pages, complex multi-dataset grouping, and page-count-dependent logic cannot be calculated natively inside Word; such calculations must be computed in AL prior to dataset emission.

4. Microsoft Excel Layouts & Multilanguage Labels

Excel Layout Engine Mechanics

Excel layouts enable self-service business intelligence and financial reporting directly from Business Central report datasets:

• When an Excel layout report executes, Business Central writes the entire flattened dataset into a worksheet named Data.
• Developers can design secondary worksheets containing Pivot Tables, Pivot Charts, and Excel formulas (=SUMIFS(...), =XLOOKUP(...)) that reference the Data sheet.
• When the user runs the report from the Web Client, the NST injects the fresh dataset into the Data sheet and triggers Excel's automatic formula/pivot cache refresh upon opening.

Multilanguage Labels in Reports

To ensure report layouts support multilingual deployments without hardcoding English text into RDLC or Word files, AL provides the labels block.

report 50105 "Standard Sales Invoice"
{
    // ...
    labels
    {
        InvoiceTitleLbl = 'TAX INVOICE', Comment = 'Document title printed in header';
        SubtotalLbl = 'Subtotal Amount', MaxLength = 30;
        VATHdrLbl = 'VAT Breakdown Summary';
        ThankYouMsgLbl = 'Thank you for your business!';
    }
}

• Labels defined in the labels block are automatically emitted as dataset fields in the layout schema with the suffix Caption (e.g., InvoiceTitleLblCaption).
• The translation compiler extracts these labels into the extension's .xlf translation files, allowing localization into dozens of languages.
• In AL code triggers, developers can dynamically adjust the report's language and region formatting based on customer preferences using CurrReport.Language := Language.GetLanguageIdOrDefault(Customer."Language Code"); and CurrReport.FormatRegion := Customer."Format Region";.