Fix: SQL Server Reporting Services RDLC report designer and Visual Studio 2026

I recently upgraded my laptop to Visual Studio 2026. The upgrade went quite smoothly except for one thing.

I received an error that told me that the RDLC Report Designer for use with SQL Server Reporting Services wasn’t going to work any more. In my case, we use that report viewer even without Reporting Services, by just uploading datasets in applications. I’ve found it very convenient. But I still needed the report designer so I could add new reports or change existing ones.

When I saw the message, I was a little heartbroken, but not surprised as Microsoft has shown little love for Reporting Services in recent times. If ever there was an excellent product that was pretty much abandoned, it’s Reporting Services.

The Fix

But there was no need for me to be sad. The Microsoft team have produced a new version of the RDLC Report Designer that’s compatible with Visual Studio 2026.

It was a little difficult to find but you can find it here . I hope that helps someone.

2025-12-02