Creating and selecting custom report layouts in Business Central
how to create custom report layout in Business Central
Also searched as
- Business Central Word layout vs RDLC layout
- how to change report layout Business Central
- Business Central custom report layout upload
Short answer
Business Central reports can render through a Word layout (simple, single-level documents like invoices) or an RDLC layout (complex, multi-level, grouped reports). Custom layouts are uploaded and assigned per report through the Report Layout Selection page, or shipped inside an AL extension with the rendering(...) property.
Applies to: Dynamics 365 Business Central (SaaS and on-premises), current and recent versions.
Create and apply a custom report layout
- 1Open the report you want to customize (e.g. Sales Invoice) and use Report Layouts or the report's Layouts action to export the built-in layout as a starting point (Word .docx or RDLC .rdl file).
- 2For a Word layout, edit the exported .docx in Microsoft Word using its built-in XML mapping controls to reposition fields, add branding, or adjust text; Word layouts are limited to the data structure already exposed by the report's dataset.
- 3For an RDLC layout, edit the .rdl file in a report designer tool (Visual Studio Report Designer or a compatible RDL editor) - RDLC supports grouping, subtotals, and multi-level datasets that Word layouts cannot express.
- 4Go to the Report Layout Selection page, find the report, and add a Custom layout entry, uploading your edited file and giving it a description.
- 5Set the new layout as the default for the relevant company/report combination, or leave multiple layouts available and let users pick one when running the report (e.g. per customer or per document type).
- 6For layouts shipped as part of an AL extension, use the rendering(LayoutName; LayoutType) property on the report object to bundle the layout file with the extension instead of relying on manual upload per environment.
- 7Test the layout by actually posting/printing a real document (not just Preview) since some data (e.g. dynamically calculated totals) only fully renders in the final run.
Choosing Word versus RDLC
Word layouts are the right default for simple, largely static documents - invoices, statements, quotes - where the business mainly wants to change branding, wording, or field placement without touching grouping logic. Business users comfortable in Word can often maintain these directly.
RDLC layouts are needed once the report requires nested grouping, running totals per group, conditional visibility of entire sections, or complex multi-table datasets - capabilities Word's simpler XML-mapping approach cannot express. Most standard multi-level financial and operational reports in Business Central ship as RDLC for this reason.
Report Layout Selection versus AL rendering property
The Report Layout Selection page is the operational, per-environment way to swap layouts without a code deployment - good for tenant-specific branding or minor field changes that a partner or power user manages directly in the running system.
The rendering(...) property inside an AL report object is the development-time way to ship a layout as part of an extension, so it deploys consistently across environments (dev, test, production) and travels with version control rather than being a manual per-tenant upload.
Common causes of a layout not rendering as expected
A field placed in a Word layout that does not exist in the report's underlying dataset will simply not populate - Word layouts cannot invent new data fields, only rearrange what the report dataset already provides; adding a genuinely new field requires an AL report extension to add it to the dataset first.
RDLC layouts that were edited against a different report version (a newer build added/removed dataset columns) can throw rendering errors or silently drop data - always re-export a fresh base layout from the current report version before customizing after an upgrade.
Common pitfalls
- !Trying to add grouping or running totals to a Word layout - it is not supported; move to RDLC for that requirement instead.
- !Editing an old exported layout file after the underlying report's dataset changed in an update, causing missing fields or rendering errors.
- !Uploading a custom layout only through Report Layout Selection and not also packaging it in the extension, so it is lost or has to be manually re-uploaded on every new environment.
- !Assuming Preview shows exactly what will print - some totals and page-break behavior only appear correctly in the final rendered output.
- !Forgetting to set the new layout as default (or company-specific default), so users keep getting the original built-in layout despite the upload succeeding.
How an ERP-grounded AI assistant handles this
SyteRay-style development assistance (applied to Business Central AL projects) can scaffold a report extension's rendering(...) property and dataset additions from a plain description of the new field a business user wants on an invoice, cutting the usual back-and-forth between a functional request and the AL change needed to expose that data to the layout.
Frequently asked questions
Can I add a completely new field to a Word layout without any development?
No - Word layouts can only use fields already present in the report's dataset. A genuinely new field (one not already on the report) requires an AL report extension to add it to the dataset before it can appear in any layout.
Do custom layouts survive a Business Central update?
Layouts uploaded via Report Layout Selection generally persist through updates, but if the underlying report's dataset changes in a new version, an old layout can start showing errors or missing data and needs re-basing against the current report.
Can different customers see different invoice layouts automatically?
Yes - Report Layout Selection supports assigning different custom layouts by report and by usage context, and some reports support layout selection logic tied to customer or document attributes via extension code.
What tool do I need to edit an RDLC file?
Microsoft Visual Studio with the Report Designer component (or a compatible third-party RDL editor) is the standard tool; there is no built-in RDLC editor inside Business Central itself.
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