Converting SQL2008 RDL file to SQL2005

Question

How do I convert a RDL file that was created using the SQL2008 designer to work on SQL2005 Reporting services?

Answer 1

There is no specific downgrade path see this link for the official MS statement.

If you're feeling adventurous (and lucky) you could try converting your 2008 RDL to match the 2005 but I'm guessing that would be a major undertaking. RDL files are simply xml files that conform to the RDL spec which is open and published by Microsoft.

The RDL spec for reporting services 2008 is available here:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/5/7/6575f1c8-4607-48d2-941d-c69622e11c32/RDL_spec_08.pdf

The spec for 2005 is available here:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/c/2/0/c2091a26-d7bf-4464-8535-dbc31fb45d3c/rdlNov05.pdf

Answer 2

Hi All,

i am not advertising. i am trying to help the people who really need to convert the 2008 rdl into 2005 version. In my own company this tool was required so i developed it. now it had already converted more than 2000+ reports. So much time and work was saved ? It took me and my team a month to develop this tool. Just giving others opportunity to save their time....

Thanks & Regards, Amar Sale [amarsale(at)gmail(dot)com]

Answer 3

Hi Amar,

Can you please share that tool or code which ever suits you better? It will be a great help to the IT industry.

Regards, Muhammad Zaheer Tariq