xtrareports-403089-report-designer-for-visual-studio-report-designer-errors.md
This help topic lists common issues with the DevExpress Visual Studio Report Designer. Configure your environment as recommended below. If problems persist, collect diagnostic data and contact DevExpress Support.
Avoid version conflicts and install DevExpress updates regularly:
The Visual Studio Report Designer creates log files for each session. Use these files to diagnose issues.
In Visual Studio, select Extensions → DevExpress → Report Designer → Collect Diagnostic Data to create a ZIP archive with logs. Attach this archive to your support ticket.
The ZIP archive includes:
Log files are stored in the following folder:
%HOMEPATH%\AppData\Local\DevExpress\XtraReportsDesignNetCore\
Look for the following files:
If you installed only NuGet packages, run the Unified Component Installer to install all required components.
Right-click within the Toolbox and select Reset Toolbox in the toolbox context menu. If the Toolbox does not contain DevExpress controls, follow the instructions described in the following help topic: Resolve Issues with Toolbox Items.
Disable Show All in the toolbox context menu (this option displays unsupported items as grayed out).
Tip
Toolbox section names with DevExpress report controls:
DX.25.2: Report ControlsDX: Report ControlsVisual Studio updates the toolbox when you first open the Report Designer. This may take longer if multiple DevExpress versions are installed. Wait until the update finishes.
RepxPackage extension : Re-install DevExpress or run the Unified Component Installer in Repair mode.RepxPackage extension disabled : In Visual Studio, open Manage Extensions, locate DevExpress.XtraReports.RepxPackage, and enable it.The Visual Studio Report Designer does not support .repx (report definition) format in projects that target .NET (Breaking Change T1168500).
You can restore the Visual Studio Report Designer functionality for existing .repx files in two ways:
XtraReport and import the target VSREPX layout (Store Report Layouts). Copy custom code-behind code and reattach event handlers (if any)..repx to .vsrepx.Note
The Report Designer Extension for VS Code supports .repx.
Reinstall DevExpress components or run the Unified Component Installer in Repair mode. If the issue persists, create a new support ticket and attach the diagnostic information:
The Report Designer for .NET Core follows the Out-of-Process model (the .NET Core code runs in a separate process). Because report layouts may reference custom classes, the Designer copies project binaries and the deps.json file to a temporary folder.
For this model to work, do the following:
This section lists warnings (XRD) and errors (XRE) that may appear in the Report Designer.
MessageBuild your solution and reopen this window for the Report Designer to operate correctly.SolutionRebuild the project.
MessageThe Report Designer is not initialized properly. Restart Visual Studio and rebuild your solution.SolutionOur code detected a malfunction in the Report Designer process. Rebuild the project and restart Visual Studio. If this does not resolve the issue, please contact DevExpress Support and attach the Report Designer logs.
MessageThe Report Designer process failed to start. Please contact DevExpress Support and send us the following log files: designer_trace.log, external_trace.log, and UnhandledErrors.log (found in the Designer’s Logs folder or in the parent folder of the logs).SolutionPlease contact DevExpress Support and attach the Report Designer logs.
MessageThe Report Designer is unable to instantiate a user-defined data source type. Please contact DevExpress Support and send us log files with information about the problematic type. Designer_trace.log, external_trace.log, UnhandledErrors.log, and {guid}.log files are located in the Logs folder or in the parent folder.SolutionThe Report Designer could not instantiate a class referenced in your code. Please contact DevExpress Support, attach the Report Designer logs, and describe the public API of the class.
MessageThe report contains scripts. The following NuGet package is required to run these scripts: Microsoft.CodeAnalysis. Do you want to install it?SolutionInstall the Microsoft.CodeAnalysis NuGet package to run report scripts.
MessageThe version of DevExpress libraries (DLL assemblies or NuGet packages) referenced in the project does not match the version of libraries installed on your machine.SolutionAlign project references with the installed DevExpress version. The version of DevExpress libraries that you reference in your project must match the version of DevExpress libraries installed on your machine.
MessageThe Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.VisualBasic and Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.Common packages, required to compile the VisualBasic scripts, are missing in the C# project.SolutionInstall Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.VisualBasic and Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.Common NuGet packages.
MessageThe Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp and Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.Common packages, required to compile the C# scripts, are missing in the Visual Basic project.SolutionInstall Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp and Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.Common NuGet packages.