Skip to main content
BuyLog In
.NET Reporting Tools
Search in…
Docs > Visual Studio Report Designer > Data Source Wizard
All docs
V24.2
Reporting
Product Information
What's New
.NET Support
Get Started with DevExpress Reporting
Create Different Report Types (Walkthroughs)
Detailed Guide to DevExpress Reporting
Memory Usage in Reporting - Best Practices
Localize Reporting Applications
Security Considerations
AI-powered Extensions
Visual Studio Report Designer
Report File Fomats (CS/VB and VSREPX)
Dock Panels
Report Designer Options
Report Wizard
Data Source Wizard
Connect to a Database
Connect to an Entity Framework Data Source
Connect to an Object Data Source
Connect to an Excel Data Source
Connect to a JSON Data Source
Connect to a MongoDB Data Source
Connect to an XPO Data Source
Connect to a Federated Data Source
No Data
Custom Connection String
SQL Query Builder
Localization Editor
Troubleshooting
Get Help on API
VS Code Report Designer
Reporting for Desktop
Reporting for .NET MAUI
Reporting for Web
Cloud Integration
.NET Aspire Integration
Cross-Platform .NET App UI
Backend Web API Service / REST API for Reporting
WCF Report Service
End-User Documentation
Redistribution and Deployment
API Reference
ASP.NET Core API Reference
Blazor API Reference
Client API Reference
Client API Reference (Web Forms & MVC)
Download CHM

Data Source Wizard

  • 2 minutes to read

The Data Source Wizard enables you to configure a data source for a Report.

Set the DataSourceWizardSettings.UseMergedConnectionTypePage property to true to use the wizard design illustrated above.

The wizard supports the following data source types:

  • SQL Databases

    Obtains data from all major data providers (Microsoft SQL Server, XML data, Microsoft Access, Oracle, etc.).

    A list of supported SQL data sources is available in the following help topic: Supported Databases.

  • Entity Framework

    Binds to a Microsoft ADO.NET Entity Framework data source.

  • Object

    Connects to any data object that implements the IList, IList<T> or IEnumerable<T> interface.

  • Excel File

    Obtains data from Microsoft Excel workbooks (XLS, XLSX, or XLSM files) or CSV files.

  • JSON

    Connects to JSON-formatted data.

  • MongoDB

    Connects to a MongoDB instance.

  • XPO

    Binds to XPO data.

  • Data Federation

    Retrieves data from multiple data sources.

  • No Data

    Allows you to design a report that is not bound to a data source.

  • Custom Connection String

    A custom connection string allows you to pass additional connection parameters and establish a connection to any SQL database.

The XPO Data Source is hidden from the list of data sources available in the Data Source Wizard. To customize the list of displayed data connection types, use the DataSourceWizardSettings.AvailableDataSourceTypes property. Also, you can limit the SQL data providers displayed in the Select a Data Connection Type page with the SqlWizardSettings.AvailableDataProviders property.

The Data Source Wizard allows you to do the following:

  • Add a new data-bound report to your application. To do this, use the Report Wizard, which contains the Data Source Wizard pages.

    xtrareport-wizard-databaound-report-01

  • Bind an existing report or its Detail Report band to data. To invoke the Data Source Wizard, click the report’s smart tag, expand the XtraReportBase.DataSource property’s drop-down menu, and click Add Report Data Source.

    how-to-ef-datasource01

  • Connect the Chart, Cross Tab, and Sparkline report controls to individual data sources. To invoke the Data Source Wizard, click the control’s smart tag, expand the DataSource property’s drop-down menu, and click Add Report Data Source.

    HowTo - AddChartDataSource

Note

Do not include dots in the data source name (for example, Customers.Products.2014 is incorrect). The report engine uses dots to separate the data source name from query names.