Add the Document Viewer to an ASP.NET Core Application

Jun 02, 2022
6 minutes to read

This tutorial describes how to add the Document Viewer control to a web application that uses .NET 5, or .NET Core 3.1 framework.

Prerequisites

.NET 5.0	.NET Core 3.1	.NET Core 2.1
Visual Studio 2019 v16.9 or later	Visual Studio 2019 v16.4 or later	Visual Studio 2017 v15.3 or later

Create an ASP.NET Core MVC Web Application

Create a new project in Visual Studio and select ASP.NET Core Web App (Model-View-Controller) on the start page as a project template.

Click Next.
Specify the application name (WebApplication1), location, target framework, and other options. Click Create.

Manage Packages and Libraries

Follow the steps below to install NuGet packages:

Right-click Dependencies in the Solution Explorer and select Manage NuGet Packages from the context menu.
Select All from the Package source drop-down list, switch to the Browse tab, and install the following packages:
- DevExpress.AspNetCore.Reporting
- BuildBundlerMinifier
- Microsoft.Web.LibraryManager.Build

Right-click the project in the Solution Explorer and select Add | New Item from the context menu. Select npm Configuration File in the invoked Add New Item dialog.

Add npm Configuration File to the Project

Open the newly created package.json file, replace its content with the following code, and save the file:

package.json

{
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "name": "asp.net",
    "private": true,
    "dependencies": {
        "bootstrap": "^4.3.1",
        "devextreme": "21.1.*",
        "@devexpress/analytics-core": "21.1.*",
        "devexpress-reporting": "21.1.*",
        "globalize": "^1.3.0",
        "jquery-ui-dist": "^1.13.1"
    }
}

Right-click package.json in the Solution Explorer and select Restore Packages. Alternatively, you can execute the following command in the folder that contains the package.json file:
```
npm install
```

Add a text file (bundleconfig.json) to the project. Open the newly created file, paste the following content, and save the file:

bundleconfig.json

[
  {
    "outputFileName": "wwwroot/css/thirdparty.bundle.css",
    "inputFiles": [
      "node_modules/jquery-ui-dist/jquery-ui.min.css",
      "node_modules/bootstrap/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css",
      "node_modules/devextreme/dist/css/dx.light.css"
    ],
    "minify": {
      "enabled": false,
      "adjustRelativePaths": false
    }
  },
  {
    "outputFileName": "wwwroot/css/viewer.part.bundle.css",
    "inputFiles": [
        "node_modules/@devexpress/analytics-core/dist/css/dx-analytics.common.css",
        "node_modules/@devexpress/analytics-core/dist/css/dx-analytics.light.css",
        "node_modules/devexpress-reporting/dist/css/dx-webdocumentviewer.css"
    ],
    "minify": {
      "enabled": false,
      "adjustRelativePaths": false
    }
  },

  {
    "outputFileName": "wwwroot/js/thirdparty.bundle.js",
    "inputFiles": [
      "node_modules/jquery/dist/jquery.min.js",
      "node_modules/jquery-ui-dist/jquery-ui.min.js",
      "node_modules/knockout/build/output/knockout-latest.js",
      "node_modules/bootstrap/dist/js/bootstrap.min.js",
      "node_modules/cldrjs/dist/cldr.js",
      "node_modules/cldrjs/dist/cldr/event.js",
      "node_modules/cldrjs/dist/cldr/supplemental.js",
      "node_modules/cldrjs/dist/cldr/unresolved.js",
      "node_modules/globalize/dist/globalize.js",
      "node_modules/globalize/dist/globalize/message.js",
      "node_modules/globalize/dist/globalize/number.js",
      "node_modules/globalize/dist/globalize/currency.js",
      "node_modules/globalize/dist/globalize/date.js",
      "node_modules/devextreme/dist/js/dx.all.js",

      "node_modules/ace-builds/src-min-noconflict/ace.js",
      "node_modules/ace-builds/src-min-noconflict/ext-language_tools.js",
      "node_modules/ace-builds/src-min-noconflict/theme-dreamweaver.js",
      "node_modules/ace-builds/src-min-noconflict/theme-ambiance.js",
      "node_modules/ace-builds/src-min-noconflict/snippets/text.js"
      ],
    "minify": {
      "enabled": false
    },
    "sourceMap": false
  },
  {
    "outputFileName": "wwwroot/js/viewer.part.bundle.js",
    "inputFiles": [
      "node_modules/@devexpress/analytics-core/dist/js/dx-analytics-core.min.js",
      "node_modules/devexpress-reporting/dist/js/dx-webdocumentviewer.min.js"
      ],
    "minify": {
      "enabled": false
    },
    "sourceMap": false
  }
]

Right-click the project in the Solution Explorer and select Manage Client-Side Libraries to open the libman.json file.

Paste the following content and save the file:
- libman.json
```
{
  "version": "1.0",
  "defaultProvider": "filesystem",
  "libraries": [

    {
      "library": "node_modules/devextreme/dist/css/icons/",
      "destination": "wwwroot/css/icons",
      "files": [
        "dxicons.ttf",
        "dxicons.woff2",
        "dxicons.woff"
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```
Note
If your application already uses libraries listed above, remove duplicate library references to ensure they are registered only once.

For more information on LibMan, review the following article: Use LibMan with ASP.NET Core in Visual Studio.

Configure Application and Services

Open the Startup.cs file and modify the ConfigureServices method in the Startup class as shown in the following code snippet:

Startup.cs (.NET Core 3.1)
Startup.cs (.NET Core 2.1)

using DevExpress.AspNetCore;
using DevExpress.AspNetCore.Reporting;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Builder;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
//...

public class Startup {
//...
    public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services) {
        services.AddDevExpressControls();
        services
            .AddMvc()
            .SetCompatibilityVersion(Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.CompatibilityVersion.Version_3_0);
        services.ConfigureReportingServices(configurator => {
            configurator.ConfigureWebDocumentViewer(viewerConfigurator => {
                viewerConfigurator.UseCachedReportSourceBuilder();
            });
        });
    }
// ...

using DevExpress.AspNetCore;
using DevExpress.AspNetCore.Reporting;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Builder;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
//...

public class Startup {
//...
    public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services) {
        services.AddDevExpressControls();
        services
            .AddMvc()
            .SetCompatibilityVersion(Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.CompatibilityVersion.Version_2_1);
        services.ConfigureReportingServices(configurator => {
            configurator.ConfigureWebDocumentViewer(viewerConfigurator => {
                viewerConfigurator.UseCachedReportSourceBuilder();
            });
        });
    }
// ...

Modify the Configure method in the Startup class as shown in the following code snippet:

Startup.cs (.NET Core 3.1)
Startup.cs (.NET Core 2.1)

using DevExpress.AspNetCore;
using DevExpress.AspNetCore.Reporting;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Builder;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
//...

public class Startup {
//...
    public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IHostingEnvironment env) {
        app.UseDevExpressControls();
        System.Net.ServicePointManager.SecurityProtocol |= System.Net.SecurityProtocolType.Tls12;
        if (env.IsDevelopment()) {
            app.UseDeveloperExceptionPage();
        }
        else  {
            app.UseExceptionHandler("/Home/Error");
            app.UseHsts();
        }
        app.UseHttpsRedirection();
        app.UseStaticFiles();

        app.UseRouting();

        app.UseAuthorization();
        app.UseEndpoints(endpoints => {
            endpoints.MapControllerRoute(
                name: "default",
                pattern: "{controller=Home}/{action=Index}/{id?}");
        });
    }
// ...
// ...

using DevExpress.AspNetCore;
using DevExpress.AspNetCore.Reporting;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Builder;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
//...

public class Startup {
//...
    public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IHostingEnvironment env) {
        app.UseDevExpressControls();
        System.Net.ServicePointManager.SecurityProtocol |= System.Net.SecurityProtocolType.Tls12;
        if(env.IsDevelopment()) {
            app.UseDeveloperExceptionPage();
        }
        app.UseStaticFiles();
        app.UseMvc(routes => {
            routes.MapRoute(
                name: "default",
                template: "{controller=Home}/{action=Index}/{id?}");
        });
    }
// ...

Add a Sample Report

Right-click the project in the Solution Explorer and select Add | New Folder from the context menu. Rename the created folder to Reports.
Right-click the Reports folder and select Add | New Item from the context menu. In the invoked Add New Item dialog, click the Reporting tree node and select DevExpress v21.1 Report.

Rename the new report to TestReport and click Add.
Select the Blank report type in the invoked Report Wizard.
The Report Designer displays the newly created blank report. Save the report and close the designer.

See the following topic for more information: Add a New Report in Visual Studio.

Add the Document Viewer Control

Reference the DevExpress.AspNetCore namespace in the _ViewImports.cshtml file. Alternatively, you can reference this namespace in the view that contains the Document Viewer control.
- _ViewImports.cshtml
```
@using DevExpress.AspNetCore
```

Add the following links to the Layout.cshtml page’s head section (the Views | Shared folder):

_Layout.cshtml

<link rel="stylesheet" href="~/css/thirdparty.bundle.css" />
<script src="~/js/thirdparty.bundle.js"></script>

Replace the contents of the Index.cshtml file with the following code that displays the Document Viewer and loads the TestReport (the using directive is correct if the application name is WebApplication1 and the TestReport is created in the Reports folder):
- Index.cshtml
```
@using WebApplication1.Reports

<link rel="stylesheet" href="~/css/viewer.part.bundle.css" />
<script src="~/js/viewer.part.bundle.js"></script>

@Html.DevExpress().WebDocumentViewer("DocumentViewer").Height("1000px").Bind(new TestReport())
```

Run the Application

The application’s page contains the Document Viewer control that displays the TestReport report.

View Result

Troubleshooting

If the page does not display the Document Viewer component, or it is displayed incorrectly, check the following:

The script files should be registered in the correct order, as demonstrated in the bundleconfig.json code above.
There should be no duplicate registrations. If you use bundle registration and copy the scripts from the documentation to your bundleconfig.json file, do not register the libraries on your web page.
The version of the DevExpress scripts (npm packages) should match the version of the server-side libraries (NuGet packages).

Review the following help topic for more information: Troubleshooting.

Limitations

Review the following help topic for details on limitations in ASP.NET Core applications: .NET 5 and .NET Core Limitations.

Controls

Tools

Controls and Extensions

Tools

Maintenance Mode

Controls

Tools

Controls and Extensions

Tools

Maintenance Mode

Prerequisites

Create an ASP.NET Core MVC Web Application

Manage Packages and Libraries

Configure Application and Services

Add a Sample Report

Add the Document Viewer Control

Run the Application

Troubleshooting

Limitations