How to Import Custom Reports in SCCM | ConfigMgr

Prajwal Desai
Posted by Prajwal Desai
How to Import Custom Reports in SCCM

In this article, we’ll walk you through the steps to import custom reports in SCCM (ConfigMgr). Rather than creating a custom report in SCCM, you can simply import the RDL files into SCCM and use this custom report to view data in your organization.

Configuration Manager comes with over 470 built-in reports. You can run these reports to gather important information about your SCCM environment. The reports are classified into several categories, and new reports are rarely added to SCCM in current branch updates.

To access the SCCM reports, you must install the SQL reporting services point role. The Reporting Services connects to the Configuration Manager site database to fetch the data that is returned when you run reports.

What are .RDL Files?

According to Microsoft, Report Definition Language (RDL) is an XML representation of a SQL Server Reporting Services report definition. A RDL file contains data retrieval and layout information for a report. RDL is made up of XML elements that correspond to an XML grammar designed for reporting services. You can add your own custom functions for controlling report item values, styles, and formatting by accessing code assemblies within report definition files.

It might be necessary for organizations to import custom reports into SCCM that are not part of the built-in reports for a particular feature or component. A custom report file in SCCM has a .rdl extension.

Permissions required to import custom reports

A user account in SCCM requires specific permissions in order to run, edit, and create reports. They are listed below.

  • To run a report, an administrative user must have Run Report permission for the object.
  • To create or modify a report, an administrative user must have Modify Report permission for the object.

Steps to Import Custom Reports in SCCM

In this section, we will show you how to import a custom report in SCCM. The entire process is divided into steps so that you can follow and implement it easily.

Step 1: Download the Custom Report

To import a custom report in ConfigMgr, you must have the RDL file ready. As an example, we will upload a custom report that displays the last reboot time of the machines in a collection. This RDL file has been copied over to the Sources folder on the SCCM server.

Import custom reports in SCCM
Download the Custom Report – Import Custom Reports in SCCM

Step 2: Create a new folder for Custom Reports

Once you have the custom report ready, you can upload it to SCCM. However, as a best practice, we recommend creating a new folder for custom reports. You can put all of your custom reports in this folder or create subfolders to make it easier to find them.

Follow these steps to create a folder for custom reports in SCCM:

  • Launch the browser and browse to the Reporting Services webpage.
  • Sign in with an SCCM account that has permissions to create or modify reports.
  • To create a new folder, click on New Folder.
Create a new folder for Custom Reports
Create a new folder for Custom Reports

On the New Folder window, specify a name for this folder and add a brief description. Click OK.

Create a new folder for Custom Reports
Create a new folder for Custom Reports

Step 3: Upload Custom Report into SCCM

After you have created the new folder for the custom report, click on Upload File.

Import Custom Reports in SCCM
Import Custom Reports in SCCM

On the Upload File window, click on Browse and select the .rdl file to upload. Enable the option “Overwrite item if it exists” if you want to replace this new custom report with the previous version. Click OK.

Import Custom Reports in SCCM
Import Custom Reports in SCCM

The custom import has now been uploaded to SCCM. According to the screenshot below, the custom report was successfully imported.

At this point, if you run the report, you may encounter an error because the database source is not updated. You must ensure that the report is configured to use your SCCM database as the data source.

Import Custom Reports in SCCM
Import Custom Reports in SCCM

Step 4: Change Database Source of Custom Report

When you run custom reports imported into SCCM, they will return a database source error. To resolve the problem, edit the report and change the database source to use the SCCM database. You’ll have to do this for every custom report after you upload it to SCCM.

To change the database source of a custom report, click on the drop-down next to the custom report and select Manage.

Change Database Source of Custom Report
Change Database Source of Custom Report

In the left pane, select Data Sources. On the right-hand side, you can select a shared data source or specify a custom data source. For custom reports, select Shared Data Source and click on Browse.

Change Database Source of Custom Report
Change Database Source of Custom Report

In this step, select the appropriate data source for your custom report. The correct data source will contain the SCCM site code. If you have multiple data sources, then choose the data source wisely.

Change Database Source of Custom Report
Change Database Source of Custom Report

Step 5: Run SCCM Custom Report

You’re all set to run this new custom report that you imported into ConfigMgr. You can run this custom report within the Configuration Manager console or directly via the web browser. In the screenshot below, you see that the custom report that we imported is now retrieving the last reboot time of devices from the device collection.

Run SCCM Custom Report
Run SCCM Custom Report
Share This Article
Prajwal Desai
Posted by Prajwal Desai
Follow:
Prajwal Desai is a Microsoft MVP in Intune and SCCM. He writes articles on SCCM, Intune, Windows 365, Windows Server, Windows 11, WordPress and other topics, with the goal of providing people with useful information.
3 Comments