I’m working on a .NET Framework 4.7.2 project using the Class Library template. I’m trying to generate a PDF report using RDLC, but the PDF file is generated without displaying any content, not even static data.

RDLC Report Setup:

I created an RDLC report file (SummonsReport.rdlc) with static text and images to ensure that some content should be displayed.
Report Generation Code:
[HttpGet]
[Route(“GenerateSummonsReports”)]
public HttpResponseMessage GenerateSummonsReports(long session_id)
{
try
{
// Fetch the data
IList summonsData = new Summons().GetSummonsForPrint(session_id);
Debug.WriteLine($”Fetched {summonsData.Count} summons records.”);

    // Create a DataSet and DataTable
    DataSet dataSet = new DataSet("SummonTemplateDataset");
    DataTable dataTable = new DataTable("DataTable_Summon");

    // Add columns to DataTable
    dataTable.Columns.Add("citizen_id", typeof(long));
    dataTable.Columns.Add("entity_id", typeof(long));
    dataTable.Columns.Add("name", typeof(string));
    dataTable.Columns.Add("contact_number", typeof(string));
    dataTable.Columns.Add("address", typeof(string));
    dataTable.Columns.Add("date_of_birth", typeof(DateTime));
    dataTable.Columns.Add("profession", typeof(string));
    dataTable.Columns.Add("session_id", typeof(long));
    dataTable.Columns.Add("status_id", typeof(long));
    dataTable.Columns.Add("summon_file", typeof(string));

    // Populate DataTable with data
    foreach (var summon in summonsData)
    {
        dataTable.Rows.Add(
            summon.citizen_id,
            summon.entity_id,
            summon.name,
            summon.contact_number,
            summon.address,
            summon.date_of_birth,
            summon.profession,
            summon.session_id,
            summon.status_id,
            summon.summon_file
        );
    }

    // Add DataTable to DataSet
    dataSet.Tables.Add(dataTable);

    // Path to your RDLC report file
    string reportPath = HostingEnvironment.MapPath("~/Reports/SummonsReport.rdlc");

    // Check if the file exists at the specified path
    if (!File.Exists(reportPath))
    {
        throw new FileNotFoundException($"Report file not found at path: {reportPath}");
    }

    // Initialize LocalReport
    LocalReport localReport = new LocalReport
    {
        ReportPath = reportPath
    };

    // Set the data source for the current report
    ReportDataSource reportDataSource = new ReportDataSource("SummonTemplateDataset", dataTable);
    localReport.DataSources.Clear();
    localReport.DataSources.Add(reportDataSource);

    // Render the report to a byte array
    string reportType = "PDF";
    string mimeType;
    string encoding;
    string fileNameExtension;
    string[] streams;
    Warning[] warnings;

    byte[] renderedBytes = localReport.Render(
        reportType,
        null,
        out mimeType,
        out encoding,
        out fileNameExtension,
        out streams,
        out warnings);

    // Log warnings if any
    if (warnings != null && warnings.Length > 0)
    {
        foreach (var warning in warnings)
        {
            Debug.WriteLine($"Warning: {warning.Message}");
        }
    }

    // Return the PDF report
    HttpResponseMessage response = new HttpResponseMessage(HttpStatusCode.OK)
    {
        Content = new ByteArrayContent(renderedBytes)
    };
    response.Content.Headers.ContentType = new MediaTypeHeaderValue("application/pdf");
    response.Content.Headers.ContentDisposition = new ContentDispositionHeaderValue("attachment")
    {
        FileName = $"SummonsReport_{session_id}.pdf"
    };

    return response;
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
    Debug.WriteLine($"Exception: {ex.Message}");
    return new HttpResponseMessage(HttpStatusCode.InternalServerError)
    {
        Content = new StringContent($"Error generating report: {ex.Message}")
    };
}

}

Result:
The PDF file is created successfully, but it does not display any content. The PDF is blank.

What I’ve Tried:
I verified that the RDLC file is correctly set up with static text and images.
I confirmed that the ReportPath is correct.
I tried adding different data sources, but the result remains the same (blank PDF).
I’ve checked for any runtime errors, but there are none.

Environment Details:
.NET Framework: 4.7.2
Template: Class Library
Tools: Visual Studio 2022