SSRS 2016 reporting server error: Object reference not set to an instance of an object

Question

I'm in the process of setting up a report in SSRS 2016. The report works well in Report Viewer, however when I run it in SSRS 2016 it gives me this from SSRS error log:

library!ReportServer_0-1!23e8!03/22/2019-09:21:03:: e ERROR: Error rending control: System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

library!ReportServer_0-1!23e8!03/22/2019-09:21:03:: e ERROR: Error rending control: System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

Please advise. Has anybody seen this kind of behavior in SSRS 2016? We are using SQL Server 2016 SP2 Standard Edition

Answer 1

To get a better idea of the error, try checking the trace log files for a more detailed error message. You should see this in the LogFiles folder of the file path below. Find the most recent trace log file and search for the errors from your report by opening the file in a text editor and doing a find ( CRTL + F ) for the name of the report. These files are updated with the more recent records at the end of the file, so when searching you may want to begin at the bottom of the file and search upwards. If there aren't enough details to determine the cause of the error, increase the tracing level. This can be done by increasing the value of the DefaultTraceSwitch property in the ReportingServicesService.exe.config file. The referenced article above outlines the various modes and their corresponding values, with 0 (tracing disabled) being the lowest and 4 ( Verbose ) providing the most comprehensive details. After changing this setting, it will be effective for all reports executed once the file is saved.

C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSRS13.MSSQLSERVER\Reporting Services\LogFiles