iReport Designer(5.6.0) cannot open in JDK 8

I was trying to change the jdkhome using jdk 8 with iReport Designer 5.6.0. But I had failed.Then I installed jdk 7 and changed the jdkhome as jdk 7.After that I have successfully installed iReport Designer.

These are the steps.

Why This Happens

iReport 5.6.0 was released before JDK 8, so some classes and libraries are incompatible with the newer Java runtime.

Attempting to run iReport with JDK 8 will result in the program failing to start, with no clear error message.

Step-by-Step Solution

1. Install JDK 7

Download and install Java Development Kit (JDK) 1.7 from Oracle’s archive:

Oracle JDK 7 Downloads

Install it in a folder like:

C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.7.0_45

2. Update iReport Configuration

Go to the iReport installation folder. For example:

C:\Program Files\iReport-5.6.0\etc

Open the ireport.conf file with a text editor (like Notepad).

Find the line for jdkhome. It might look like:

#jdkhome="/path/to/jdk"

Change it to point to your JDK 7 folder, not the JRE:

jdkhome="C:/Program Files/Java/jdk1.7.0_45"

Save the file.

Do not point it to the jre folder—iReport requires the full JDK.

3. Run iReport

Double-click ireport.exe in your iReport installation folder.

The application should now start successfully using JDK 7.

 Additional Tips

If you have multiple JDK versions installed, ensure JDK 7 is set in iReport even if JDK 8 is your system default.

For Eclipse or NetBeans integration, configure the project’s Java Compiler to use JDK 7 for iReport compatibility.