Create customized Jasper report layout

I would like to create a report that has the following layout:

It has three parts as you can see. The third part is a subreport done as a list, that is the easy part! My question is this: is there a better way of doing the first two parts than drawing boxes and li开发者_开发技巧nes in element groups and doing crazy calculations with positioning them? (I am talking about the .jrxml)

Try using iReport. It is a gui application for designing jasper reports.

You can drag and drop text fields and other report elements, so you don't have to worry about positioning.

I have had several problems using the .jrxml gerenated by iReport, but finally I have found an artikle that explains how to use iReport. It also explains how to fill the report. I have had problems since I was using a manually written .jrxml, which had to be compiled and filled. Now based on the code in the artikel I am not using .jrxml anymore, but the .jasper file compiled by the iReport and everything works like a charm.