Java Web Start installation

To set up the association between *.jnlp files and javaws.exe in the Opera browser:

1.   Click Tools | Preferences | Advanced | Downloads

2.   Check to see if an association for jnlp is already there.

3.   If there is no entry, click new.

4.   If there is one already, select it and click edit.

5.   The MIME type should read application/x-java-jnlp-file,
the file extension should read jnlp,
'open with other application' should be selected,
the application should be set to C:\Program Files\java\jre...\bin\javaws.exe,
Pass web address directly to program should be checked.

6.   Click OK | OK.

Techies might want to look at the associations configuration in C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator.ROEDY\Application Data\Opera\Opera8\profile\adr6.ini

To set up the association between *.jnlp files and javaws.exe in the Mozilla browser:

1.   Click Edit | Preferences | Navigator | Helper Applications

2.   Check to see if an association for jnlp is already there.

3.   If there is no entry, click New Type.

4.   If there is one already, select it and click Edit.

5.   The MIME type should read application/x-java-jnlp-file,
The description should read Java Web Start control files, the file extension should read jnlp,
open it with should be selected,
the application should be set to C:\Program Files\java\jre...\bin\javaws.exe.

6.   Click OK | OK.

7.   Alternatively, you can set it to the windows default, after you set up the association in Windows.

Firefox does not seem to have a way of configuring associations other than selecting download rather than run for a small built-in set. Nevertheless it partly works, at least for jnlp files out on the web. It does not work for ones on local hard disk. It seems to bungle along with Windows associations and MIME type hints from webservers. Firefox will ask you what to do with an extension it has never seen before on download. This gives you an indirect way to set up an automatic association.

Like Firefox, on which it is based, Netscape, does not seem to have a way of configuring associations other than selecting download rather than run for a small built-in set. Nevertheless it partly works, at least for jnlp files out on the web. It does not work for ones on local hard disk. It seems to bungle along with Windows associations and MIME type hints from webservers.

To set up the association between *.jnlp files and javaws.exe in Windows which also handles IE:

1.   In Windows, not IE, click Start | Settings | Control Panel | Folder Options | File Types.

2.   Check to see if there is already an association for *.jnlp files.

3.   If there is no entry for *.jnlp files already then click new | advanced | select "jnlp file"

4.   If there is an entry, select it and click advanced.

5.   Then edit the open application used to perform action field and make sure it is set to "C:\Program Files\java\jre...\bin\javaws.exe ""%1". Uncheck DDE.

6.   Click OK.

7.   Click Set As Default to make Open the default action. Likely Open will be the only action.

8.   Click OK | Close.

Even after all this is done, IE will only half work. It will work with JNLP files loaded off the web, but not ones from local hard disk. This is because webservers provide a MIME type to give IE an extra hint, where the Windows file system provides no MIME types.