Install File

[rjlaing]

On the download page the green download button would seem to indicate that essentialinstall.jar would be provided. However, the file that arrives is essentialinstall.zip and when unpacked I see several file folders (com, org, img, panels, packs, etc.) but no .jars. Am I missing something?

[jonathan.carter]

Thanks for your post.
I've checked the site and it definitely links to 'essentialinstall.jar'. In fact, there is no 'essentialinstall.zip' to download.

Could you tell me which operating system platform you are using? Is it possible that something is processing the downloaded JAR file once it has been received, e.g. like on OS X when it unpacks compressed packages automatically.

Do you have Java installed on your machine? It could be that if you don't the JAR file is being mis-interpreted by something like WinRAR as a ZIP.
When you have Java installed, the JAR file should be recognised by your machine as a Java archive and you should be able to double-click on it to run it

Jonathan

[rjlaing]

I was trying from a Windows machine. I've switched to my Linux box and, sure enough, it comes down the tube as .jar. While it's still a mystery, my particular problem is solved. Thanks.

RJL

[jonathan.carter]

Very strange. Glad you have the JAR now.
Could it be that something like WinRAR or equivalent archiver tool is installed on your Windows machine and interfering with what happens when you try to execute the JAR?

With recent Java installations, that JAR should be executable - just by double-clicking on it.

Jonathan

[vuweateam]

Hi,
I have exactly the same problem. When clicking the download button, the file that's displayed and then downloaded is essentialinstall.zip. I'm on Windows XP.

Having done some testing, it seems to be an Internet Explorer issue. If I use Firefox, it comes down as a jar file. I guess one could just rename from .zip to .jar and it would work too.

Peter

[jonathan.carter]

Thanks very much, everyone, for your feedback.

I've spent quite a bit of time today looking at what we can do and it seems that this is an issue with all versions of Internet Explorer (I've tried it with IE8 on Windows 7 to get the latest and greatest versions).

I have added a MIME type statement to the link to try to convince the browser about what it should be doing but as I understand it, Internet Explorer ignores such meta data from the server or the page and interrogates the file to work out what to do with it.

I could wrap the JAR in a ZIP for IE users but then that adds an additional step to the install process for those users who have downloaded the installer using IE. This would download the JAR in a ZIP. You would then un-pack the ZIP to reveal just the JAR (rather than all its contents as happens when the JAR is named 'essentialinstall.zip')

The widely-used solution (from a bit of research) appears to be just to rename the file either when IE asks you where to Save it (this worked for me in IE8 on Windows 7) or to rename it once it has been downloaded from 'essentialinstall.zip' to 'essentialinstall.jar'.

On this basis, I will add a note to the download page.

Let me know if you think the approach of packing the JAR in a ZIP for IE users is preferable.

Thanks

Jonathan

[vuweateam]

I suggest not packing the JAR in a ZIP for IE users; it just adds an unnecessary step. A note for IE users about renaming the file should be sufficient.

Peter

[jonathan.carter]

Thanks very much for your feedback, Peter. I agree.

I've added some notes next to the download links for both the installer and the update installer that suggest that IE users make sure that the file is saved as a '.jar' if IE tries to make it a '.ZIP'

Jonathan