Java Web Start (JWS) Installer

Oxygen provides the tools to create your own JWS distribution that can be installed on a custom web server. Advantages of a JWS distribution include:
  • Oxygen is run locally, not inside a web browser, overcoming many of the browser compatibility problems common to applets;
  • JWS ensures that the most current version of the application will be deployed, as well as the correct version of JRE;

  • applications launched with Java Web Start are cached locally. Thus, an already downloaded application is launched on par with a traditionally installed application;

  • you can preconfigure Oxygen and the rest of your team will use the same preferences and frameworks.

Note: A code signing certificate is needed to sign the JWS distribution. The following procedure assumes that you already have such a certificate (for example Thawte™, or Verisign™, just to name a few).
The following schematics depicts the Oxygen Java Web Start deployment procedure:
Java Web Start Deployment Procedure

The following steps describe the procedure of deploying a Oxygen installation on a custom server.

  1. Download the All Platforms Installation package from http://www.oxygenxml.com/InstData/Author/All/author.tar.gz to a local drive.
  2. Expand the archive. author folder is created.
  3. Optionally, you can customize the content of the frameworks folder, containing default template document files.
  4. Edit the author\tools\jwsPackager\packager.properties configuration file. The following properties need to be adjusted:
    • codebase - represents the location of the future JWS distribution;
    • keystore - keystore location path;
    • storepass - password for keystore integrity;
    • alias - keystore alias;
    • optionsDir - points to the options directory that may be distributed with the JWS installer.
      Note: This property is optional and it is provided only if custom options need to be delivered to the end users.
    The values of keystore, storepass and alias properties are all provided by the code signing certificate. For more information, please check the documentation of the jarsigner tool.
  5. Edit the JNLP author\tools\jwsPackager\dist\javawebstart\author\author.jnlp template file to modify default settings. You can specify the list of files the application opens at startup by modifying the <argument> list. To pass system properties directly to the started Oxygen application, you must add them the oxy prefix, like in the example:<property name="oxyPropertyName" value="testValue"/>. The system property is passed to the Oxygen application with the prefix stripped.
  6. Using a command line console, run ant in the author\tools\jwsPackager folder. The ant process creates the author\tools\jwsPackager\dist\InstData\authorJWS.zip archive that contains the actual remote JWS installer.
  7. Copy the expanded content of the archive into the folder specified in the codebase property, previously set in the packager.properties file.
  8. Using your favourite web browser, go to the address specified in the codebase property or to its parent folder and start the remote installer.