Java App Launcher Mac Download

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It’s no secret that there have been some issues within the last few years between the folks at Apple, and the folks at Oracle, who now own the rights to the Java language and software engines. Due to several security concerns, Apple, along with several other developers, have adjusted their approach to running Java apps and applets in order to protect consumers from potentially-dangerous code being run on their machines. On paper, this sounds like a good strategy to ensure the safety of user information.

But what if you legitimately have a need to run a Java app? There are so many different versions of Java Runtime Engines (also known as JRE, or the environment in which Java code is executed on an operating system) that finding the right combination can be tricky. Once you *do* find the correct version (or versions), security concerns such as the ones previously mentioned may still keep these apps from performing properly.

The Java SE Runtime Environment contains the Java virtual machine,runtime class libraries, and Java application launcher that arenecessary to run programs written in the Java programming language.It is not a development environment.

One way Java apps are distributed is called Java Web Start (see here for more information on this technology). These are small files that are downloaded and executed, as opposed to embedded code within a webpage. By default on several operating systems, including Apple’s OS X, these files are not executed automatically, which means they act as a regular download that must be double-clicked (or Command-O, for the keyboard fanatics out there like me) in order to run. While this isn’t a complete roadblock, it does diminish the convenience factor. Thankfully, there’s a way to get these programs to run automatically as they are downloaded, using Apples wonderful Automater tool. Here’s how:

Using the Evisions Application Launcher. The Evisions Application Launcher (EAL) is an optional replacement for the Java version of the Universal Launcher, which will no longer function in the Chrome browser as of September 2015. The EAL will work in all supported browsers and does not require Java. An alternative Application Launcher (shell script) for Java Apps on Mac OS X that works with both Apple's and Oracle's plist format and Java 6 and 7. Plus it supports drag&drop to the Dock icon. gdiazs/universalJavaApplicationStub.

Note: The screenshots in this document are tailored towards Apples most-recent version of OS X, Yosemite. If you are on an older version of OS X, the pictures and steps may not match up perfectly.

  • From your Macintosh system, launch the Automater tool. This can be done by selecting it from the Launchpad, typing “Automater” into the Spotlight search field, or simply locating the icon in your Applications Folder.
  • When Automater opens up, you can click “New Document” to create a blank document. This will open up the New Document wizard.
  • We will be creating what is called a Folder Action workflow, so click to highlight the “Folder Action” icon, and then click the Choose button. A folder action workflow will perform a task any time the folder being monitored receives new files or folders within it.
  • First, we need to specify the folder we want to perform this action on. Normally, this will be the “Downloads” folder, since this is where the downloaded Java Web Start files will be placed by default. From the drop-down in the upper right, select “Other…” and browse to the Downloads folder. Once that folder is opened, click the Choose button, and the drop-down should now read “Downloads”.
  • Now we need to tell the workflow what action to perform. In the left-hand column, listed under “Library” are all the categories of actions we can choose from. Select “Utilities”, and all the utilities will come up in the next column. From that middle column, drag-and-drop “Run Shell Script” to the workflow column on the right, and it will add it as a step.
  • Next, we need to configure the Shell Script action a little. Next to the “Shell:” dropdown, make sure the value is set to “/bin/bash” so that the BASH shell is used to execute the script. Then, on the right-hand side next to “Pass input:”, make sure it reads “as arguments”.
  • Lastly, we need to input the shell script in question, as the default value of “cat” will not do what we need to do. Copy and paste the contents of the text box below into the shell script window. This script will search for any Java Web Start files (*.jnlp), and if it finds any, it will run the Java Web Start engine on them, and then delete them (so your downloads folder doesn’t get cluttered up).
  • Once this is done, you can now save your Automater workflow from the File menu, or hit Command-S. I have titled mine “Java WebStart Downloads.workflow” so that i can easily find it in the coming steps.
  • One last step is to activate the workflow for the downloads folder. Open up a Finder window, and go to your home folder by either selecting it from the Go menu in the menu bar, or hitting Command-Shift-H on your keyboard. This will allow you to see the Downloads folder in the Finder window itself, instead of just on the sidebar.
  • Perform a secondary click (also known as a right-click) on the Downloads folder and select “Services”, and then “Folder Action Setup”. This brings up the Folder Actions Setup window.
Java App Launcher Mac Download
  • From the list of available actions, select your workflow, “Java WebStart Downloads.workflow” in my case, and click Attach. You will now see your Downloads folder in the lefthand column (with checkmark checked), and your workflow in the righthand column (also with checkmark checked). That’s it. Your Java Web Start documents will now automatically open, and then be removed.

Now, whenever a .jnlp file is downloaded or otherwise placed in your Downloads folder, Automater will run (you will see a spinning gear in the top right of the menu bar). Once the Jawa Web Start file is finished, the gear will go away.

Note: The script used in this example is specifically designed for opening .jnlp files, however it can be easily adjusted to perform roughly any task on any type of file. This, however, is outside of the scope of this post.

While you’re at it, check out some of these sites for more Automator workflow ideas.

    (Please note, the following sites are not affiliated with Byteworks)

The Scope Report is a Java program that uses Jamf Pro API calls to collect and organize specific information about how everything is scoped in your Jamf Pro environment. It can be run from any computer that can access Jamf Pro from their web browser and any user with at least read permission. It makes the .csv file inside the folder it was run in so it is easy to import wherever desired.

The need it is fulfilling:

  • The specific reporting of scoping that is not available in a Jamf Pro summary.

  • The feature request for checking what is scoped to a device or computer group without painstakingly searching through the items or digging up a lengthy MySQL query.

Currently it runs a full scope report, leaving out blank fields, for the following Jamf Pro categories:

  • Policies
  • Mobile Applications
  • Mobile Configuration Profiles
  • Mac Applications
  • Mac Configuration Profiles
  • Ebooks
  • Show what is scoped to Mobile Device Groups (Does not show limitations or exclusions)
  • Show what is scoped to Computer Device Groups (Does not show limitations or exclusions)

Java App Launcher Mac Download Mojang

Features: Handy Dandy Progress bar!

NEW: No Java needed if you use the Mac App

NEW: ERROR HANDLING! It will now tell you when you have the URL or the username/password incorrect. If you see the “Please file an issue error” please feel free to file an issue. Including the search you were performing and any data for recreation would be helpful in figuring out a fix.

NEW: Show what Apps, Ebooks, and Mobile Profiles are scoped to which User Groups(Does not show LDAP users, limitations or exclusions, this can be added if requested. Does not work for MacOS Profiles and Policies due to a lack of an API endpoint, details in the warning.)

Warning!! The API endpoint for MacOS (computer) policies and profiles does not report user groups limitatons and exclusions properly. The only search that works for user’s scoped searches is for MacOS profiles and for Mac Apps, it does not work for users scoped to policies and only pulls one user group for profiles. A product issue has been filed and if the endpoint is fixed this program will be updated. As a side note all iOS (mobile) searches work great!

Note: Any Device group search takes a bit of time and a straight scope report is a lot quicker. On my test cloud instance, the Group Searches take about a 1 minute each. In larger environments it could take a while. It is a steady stream of (non-concurrent) API calls that can vary in size for data returned, however the largest data stream return I have seen is 1 MB. Which should be very manageable in most environments. The ability to search only specific device group names would break up calls for larger environments if needed. So let me know!

Running directly on the same server as Jamf Pro would decrease network traffic and would already have all the Java needed.

Requirements: JDK and JRE (Written in version 1.8) Preliminary testing in Java 9 showed no issues.

NEW: No Java needed if you use the Mac APP

To Launch:

-Windows: Download Windows version and run the Start_Windows.bat or go to /dist/MobileDeviceTool.jar and double click.

-MacOS: Download Mac version. Unzip and double click the MacOS_Launcher or go to /dist/MobileDeviceTool.jar and double click.

-Dont want to download Java? Use the App!

Java App Launcher Mac Download Launcher

-Linux: Download Linux version. Unzip, then use java -jar to open /dist/MobileDeviceTool.jar

EXAMPLE: java -jar ‘/home/jamfuser/TheScopeReport/dist/TheScopeReport.jar’….Has not been tested much in linux, however if you have the most recent versions of the JRE and JDK then it should run fine. It does not launch correctly if you double click (without a jar launcher) on it. It needs to be run using java -jar from terminal. It does require a GUI.

The different versions are for ease of launching outside of using the standalone app. They are all the same if you go to /dist and use java -jar or a Jar Launcher to run the .jar

If the demand is there this could easily be converted to a gui-less app. So, let me know!

Download Java Launcher

Any suggestions or ideas for functionality are welcomed!

Java Web Launcher App

Since the output is .CSV we can open the file produced in a text editor or in Excel (recommended). It does look better in Excel. It does not size the columns unless imported into Excel. If you do not want to manually adjust the columns size then one option is to use the method shown on this site: Import .csv guide