LaunchAnywhere Executables

The "LaunchAnywhere Executable" is a special executable file that is used to launch a Java application on any LaunchAnywhere-compatible platforms.  (Currently, InstallAnywhere creates LaunchAnywheres on Windows 95/98/NT, Mac OS, and Unix.)   LaunchAnywhere allows users to simply double click on an icon (Windows or Mac OS) or to type a single command (Unix) to start a Java application.  It is also in charge of configuring the environment in which the Java application runs by setting the classpath, redirecting standard out and standard error, passing in system properties and command-line parameters, and many other options.

Setting your application's Classpath

Setting your application's classpath is accomplished through the Set Classpath Project Wizard step.  An important point to keep in mind is that your application's classpath is set only when the application is invoked through the LaunchAnywhere, and is only set at invocation time.   The system classpath is not affected at all.  This approach has the advantage of letting you install many applications on one system without having any conflicts between their differing classpath settings.

Redirecting your application's output

You may want to temporarily redirect your application's output streams to either to a console or a file.  The typical reason for wanting to do this is to read through any exceptions that might be generated while your code is running.  You can use one of two different procedures:

  1. To output error messages to a console, on Windows or Mac OS, hold down the control key while launching your application.  On Unix systems, define the variable LAX_DEBUG to any arbitrary value.
  2. To output error messages to a file, open the <YourProgramName>.lax file that's located in the same directory as your LaunchAnywhere executable in a text editor.   Modify the stdout and stderr lines so they read as follows:

    lax.stdout.redirect=errors.txt
    lax.stderr.redirect=errors.txt

    Run your application.  You should see the output from the application appear in the file "errors.txt".

Changing default LaunchAnywhere properties

InstallAnywhere Now! does not allow you to modify LaunchAnywhere properties in a systematic fashion--they can only be modified on a per-installation basis after your application has been installed.  Other products in the InstallAnywhere line do, however, allow you to preset options like configuring command-line parameters, system properties, output stream redirection, and many other attributes of the Java application environment.  Click here for more details about other products in the InstallAnywhere family.

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