Launching WebStart from Firefox

These instructions configure Firefox to launch Web Start.

System Prerequisite: The Java Development Kit (JDK) or Java Runtime Environment (JRE) must be installed.

update: This lab assumes access to our NMS server via http://nextmidas.com, which is not currently available.

1. Open Firefox and go to a page with a link to a WebStart application (e.g., http://nextmidas.com/).
2. Click on the WebStart application link.
3. A pop-up window says you are about to open a "Java Web Start" file and asks what you wish to do. Select "Open with" and "Browse...."
4. In the "Choose Helper Application" window, select the javaws application (located in the $JAVAHOME/bin/javaws directory), and click "Open." NOTE: With Oracle Java 8, javaws is found ... IcedTea-Web also has open source version of javaws for Java 8 and 11.
5. Choose "Do this automatically..." and click "Ok."

If it's necessary to modify how Firefox launches WebStart applications, go to Edit/Preferences and click Applications. Under Content Type, highlight Java Network Launch Protocol (JNLP) and select desired javaws.

Note: Especially if selecting an older JDK's javaws, make sure only the desired JDK is enabled in the Java Control Panel.
Note: The Java Control Panel was removed in Oracle Java 11 and is not provided in OpenJDK.