Java Web Start Launch

When launching Wands applications using JWS the Wands Java applet will now appear as a separate window instead of being displayed directly within the web browser.

The navigation for all browsers share the following common steps:

1. Open your preferred browser.
2. Login to Oracle E-Business Suite.
3. Choose the Wands responsibility to initiate the download of the wands_wands_oracle.jnlp file.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 11

1. A download dialog window appears at the bottom of the browser window.
2. When prompted select Open and the JNLP file is downloaded to the web browser’s cache directory.
   
3. The JWS Launcher progress dialog appears as the product loads and the JNLP file will be automatically removed.

Mozilla Firefox Rapid Release and Extended Support Release (ESR)

Firefox ESR 52 is the final release that supports both the Java Plug-in in addition to JWS. All later versions will only support JWS.

By default, Firefox requires the user to choose the appropriate action on what to do with the JNLP file that is downloaded when launching, for example:

1. Firefox displays the following message: “What should Firefox do with this file?”, as shown in the following image:
   
2. Choose the first option “Open with” and in the corresponding drop-down list, select “Java(TM) Web Start Launcher (default).”
3. Select the checkbox “Do this automatically for files like this from now on” in order to associate the JNLP file extension with the Java Web Start Launcher executable on the client PC.
4. Click OK.

Each new JNLP file is saved into the default download location, as defined in Firefox. The JWS Launcher will then automatically remove this file from that location.

The JNLP file association can also be manually configured by completing the following steps in Firefox:

1. Click Menu.
2. Click the Options icon.
3. Select the Applications tab.
4. Search for Content type “JNLP File.”
5. In the “Action” drop-down list, select “Use Java(TM) Web Start Launcher (default).”

Google Chrome

Google Chrome has not supported the Java Plug-in since release 45 so Chrome can only run with JWS. The following describes a common use case when launching the Wands application.

1. Google Chrome displays the following message: “This type of file can harm your computer. Do you want to keep wands_wands.jnlp anyway?”
   
2. Click Keep to save the JNLP file.
3. Click the JNLP file in the download bar.
   
4. Wands is now started with JWS.

Note that the warning message in step 1 is expected due to restrictions enforced by Google Chrome.

The JWS launcher automatically removes the downloaded JNLP file from the browser’s download folder.

Microsoft Edge

Wands can only run with JWS when using the Microsoft Edge web browser.

The download dialog displays at the bottom of the screen and the downloaded JNLP file is saved in the Downloads folder as shown in the following image:

1. Click Open to execute the JNLP file.
2. The Wands application is started with JWS.
3. Optionally under “Advanced Settings” set “Ask me what to do with each download” Off.

The JWS launcher automatically removes the downloaded JNLP file from the browser’s download folder.

Known issues

Internet Explorer with 64-bit JRE

When Wands applications are launched in IE and the Open button is clicked, nothing happens and the product does not launch. This is a known issue (JDK-8185661) when having installed JRE 8 32-bit and 64-bit at the same time. We recommend using only 32-bit in this instance. Alternatively as a workaround you can select the Save option when prompted, then Open Folder and manually launch the downloaded JNLP file.

Build-up of JNLP files in the Browser’s Download Folder

Launching the Wands applet requires the download of a JNLP file. Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge save these JNLP files in their respective download location. These are automatically removed by JWS when launched from the web browser.

A build-up of JNLP files on the local file system may occur if the end user does not launch the downloaded JNLP files. It is safe to manually remove old JNLP files from the browser’s download directory.

Certificate confirmation message

During the launch you will see a confirmation message to accept the Wands security certificate. You may also tick the option to not show the message again.

However, despite selecting the option to not show the message again, this message continues to display on each launch. This is the expected behavior as, from Java’s perspective, a new application is being launched each time and therefore it will continue to display the confirmation.

You have the following options:

1. Simply continue to accept the message on each launch as it is a simple step.
2. If you would like to suppress the message you can attempt the following procedure which is known to work in certain configurations:
   1. Open a windows command prompt
   2. In the command prompt window enter the following command, editing as required to match your launch URL:
      javaws “https://server.domain.com:8000/OA_HTML/wands?launchMethod=jws”
   3. The application will attempt to launch, accept the certificate message and tick the option not to show it again.
   4. The application will continue launching but will fail with a logon error. This is expected.
   5. Close down the command prompt, Excel and all browser windows and start a clean launch.
   6. The certificate message should no longer display.