• Add
• Change
• Erase
• Tell user how to start your application

Menu Item Settings

Click on the jump point or just page down to learn more about each setting on this panel.

• Menu item
• Script name
• Java command
• Show Java console
• Executable file
• Command arguments
• Icon
• Associated install type/component/dir

Menu Item Settings

Click on the jump point or just page down to learn more about each setting on this panel.

• Menu item
• Script name
• Java command
• Show Java console
• Executable file
• Command arguments
• Icon
• Associated install type/component/dir

On Windows machines, JExpress creates a menu item and desktop icon with this name and on Mac it creates a desktop icon.

To create a menu on KDE systems, then you must also fill in the short name.

Remember to also fill in a menu item name if you'd like a more readable name to be used for KDE menu items or Mac OS X bundles for your Java apps.

For example, if the icon for Windows is called MyIcon.ico, then the Mac OS X icon must be named MyIcon.icns and the KDE icon must be called MyIcon.png or MyIcon.xpm.

Here's a list of the icon extensions for the various platforms:

Notes ** If there is a base name with both a .png and .xpm extension, then the .png file will be used in a KDE menu.

If you want a non-Java program invoked when the user selects this menu item, then you should not check this box.

Only menu items that have this check box checked, and specify a classname in the Executable field, can be updated with the JExpress Updater.

It can take a long time to find all the classes so you may need to be patient. If you spot the classname that you want to use, then you can click the Stop button and select the classname.

Or, you can simply type in the name of the Java class, including the package name, or stand-alone program that you want started when someone selects this menu item. This field should only contain a filename, and any necessary subdirectory names relative to the installation directory, that is included in with your installer. Your JExpress installer automatically adjusts the file separators (e.g., \ or /) to the target system.

If the menu launches your Java app, then the classname, including any required package name, that contains the main() method must be entered into this field. For example, if your Java application's main() is in myApp.class and myApp.class is part of the com.myCompany package, then you should enter com.myComany.myApp into the Executable file field.

If you don't know the name of the class that contains the main method and your class files are contained in a JAR file, then you can unjar your JAR file and look at the META-INF/MANIFEST.MF file with a text editor. You'll find a line, near the top of the file, which gives the property for the Main-Class:. Copy the entire line after the : and paste it into the Executable file field.

Important: If you usually start your Java app with the -jar parameter, then please follow the instructions in the tutorial to insure that all the fields are entered correctly.

If you want to create a menu item on Windows that displays an HTML file, then you should fill in the HTML filename is this field. Almost all Windows systems today are configured so they will automatically launch the user's web browser when the command line contains an .html or .htm filename. You should not include a script name for a menu item which is just the HTML filename, because no other OS currently supports automatic launching of filenames.

Required field.

If you need to pass the installation directory or the Java home's directory on the command line, then you can use a variable. Use [$AppDir] to represent the application's installation directory, [$JavaHomeDir] for the Java home's directory, and [$UserHomeDir] for the user's home directory. When JExpress installs your application, it will change the variables to the appropriate information without a trailing directory separator. Case and spacing are critical for the variable names. You should probably include double quotes around any directory names/filenames that use variables, in case the user installs your app in a directory with spaces.

If you specify any directories in the command parameters, you must use a back slash (\) as the path separator, regardless of the machine you're operating JExpress or the target machine for the installation. The installer will automatically convert all back slashes in the command arguments to the target system's file separator.

Important: Please note that the way to a enter file separator in the JVM extra parameters is not the same as the method used for in the command line arguments for a menu item. Sorry for the inconsistency, but to mantaintain backward compatibility, the 2 methods will continue to be supported.

When JExpress installs your app on Windows, it will store the command line argument in the .properties file associated with the menu item. The .properties file is located in the JExpress subdirectory of the installation directory and uses the same name as the .exe for the menu item.

If you want a particular menu to be installed regardless which install type or component is selected, then you can leave this field blank. If you leave the field blank when you create a multiple target directory installer, then the menu will be skipped.