Use a Java application as the Default Program for a particular file type?

9
votes

I have created a text editor using Java, and have it packed in a jar file using Netbeans. Now I created a text file, with an extension of ".text". I'm on Windows 7, so using it's property window I changed the default opening program to my text editor's jar file.

Now when I double click the file with ".text" extension, windows shows a dialogbox saying "{file name} is not a valid win32 application".

Please help me out of it..

Thanks.

2
javawindowsfile-association
If i make it .txt, it opens with notepad, and I don't want to mess with the default settings of the .txt extension. So I changed my text editor's extension to .text – Jaydeep Solanki
the above question was just an experiment, I was trying to associate the .text file with my text editor, but it did't work, then I posted a question about how to associate file extensions so that it opens the respective file in my text editor using it's jar file on Stackoverflow, (didn't get satisfactory ans) then deleted the question. – Jaydeep Solanki
What i basically need is a file with .text extension should open with my text editor...so that I can include it in the setup process of the text editor. – Jaydeep Solanki

2 Answers

11
votes

The problem is that a JAR file is selected as the "default application". However, JAR files are normally not executable. That is, a JAR file is not a valid Windows application. It doesn't matter if the JAR extension itself has a default application associated with it, because the "Open verb" is not used recursively in other "Open verb" definitions.

Instead,

  1. Create a batch (".BAT") file (or small EXE wrapper) that calls java (or javaw, as appropriate) and use that executable wrapper as the "Open with" program. (This will have an annoying intermediate console window if using a batch file.) Or,
  2. Modify the registry so that the "Open verb" for the extension launches the JAR through java (or javaw).

In the end, either form should look similar to: javaw -jar TheJarFile.jar "%1%". (Note that javaw is an executable, while TheJarFile.jar is not an executable.)

See java - the Java application launcher for how to use java/javaw.

-1
votes

May be because .text is not an executable file.

try using this..

Runtime.getRuntime().exec("cmd.exe /C file");

This will open your file with the default program.

Update: I got confused first, may be I didn't read your question properly. I thought your executing .text file directly from a Java code..

Runtime.getRuntime().exec("file.text"); //Gives error CreateProcess error=193, %1 is not a valid Win32 application

So I suggested opening it with cmd(as in answer).

But reading your scenario, it seems windows is unable to execute your jar itself.

To make your jar executable, try this..

java -jar yourjarfile.jar....