Difference between revisions of "Downloading & Installing"

Revision as of 06:39, 10 March 2021

The current User's Guide is very much a work in progress, any help would be greatly appreciated!
If you'd like to contribute something, just hit the 'Edit' tab at the top.

General

OpenRocket is available for Windows, macOS and Linux. The easiest way to get OpenRocket is to download and install one of the packaged installers. The Packaged Installers for OpenRocket come with everything they need. You don't need to install, update or downgrade Java on your machine to run them.

Windows

OpenRocket 15.03 Installer for Windows

Download the installer, run it to install OpenRocket, much like other Windows installers.

macOS

OpenRocket 15.03 Application DiskImage for macOS

Download the DiskImage, open it, and you'll see a big icon for OpenRocket, and a shortcut to your Application folder. Drag OpenRocket to the Application Folder, let it finish copying, and you're done.

Linux

OpenRocket 15.03 AppImage for Linux

You will need to have the FUSE filesystem installed; most distributions have it installed by default. Download the AppImage file, make it executable and you can run it by double-clicking, or from the command line.

Java "jar" file

OpenRocket 15.03 requires Java Version 6 or better to run (but does not run with Java versions greater than Java Version 8).

At this writing (Mar 2021) these versions of Java are very old.

The easiest path is to skip the jar installation, and instead use the packaged installers for your platform, until an updated release of OpenRocket is available.

Java "jar" version - not recommended at this time

Download the OpenRocket application.
Copy it to a convenient folder.
Make the .jar file executable (right-click on .jar file, select "Properties", go to the Permissions tab and check the "Allow executing file as program" box).
Start OpenRocket by either double-clicking the .jar file, or right-clicking the .jar file, and selecting "Open with Sun Java6 Runtime".

If the default is set to open with the Archive Manager, then right-click, select "Open with other application", then select "Open with Sun Java6 Runtime", and check the box to make that the default. In future, it should be possible to just double-click to start OpenRocket.

Alternatively you may start OpenRocket from the command line:

java -jar OpenRocket-15.03.jar

Or, if you are not currently in the same directory as the .jar file, replace '/path/to/' by the appropriate path on your system:

java -jar /path/to/OpenRocket-15.03.jar

Linux Users

AppImage

The AppImage is the preferred way to obtain OpenRocket for Linux at this time, as OpenRocket 15.03 requires an old version of Java (Java 8) which is not installed by default in most distributions.

Ubuntu/Debian Repository

Note that if you install OpenRocket from a repository as in the following instructions, it will likely not work since it requires an older version of Java than is commonly distributed today. Our next release is targeting newer versions of Java, and hopefully this will become a useful approach to installing again at that time.

If you are running a recent version of Ubuntu or Debian, then OpenRocket can be easily installed using the Ubuntu Software Center or Synaptic (etc.). Please note that the version in the distribution repository may not be the latest version. Alternatively you may install OpenRocket from the command line:

sudo apt-get install openrocket

or

sudo apt install openrocket

To start OpenRocket, simply select it from the Applications menu.

← Introduction

Getting Started →

↑ Back to Contents

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 <div style="float: left;">[[Introduction|&larr; Introduction]]</div>
 <div style="float: right;">[[Getting Started|Getting Started &rarr;]]</div>
-[[User's Guide|&uarr; Back to Contents]]
+[[Main Page|&uarr; Back to Contents]]
 </div>
 {{UserGuideHelp}}
-==2. Downloading & Installing==
+__TOC__
-<div style="float:left;align:top;">__TOC__</div><div style="float:left;align:top;background-color:#FFF7D0;border:1px solid #333;margin:0 1rem 1rem 1rem;padding:1rem;width:36rem;"><p>OpenRocket 15.03 requires '''Java Version 6''' or better to run (but does not run with Java versions greater than '''Java Version 8''').</p><p>At this writing (Dec 2020) these versions of Java are <em>very</em> old.</p><p>The easiest path for many people will be to <strong>skip</strong> the Java installation instructions below, and instead use the <strong>[https://github.com/openrocket/openrocket/releases packaged installers]</strong> for your platform, until an updated release of OpenRocket is available.</div>
+== General ==
-<div style="clear:both;"></div>
+OpenRocket is available for Windows, macOS and Linux. The easiest way to get OpenRocket is to download and install one of the packaged installers. The Packaged Installers for OpenRocket come with everything they need. You <em>don't</em> need to install, update or downgrade Java on your machine to run them.
+=== Windows ===
+[https://github.com/openrocket/openrocket/releases/download/release-15.03/OpenRocket-15.03-installer.exe OpenRocket 15.03 Installer for Windows]
-OpenRocket is a Java application, which means that you need to have [http://www.java.com/en/download/index.jsp Java] installed on your computer before you can use it. Some operating systems come with Java pre-installed, while others don't. You can check which version of Java is installed on your computer from the command line:
+Download the installer, run it to install OpenRocket, much like other Windows installers.
-<pre>java -version</pre>
-If you see information about a specific version of Java listed on the first line of the output after that command, then you have Java installed. On Linux, the output should tell you which packages contain Java for your particular distribution of Linux. The installation processes for Windows, MacOS and Linux are shown below.
-== General ==
+=== macOS ===
-In general, OpenRocket is installed by following these three steps:
+[https://github.com/openrocket/openrocket/releases/download/release-15.03/OpenRocket-15.03.dmg OpenRocket 15.03 Application DiskImage for macOS]
-# Make sure you have the correct version of Java, and [http://www.java.com/getjava/ install or upgrade] if not.
+Download the DiskImage, open it, and you'll see a big icon for OpenRocket, and a shortcut to your Application folder. Drag OpenRocket to the Application Folder, let it finish copying, and you're done.
-# [https://github.com/openrocket/openrocket/releases/download/release-15.03/OpenRocket-15.03.jar Download] the OpenRocket application.
-# Open the application and use it. On most operating systems you can just double-click the icon for the OpenRocket file which was downloaded, no further installation is required.
-== Windows Users ==
+=== Linux ===
-Windows does '''not''' come with any sort of Java pre-installed. However, it's quite likely that Java has already been installed as part of another application, and you can check this by using [http://www.java.com/en/download/installed.jsp?detect=jre&try=1 this page]. If you don't have Java installed, you will need to [http://www.java.com/en/download/index.jsp download] and install it before continuing. OpenRocket requires at least Java version 6 but will not work with any version higher than 8.
-Once you have Java, installing OpenRocket on any version of Windows is simple:
+[https://github.com/openrocket/openrocket/releases/download/release-15.03/OpenRocket-15.03.AppImage OpenRocket 15.03 AppImage for Linux]
-# [https://github.com/openrocket/openrocket/releases/download/release-15.03/OpenRocket-15.03.jar Download] OpenRocket to the folder of your choice.
-# Double click the file to start the program.
-That's it! If you didn't save the OpenRocket file to your Desktop, you can place a shortcut there by right-clicking on the OpenRocket file, mousing over "Send to" and clicking "Desktop (create shortcut)".
+You will need to have the FUSE filesystem installed; most distributions have it installed by default. Download the AppImage file, [https://appimage.org/ make it executable] and you can run it by double-clicking, or from the command line.
-== macOS Users ==
+=== Java "jar" file ===
-=== Modern macOS ===
+OpenRocket 15.03 requires '''Java Version 6''' or better to run (but does not run with Java versions greater than '''Java Version 8''').
-If your Mac runs OS X 10.7.3 (Lion) or a later version, Apple no longer installs Java. You'll need to get Java from Oracle, or use the OpenJDK open-source alternative.
-For more information on software versions and updates, visit the [https://www.java.com/en/download/faq/java_mac.xml Java on Mac OS X] page of the Oracle official web site, or consult [http://openjdk.java.net/ OpenJDK].
+At this writing (Mar 2021) these versions of Java are <em>very</em> old.
-=== Older Mac OS X Versions ===
+The easiest path is to <strong>skip</strong> the <strong>jar</strong> installation, and instead use the <strong>[https://github.com/openrocket/openrocket/releases packaged installers]</strong> for your platform, until an updated release of OpenRocket is available.
-If your computer runs OS X 10.7.2 or older version, then it receives Java updates from Apple.  Apple sends out Java with system updates, so it should already be installed.  A common complication with Mac users is that most Macs have both Java 5 and Java 6 installed, and Java 5 is used by default. If you try to use OpenRocket and get an error, then you probably still have Java 5 set as the default.
+==== Java "jar" version - <em>not recommended at this time</em> ====
-To set Java 6 as the default:
+# [https://github.com/openrocket/openrocket/releases/download/release-15.03/OpenRocket-15.03.jar Download] the OpenRocket application.
-# Open the Utilities folder (Finder -> Go -> Utilities). [[File:FinderOpenUtilities.png|none|300px]]
+# Copy it to a convenient folder.
-# Open the Java Preferences Application (double-click Java Preferences.app). [[File:UtilitiesJavaPreferences.png|none|300px]]
+# Make the .jar file executable (right-click on .jar file, select "Properties", go to the Permissions tab and check the "Allow executing file as program" box).
-# In the bottom section of the window that opens, drag Java 6 to top of list. [[File:JavaApplicationPreferences.png|none|300px]]
+# Start OpenRocket by either double-clicking the .jar file, or right-clicking the .jar file, and selecting "Open with Sun Java6 Runtime".
+If the default is set to open with the Archive Manager, then right-click, select "Open with other application", then select "Open with Sun Java6 Runtime", and check the box to make that the default. In future, it should be possible to just double-click to start OpenRocket.
+Alternatively you may start OpenRocket from the command line:
+<pre>java -jar OpenRocket-15.03.jar</pre>
+Or, if you are not currently in the same directory as the .jar file, replace '/path/to/' by the appropriate path on your system:
+<pre>java -jar /path/to/OpenRocket-15.03.jar</pre>
 == Linux Users ==
@@ Line 57: / Line 58: @@
 === AppImage ===
-An AppImage, containing the application itself and all needed dependencies, is available at [https://github.com/openrocket/openrocket/releases/tag/release-15.03 the OpenRocket 15.03 Release page]
+The AppImage is the preferred way to obtain OpenRocket for Linux at this time, as OpenRocket 15.03 requires an old version of Java (Java 8) which is not installed by default in most distributions.
-You can download it, make it executable, and run it.  You will need to have the FUSE filesystem installed; most distributions have it installed by default.
-This is the preferred way to obtain OpenRocket for Linux at this time, as it requires an old version of Java (Java 8) which is not installed by default in most distributions.
 === Ubuntu/Debian Repository ===
@@ Line 75: / Line 72: @@
 To start OpenRocket, simply select it from the Applications menu.
-=== Official Version ===
-# [https://github.com/openrocket/openrocket/releases/download/release-15.03/OpenRocket-15.03.jar Download] the OpenRocket application.
-# Copy it to a convenient folder.
-# Make the .jar file executable (right-click on .jar file, select "Properties", go to the Permissions tab and check the "Allow executing file as program" box).
-# Start OpenRocket by either double-clicking the .jar file, or right-clicking the .jar file, and selecting "Open with Sun Java6 Runtime".
-If the default is set to open with the Archive Manager, then right-click, select "Open with other application", then select "Open with Sun Java6 Runtime", and check the box to make that the default. In future, it should be possible to just double-click to start OpenRocket.
-Alternatively you may start OpenRocket from the command line:
-<pre>java -jar OpenRocket-15.03.jar</pre>
-Or, if you are not currently in the same directory as the .jar file, replace '/path/to/' by the appropriate path on your system:
-<pre>java -jar /path/to/OpenRocket-15.03.jar</pre>
 ----
@@ Line 94: / Line 77: @@
 <div style="float: left;">[[Introduction|&larr; Introduction]]</div>
 <div style="float: right;">[[Getting Started|Getting Started &rarr;]]</div>
-[[User's Guide|&uarr; Back to Contents]]
+[[Main Page|&uarr; Back to Contents]]
 </div>