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I am using jpackage to pack my Java application and want to use it to create file associations. I see that the utility supports this via the --file-associations command. Using this, you can point it to a file that includes file association information.

Does anyone know of documentation that gives a better description of how to create this file-association file? The help documentation in the utility itself describes keys that must appear in it, but there's no hint at how it needs to be formatted.

Here is what the packager lists in its own help:

--file-associations — Path to a Properties file that contains list of key, value pairs (absolute path or relative to the current directory). The keys "extension", "mime-type", "icon", and "description" can be used to describe the association. This option can be used multiple times.

Does anyone here know where I might be able to find an example of this that is written correctly or more detailed documentation on exactly how the feature is used? Would be much appreciated if someone could just point me in the right direction.

Draque Thompson
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  • How did you specify the path to the Properties file? Mine points exactly to my Properties file, but jpackage still complains that it can't find the file... – David Cian Apr 27 '20 at 12:16
  • Check out https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/14/jpackage/support-application-features.html#GUID-8668A806-8A80-435F-970F-7B2BF65863E4 – Slaw Sep 07 '20 at 05:12

1 Answers1

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You need to write each key-value on each line separated by an equal sign without any quote and save as a text file with .properties extension for example

extension=<Your file extension without leading dot e.g. docx>
mime-type=<Your mimetype e.g. application/msword>
icon=<Path to the icon file e.g. word.ico (Windows) or word.icns (macOS)>
description=<Some description e.g. Microsoft Word Open XML Format Document>

I could not find any official documents either. However, this is how I created my properties file which works on the release version of Java 14.

Nuntipat Narkthong
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  • This worked for me. However it didn't seem to associate my icon file with the file. Instead, it gives those files the icon of the application itself. The path is supposed to be a path within the application. In my case I used app/package/windows/file_icon.ico – Locutus Apr 13 '20 at 18:30
  • Your example seems to match https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/14/jpackage/support-application-features.html#GUID-8668A806-8A80-435F-970F-7B2BF65863E4 – Slaw Sep 07 '20 at 05:13