Launch file from Java

Question

I want to launch a file(a document) from a Java program and phase the following requirements:

Method must be applicabale on Mac, Win and Linux systems
I am not allowed to use "Runtime.getRuntime().exec("cmd.exe /C +"filename");
The file I am launching needs to be either of .doc / .docx / .rtf

The file is created runtime, a result from a report being created. Any good practices?

I'm not sure to understand what launch a file means...do you have a constraint concerning the program opening the file ? do you want to launch a particular application with your file opened ? Are you sure that all the machines you're running your program on will have a program supporting .doc files ? — LB40, May 11 '09 at 13:13
Launch, in this context, means to open the file with the associated program. Yes, I have a guarantee of having a program supporting .doc — Tor-Morten, May 11 '09 at 13:36

score 23 · Accepted Answer · edited Jul 07 '13 at 20:38

23

Desktop.getDesktop().open(new File(yourfilename));

edited Jul 07 '13 at 20:38

Ernest Friedman-Hill

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answered May 11 '09 at 12:25

Joonas Pulakka

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score 5 · Answer 2 · answered May 11 '09 at 12:29

If you're running 1.6, use the Desktop API per mad-j's advice. If you're using an older VM (1.5 or earlier) you'll need to write your own platform-specific code to do this.

On the mac,

Runtime.getRuntime().exec(new String[] {"open", pathToFile});

On windows,

Runtime.getRuntime().exec(new String[] {"cmd.exe", "/C", pathToFile});

You may need to escape the path on windows.

Launch file from Java

2 Answers2

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