Open a file with an external application on Java

Question

How do you open a file from a java application when you do not know which application the file is associated with. Also, because I'm using Java, I'd prefer a platform independent solution.

score 42 · Accepted Answer · edited Dec 21 '11 at 20:18

42

With JDK1.6, the java.awt.Desktop class can be useful.

public static void open(File document) throws IOException {
    Desktop dt = Desktop.getDesktop();
    dt.open(document);
}

edited Dec 21 '11 at 20:18

Bhesh Gurung

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answered Dec 24 '08 at 04:55

RealHowTo

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Is this piece of code also works on linux? – Siddhartha Sadhukhan Jul 23 '17 at 14:58
Yes ... but it is a good idea to call `Desktop.isDesktopSupported()` or `Desktop.isSupported(action)` first, see the Javadoc. – RealHowTo Jul 27 '17 at 19:55

score 5 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:00

5

File file
Desktop.getDesktop().open( file );

Since Java 1.6

Previous to that you could check this question

Summary

It would look something like this:

Runtime.getRuntime().exec( getCommand( file ) );

public String getCommand( String file ){ 
    // Depending on the platform could be
    //String.format("gnome-open %s", fileName)
    //String.format("open %s", fileName)
    //String.format("cmd /c start %s", fileName)
    // etc. 
}

edited May 23 '17 at 12:00

Community

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answered Dec 24 '08 at 04:59

OscarRyz

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I'd like to add "xdg-open" (http://portland.freedesktop.org/xdg-utils-1.0/xdg-open.html) for a more integrated Linux-command that isn't available everywhere. – Joachim Sauer Dec 24 '08 at 09:25

Dave Ray · Answer 3 · 2008-12-24T14:24:31.713

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You could hack something together with a bat file on Windows and equivalent on Unix, but that wouldn't be that fun.

I think your best bet would be the JDesktop Integration Components (JDIC). In particular, the Desktop class has exactly the method you're looking for.

EDIT: Apparently, I'm behind the times because this has been integrated into Java 1.6. In any case, if you're working in an earlier Java, it may still be useful.

edited Dec 24 '08 at 14:24

answered Dec 24 '08 at 04:34

Dave Ray

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The links provided are broken. You need to fix both. Thanks. – Adeel Ansari Dec 24 '08 at 04:39

Open a file with an external application on Java

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