J-Bird User's Guide (Version 0.5.2)

Upgrading J-Bird and Java

Upgrading J-Bird

Someday you will probably want to upgrade to a newer version of J-Bird or to a newer version of Java. This page discusses issues relating to upgrades. You can safely skip this page if you just installed J-Bird for the first time.

The process of upgrading J-Bird from one version to the next should be similar to installing it. Download the installer that is appropriate for your computer, and run it.

Windows users who use shortcuts to launch J-Bird will need to rebuild their shortcuts as described below after upgrading from J-Bird 0.4.0 or earlier. Those who do not rebuild are most likely to notice when J-Bird fails while trying to import checklists from Excel spreadsheets.

Upgrading Java

If you are running J-Bird 0.4.1 or greater, you should be able to upgrade Java without concern. For versions 0.4.0 and less, upgrading Java will cause problems with the scripts that you use to launch J-bird. Launch scripts in those versions reference the location of Java on your computer in detail, and after you upgrade Java, the scripts will look for Java in the wrong place. The best strategy for dealing with this is to upgrade Java immediately before upgrading J-Bird. If you do this, the installer will locate the new version of java and rebuild the scripts accordingly.

If you are running J-Bird 0.4.0 or less and if you upgrade Java at some time other than just before upgrading J-Bird, you will need to edit the startup scripts in the J-Bird directory. Each script contains a really long line that starts Java and tells it to run J-Bird. The first entry on the line (should be enclosed in quotes) is the reference to Java that is to be changed. Just changed it to the word java. For example, on Mac OS X 10.2, the line is

	"/System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.4.1/Home/bin/java" -cp "/Users/rrepasky/.vainstall/vai_J-Bird_0.4.0" JBirdSetup_V0_4_0_MacOSX uninstall "/Users/rrepasky/.vainstall/vai_J-Bird_0.4.0"
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You would change the first "word" on the line from

	"/System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.4.1/Home/bin/java" 

to

	java

. Do not include the quotes. The change needs to be made in 3 files:

File description	Linux / Mac OS X file name	Windows file name
J-Bird launcher	J-Bird.sh	B-Bird.bat
database builder	Database_Builder.sh	Database_Builder.bat
uninstall script	uninstall_J-Bird_VERSION.sh	uninstall_J-Bird_VERSION.bat

Upgrading Java for any version of J-Bird prior to J-Bird 0.4.1, will break the Windows shortcuts, and the shortcuts will need to be rebuilt.

Rebuilding Windows shortcuts

It is easier to build new Windows shortcuts than it is to edit existing shortcuts. The simplest way to create new shortcuts is to navigate to the directory in which J-Bird is installed and double-click on the CreateShortcuts icon. Shortcuts should be created on the desktop.

To manually build a new shortcut on the desktop, right-click on the desktop, select New and then Shortcut. When asked for the target, ask to browse the file system, navigate to the directory in which J-Bird is installed (usually My Computer - C:\Program Files\J-Bird or My Computer - C:\Documents and Settings\MyName\J-Bird), and select the file named J-Bird.bat. If requested for a name, provide J-Bird or something more to your liking.

If you would like a shortcut for the database builder, repeat the steps that were described above for Database_Builder.bat in the J-Bird directory.

To associate an icon with your newly created shortcuts, right-click on them, select the option for choosing a new icon, navigate to the icon that you want and select it. The J-Bird icon is in the J-Bird directory, and it is named finch.ico (even though it is of a Java Sparrow).

Finally, what's the problem with Windows shortcuts? Shortcuts built by installers for J-Bird versions 0.4.0 and earlier run Java (and J-Bird) directly. That is, they explicitly name the Java program file, and they name all of the Java libraries used by J-Bird. Hence, they break if either Java is upgraded or changes are made to the libraries used by J-Bird. Many users need to upgrade Java to run J-Bird 0.4.1. Also in 0.4.1, libraries were added that allow J-Bird to import checklists from Excel files.