How to fix JEdit 5.1.0 to don't complain about Java SE 6?

Question

I have Mac OS X 10.9 and Java SE Runtime Environment (build 1.7.0_17-b02)... I had another version of JEdit (I guess JEdit 4) and Java 6 before and my JEdit was working fine.

Then I upgraded Java to Java 7 because NetBeans7.4 needed to be installed with Java 7 (and I needed this new NetBeans because I had a fatal issue with NetBeans 7.3.1). So anyway, I installed Java 7 and I installed NetBeans 7.4 and my netbeans is working perfectly now, but when I tried to run the JEdit it brought up an alert saying it needs Java SE 6 to run!

I did some search in the net, and it seems that JEdit 4.5 (and I guess JEdit 5.1 too!) should not have any issue with Java 7, So I installed JEdit 5.1.0... I expected that it should work and don't bring up that complain alert BUT it didn't work and brought up "Java SE 6 is needed" complain again ...

I still can run JEdit using this command, but I can't use Cmd+C & Cmd+V shortcuts for copy and paste and it kills me!

java -jar /Applications/jEdit.app/Contents/Resources/Java/jedit.jar

Is there anybody who knows why JEdit 5.1 is complaining about Java 6 and how to fix it?! I really appreciate your help!

https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&aid=3615181&group_id=588&atid=100588

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After almost 3 months struggling with jEdit I'm ready to give up... I still can't run jEdit like a normal app. What do you suggest to replace my jEdit?! The main feature I need is realtime access to the server files... Most of editors keep a local version of files, so they don't show the changes when they are made in the server side. for example when I switch to a new git branch on server, my netbeans is still showing the branch that I was working before switching, so I need to do a complete download on the project. Any idea?!

Answer 1

@Monica About one year later after your question, I've experienced the same issue with Mountain Lion (according to jEdit's homepage, 5.1.0 is still the current stable version).

I've installed jEdit in /Applications/Dev/ (not /Applications as most people do, I believe; that's not important except for designating the path, see below). I'm using Java 7.

The following works for me from the command line, like for you:
java -jar /Applications/Dev/jEdit.app/Contents/Resources/Java/jedit.jar

So, I used Automator to create a normal MacOS Application named "MyJEdit.app" as in the screenshot. Now I can launch MyJEdit instead of jEdit. Other java flags might be required, for instance to set the memory usage (cf java -help and java -X).

Answer 2

jEdit on Mac OS X and Java 7 is a long story of annoyances, and fine points that Apple did not get quite right up to Java 6, and Oracle still learning about native platform support in the past 1-2 years.

Starting with Jdk-7u40 it works technically quite well, even Retina displays, but jEdit needs to be adapted slightly.

jEdit 5.2 will probably work with Java 7 out of the box, but a few points are still open. See also the tracker item 3615000 at Sourceforge.

Here is a practical proof that it works: Isabelle/jEdit -- it is an application based on jEdit that is bundled differently than official jEdit 5.1.0.