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What is offered
Free software subject to the GNU General Public Licence.
All our software is written in Java and in order to use it you will need to download and install Java for your Computer often known by its more technical name : the Java Runtime Environment (JRE).
The JRE is available (free of charge) from Oracle on the Java downloads page, where you should see something similar to this:
11 February 2013 : Latest version is 7 update 13
Advice
Current information (11th February 2013) indicates that Java has some serious vulnerabilities that can be exploited by malware writers.
This information only applies to the Java plug-in for web browsers such as Internet Explorer, Firefox and so on. It does not apply to independent programs written in Java such as those available on this site.
However, when you install the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) as described on this page, you may find you have also installed a Java plug-in for your browser. The current advice is that you should DISABLE the plug-in for your browser. This can usually be done through your browser's Tools menu.
Also make sure you install the latest version of JRE.
If you find the Java downloads page by some other route, take care not to download the JDK (Java Developer Kit) which is for programmers working in Java.
You only need to install the JRE once though it is wise to update periodically to ensure that you can run software developed with the latest version of Java.
Although Java software is intended to be platform-independent, this software has only been tested on Microsoft Windows™. If you have the Java Runtime Environment installed on your Apple or Linux computer then the the following isntructions should be a sufficient guide.
Installation instructions for all software packages
- Download the installation package file. This is a itself a Java program packed into a Java archive (a JAR file) and place it any convenient folder.
- Double-click the installation package. You will be asked to select a folder in which to install the software. This can be a new (empty) folder or one you are using already. As the software creates other files in the folder you may find that (in the long run) a new (empty) folder is better. If you get an error message when you double-click the installation package, the most likely reason is that you do not have Java installed.
Documentation
All software is provided with documentation either as HTML or PDF. A link to the documentation file will be found on the downloads page. Additionally a copy of the documentation can be located in the installation folder after installing the software.Page updated 11 February 2013