This FAQ document helps describe some common browser and deployment issues we have run into. If you have additional questions not answered here please e-mail us at .
For detailed instructions on setting up the latest version of the Java Plugin from SUN Mircosystems:
Click Here
Please note that on some corporate computers, you may not have the ability to add new software, such as this plug-in. If you are unable to install the plug-in by using the automatic install process, and you are in a corporate environment, you may need to get assistance from your IT support staff.
If you are receiving the message "This Financial Calculator requires a Browser with Java™ Support" with Internet Explorer 6.x and above on Windows XP you need to install SUN's Java Plug-in. Virtually all new computers come with Java™ technology preinstalled. However, if you see the message above you will need to download SUN's Java™ Plug-in for Internet Explorer and install it on your Windows XP computer. Fortunately, this is a simple process.
If you don't see the the financial calculator in Firefox or Netscape Navigator you need to enable Java™ on your browser. To enable Java™ follow these steps:
If the current page you are viewing has a Java™ applet (such as one of our calculators) on it, you may need to reload the current page by pressing F5 for it to display.
If installing and enabling Java doesn't work. Open the java console (you can do this by left clicking the Java icon, which should be on the bottom right of your tool bar and choosing "Open Console"). Look for the error below:
java.lang.NullPointerException
at com.sun.deploy.net.proxy.DynamicProxyManager.reset(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.deploy.net.proxy.DeployProxySelector.reset(Unknown Source)
at sun.plugin.AppletViewer.initEnvironment(Unknown Source)
If you see an error that contains the "DynamicProxyManager" you might need to clear the general.useragent.override, fortunately this is much less painful than it sounds. To do this in Firefox or Netscape, do the following:
- Open Firefox
- In the address line stye in the following and hit enter: about:config
- In the filter line that appears type in: general.useragent.override
- Right click on the entry and choose "reset"
Close all browsers, and then try reopening a calculator page. Hopefully this will do the trick!
How do I enable the Java™ virtual machine for Internet Explorer 6 or 7?
For detailed instructions on setting up the latest version of Java™ technology:
Click Here
I use Internet Explorer (6.x through 7.x) why does a blank box with a red X appear where the applet should be?
There are two possible causes for this issue.
First, you may need to upgrade to the newest version of SUN's Java™ Plug-in to correct this issue. For detailed instructions on setting up the latest version of SUN's Java™ Plug-in:
Click Here
Second, if you are accessing the website from inside a company with an Internet firewall, the applets are possibly being blocked by your Network Administrator. While our applets are guaranteed to be 100% safe, some Network Administers setup the firewall to block all applets. If all you see is a blank box with a red X and are sure you have Java™ technology enabled on your computer, this is the problem. Talk to your network administrator and have him allow Java™ applets to be downloaded.
I use Windows NT or Windows 2000 why don't the applets appear?
For detailed instructions on setting up the latest version of SUN's Java™ Plug-in:
Click Here
I use a Macintosh, which browser do you recommend?
The Safari browser provides the best support of Java™ applets for the Macintosh. Navigator 7.0 or higher is also a good option. Internet Explorer on the Macintosh uses Apple's "Mac OS Runtime for Java™ MRJ" which has quite a few known issues that can affect the performance of Java™ applets. This can cause issues with redrawing graphics when you scroll up or down a page, and also affects the ability for the applets to display generated reports. These are not issues with Safari or Netscape 7.0 or higher.
Generally speaking, we do not recommend Netscape 6. It has quite a few issues including but not limited to its implementation of Java™. Overall, Netscape 7 provides a much smoother internet browsing experience.
To download a Netscape browser, visit the Netscape Home Page and click on the "download" link.
I use Internet Explorer for Macintosh OS 9, what MRJ should I use?
MRJ 2.2.5 is the best (and latest) virtual machine available for the Mac. We do, however, highly recommend upgrading to OS X and the Safari browser.
To download the newest version of the Macintosh Virtual Machine:
Click Here
They provide complete instructions for downloading and installing the MRJ on your computer.
To provide the best Applet support on the Macintosh, you might wish to upgrade to OS X. Apple's newest operating system has the best Applet support, with significant improvements in compatibility and scrolling.
Macintosh OS 09.x Internet Explorer (4.x through 5.x) how can I improve scrolling?
There are a couple of known issues on the Mac regarding the use of Java™ applets that can affect the calculators. Specifically, Internet Explorer which uses Apple's MRJ has issues drawing images. Fortunately, Apple has a new MRJ which addresses many of these issues. The latest version is MRJ 2.2.5. You can download the newest version from Apple's website:
To download the newest version of the Macintosh Virtual Machine:
Click Here
They provide complete instructions for downloading and installing the MRJ on your computer.
To provide the best Applet support on the Macintosh, you might wish to upgrade to OS X. Apple's newest operating system has the best Applet support, with significant improvements in compatibility and scrolling.
How do I print the report page with AOL?
To print the calculator report with AOL, you will need to use Internet
Explorer. Internet Explorer can be found by clicking the Start button
and looking under the programs menu. Bring up the calculator page in
internet explorer, press the "View Report" button and then choose print
from the menu.
How can I turn off SUN's Java™ Plug-in and use the Microsoft JVM in Internet Explorer?
If you have installed SUN's Java™ Plug-in follow the steps below to turn off SUN's Java™ Plug-in and use Microsoft's Java™ Virtual machine (JVM) instead:
- Open the "Control Panel", which is located on the start menu under "Settings".
- Double click the item "Java™ Plug-in 1.4.0" (it may have a slightly different version number behind it.)
- When the "Java™ Plug-in Control Panel" appears click on the Browser tab and uncheck the "Microsoft Internet Explorer" box.
- Hit the "Apply" button and then close the window.
- Close any open Internet Explorer windows.
- Restart Internet Explorer and try to access one of the calculators. It should now use the MS JVM.
This will turn off the SUN Java™ Plug-in for Internet Explorer. If you have the Microsoft JVM installed on your computer, the financial calculator applets will now load with the MS JVM.
It is important to note that some PCs might have two versions of the Java™ Plug-in installed. This would include the "Java™ Plug-in 1.3.x" along with the "Java™ Plug-in 1.4.x". If you have two versions of the Java™ Plug-in in your control panel, make sure to follow the instructions above for both. You can also uninstall one or both versions from the control panel.
Do you support Mac OS X?
Yes, in fact Mac OS X provides excellent support for Java™ applets. They have improved compatibility, screen redrawing and performance of all Java™ applets. To provide the best Applet support on the Macintosh, you might wish to upgrade to OS X.
If you are already using OS X, make sure that you have the latest release of the Java™ virtual machine running on your Mac. You can download updates directly from Apple at:
I installed the applets on my server and they don't work, any tips?
First, you should make sure that your browser is setup correctly to view the calculator applets. Almost all browsers are set to view them, but this is a good first step to rule out your browser as the issue. A good way to test your browser is to try out a couple of Calculators at www.dinkytown.net.
Click on the link below to popup the Mortgage Loan calculator:
Mortgage Loan
If the applet appeared correctly, we can safely rule out your browser as the problem. If it didn't appear correctly, please refer to the section on browser issues to identify and resolve the problem.
If the browser is OK, you most likely have a missing or corrupt file on your web server. Your installation should have all of the files in one directory (by default it is titled "java") with three subdirectories ("KJEgui", "KJEcalculation", "KJEgraph"). You may wish to move a new copy of all of the files with the extension "class" or "jar" to your webserver to make sure none of them are corrupt or missing. If needed, you can download a fresh copy of your installation files from Dinkytown.net. Refer to your purchase receipt for a location and password.
If you are using FTP to send your files to your web-server, make sure to send all of the "class" and "jar" files in binary, not ascii. Most FTP programs will automatically send the files correctly in binary format. However, if you are having trouble this is an important setting to check.
Finally, if your calculator applets still do not appear, and you made changes to your HTML documents, you may have introduced an error in your HTML document. You can verify this by moving one of the original HTML documents to your webserver. If the error does not occur with the original, unmodified HTML document, you most likely have introduced an error in your modified HTML document.
If you are still unable to resolve your issue, please contact technical support for assistance at .
Why do I get an AppletSecurityException?
On some browsers, an AppletSecurityException results when you run the calculators directly from your computer's hard disk. This is a "feature" of Java™. This feature was originally designed to prevent applets from accessing your computer hardware directly, thus preventing unauthorized access to your files. Unfortunately, some browsers are extremely paranoid, and don't even let applets that you run locally to access files.
To solve this problem, you have two choices. First you can access the calculators from your web-server, instead of directly from your hard disk. Second, instead of double clicking on the HTML document you wish to view, open your browser and type the location into the address line. For example, if you extracted the sample package to "c:\java" type "c:\java\index.html" (without the double quotes) into your browser's address line. By opening the browser first you will avoid the Security Exception.
Please note: This issue will only happen if you have downloaded our samples or commercial versions and are running them directly from your computer's harddisk. A visitor to your website will never see an AppletSecurityException.
Why does my server show "Page Not Found (404) Errors"?
Some versions of Internet Explorer look for additional "Java™ Beans" for information on how to display a Java™ object. The request for these objects is made by the browser, and when they are not found the Applet will render without the "Java™Bean" information. Since we do not use "Java™Bean" information, not finding a "Java™Bean" in this situation is normal operation, but it will still log a 404 error on your server. This error is not shown to the end user.
In the end, IE is just trying to make sure that the "Java™ Bean" doesn't exist before it displays the Java™ applet. When it receives the 404 it understands that it is not suppose to use the "Java™ Bean".
If you wish, you can put empty files on your server for each of these 404 errors. They will be ignored by the browser (since they are not considered valid Java™ beans) but will prevent the 404 errors from appear in your log.
Why can't I display the Applet from my server, but it works locally?
This is usually caused when the Java™ archive "dinkytown.jar" is either corrupt or the HTTP server is using the wrong MIME type. Because of this failure the applet isn't displayed. To verify that the dinkytown.jar is not corrupt, make sure file you downloaded is the same size as the original dinkytown.jar from your original download package. Or simply reload dinkytown.jar to your web-server.
If you are still having problems and you are using FTP to send your files to your web-server, make sure to send all of the "class" and "jar" files in binary, not ascii. Most FTP programs will automatically send the files correctly in binary format. However, if you are having trouble this is an important setting to check. Sending the "class" and "jar" files to the server in ascii will corrupt the copy sent to your server.
If the dinkytown.jar file is not corrupt and you FTP in binary, your HTTP server is probably using the incorrect mime type setting for .jar files. The correct setting is mime_type=application/octet-stream. Consult your web server administrator to find out how to change this setting.
Why do my applets seem to load slowly?
If you notice that your applets are loading more slowly than usual, you might have an issue with the Java™ Archive "dinkytown.jar." This file contains a compressed version of all of the class files that are shared among the applets. It is about 50% of the uncompressed file size and it downloads as one file instead of many small files.
When the dinkytown.jar file is not available or corrupt, the calculators will try to download the individual class files (found in the KJEgui, KJEgraph and KJEcalculation directories) instead of the archive. The calculators will often still work, but they may start up rather slowly.
To solve this problem, first, check your webserver to make sure that the file titled "dinkytown.jar" is in the same directory as your calculator's html and class files. If it isn't there, copy "dinkytown.jar" to this directory and try loading the calculators again. (A copy of dinkytown.jar is included in your software's downloaded ZIP or self-extracting executable.)
If "dinkytown.jar" is on your server and in the correct directory it may be either corrupt or the HTTP server is using the wrong MIME type. Follow the steps in the section Why can't I display the Applet from my server, but it works locally? to solve this issue.
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