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Trail: Creating a GUI with JFC/Swing
Lesson: Getting Started with Swing

## Platform-Specific Details: Setting the Browser's Class Path

> You can make sure your browser's class path includes the Swing release in one of two ways:
> - Use a browser-specific option to set your browser's class path.
> - Set the `CLASSPATH` environment variable (this works for browsers based on the Java programming language but might not work for others).

> > Warning: Permanently setting the `CLASSPATH` environment variable can lead to trouble, since it's easy to forget to update it when you use a different version of the JDK or Swing. Instead, try to specify the class path programmatically, such as with a `-classpath` command-line option. Or specify it at a shell prompt, rather than saving it in a file.

> The following instructions give examples of each approach. For more information on setting the class path, see Managing Source and Class Files.

> The directory paths used below assume that you have installed both the JDK and Swing releases under `/home/me` (for Solaris) or on drive C (for Windows). You should adjust the directory paths to reflect your installation.

> Solaris
>   If you're using the JDK Applet Viewer, then instead of specifying the `CLASSPATH` environment variable, then you can use the `-J` option of the `appletviewer` command to specify options to the interpreter. For example:

>   >     appletviewer -J-classpath -J.:/home/me/swing-1.1.1/swing.jar:/home/me/jdk1.1.8/lib/classes.zip http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/uiswing/start/HelloSwingApplet.atag

>   If you choose to set the `CLASSPATH` environment variable, use a command like the following:

>   >     setenv CLASSPATH .:/home/me/swing-1.1.1/swing.jar

>   Then invoke your browser as usual.

> Win32
>   If you're using the JDK Applet Viewer, then instead of specifying the `CLASSPATH` environment variable (as described in Setting Environment Variables), you can use the `-J` option of the `appletviewer` command. For example:

>   >     appletviewer -J"-classpath c:\swing-1.1.1\swing.jar;c:\jdk1.1.8\lib\classes.zip" http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/uiswing/start/HelloSwingApplet.atag

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