# Installing and Running OmegaT

Note: 2.0.x below indicates the latest 2.0 release of OmegaT.

### Linux (Intel) users

- Package to download

- Installation

- OS menu setup

  - in KDE,

  - in GNOME

- Running OmegaT

### Windows users

- Package to download

- Installation

- Windows menu setup

- Running OmegaT

### MacOSX users

- Package to download

- Installation

- Dock setup

- Running OmegaT

### Other systems - Solaris SPARC/x86/x64, Linux x64/PowerPC, Windows x64

- Package to download

- Installation

- OS menu setup

- Running OmegaT

### Command line launching

- Opening a command-line window

- Changing the launch script

- Launch command argument

### Building OmegaT from source

- Package to download

- Build process

### Using Java Web Start

## Linux (Intel) users

### Which package to download?

Do you have a Java implementation compatible with SUN's Java 1.5 JRE?

Yes: | download OmegaT_2.0.x_Without_JRE.zip. This package can be used on any platform where a Java 1.5 JRE compatible JRE is installed.
No / I don't know: | download OmegaT_2.0.x_Linux.tar.gz. This package is bundled with SUN's Java Runtime Environment. This JRE will not interfere with other Java implementations that may already be installed on your system.

### OmegaT installation

To install OmegaT, simply unpack/untar the downloaded file. This will create an omegat/ directory in the working folder in which you will find all the files necessary to run OmegaT. To untar the .tar.gz file:

$ tar xf downloaded_file.tar.gz

### Adding OmegaT to your menus (KDE) or panels (Gnome)

### KDE users

You can add OmegaT to your menus as follows:

- Control Center - Desktop - Panels - Menus - Edit K Menu - File - New Item/New Submenu

- Then, after selecting a suitable menu, add a submenu/item with File - New Submenu and File - New Item. Enter OmegaT as the name of the new item.

- In the "Command" field, use the navigation button to find your OmegaT launch script (the file named OmegaT in the unpacked folder), and select it.

- Click on the icon button (to the right of the Name/Description/Comment fields) - Other Icons - Browse, and navigate to the /images subfolder in the OmegaT application folder. Select the OmegaT icon.

- Finally, save the changes with File - Save.

### Gnome users

You can add OmegaT to your panel (the bar at the top of the screen) as follows:

- Right-click on the panel - Add New Launcher.

- Enter "OmegaT" in the "Name" field; in the "Command" field, use the navigation button to find your OmegaT launch script (the file named OmegaT in the unpacked folder). Select it and confirm with OK.

- Click on the icon button, then hit Browse... and navigate to the /images subfolder in the OmegaT application folder. Select the OmegaT_icon.png . GNOME may fail to display the icon files in the available formats and initially appear to expect an SVG file, but if the folder is selected, the files should appear and OmegaT_icon.png can be selected.

### Running OmegaT

Once OmegaT is installed, you can launch it directly from the command line, you can create a script that includes launch parameters for the command line or you can click on OmegaT.jar to launch it directly. Methods differ depending on the distribution. Make sure that your PATH settings are correct and that .jar files are properly associated with a Java launcher.

## Windows users

### Which package to download?

Do you have a Java implementation compatible with SUN's Java 1.5 JRE?

Yes: | download OmegaT_2.0.x_Windows_without_JRE.exe. This package can be used on any Windows platform where a Java 1.5 JRE compatible JRE is installed.
No / I don't know: | download OmegaT_2.0.x_Windows.exe. This package is bundled with SUN's Java Runtime Environment. This JRE will not interfere with other Java implementations that may already be installed on your system.

### OmegaT installation

To install OmegaT, double-click on the program you have downloaded, and follow the instructions

### Adding OmegaT to the start menu or desktop

During the installation, the setup program asks you whether you want to create a folder in the start menu, and whether you want to create a shortcut on the desktop and in the quick launch bar.

You can still create a shortcut afterward, by dragging OmegaT.exe to the desktop or start menu to link it from there.

### Running OmegaT

Once OmegaT is installed, you can click on OmegaT.jar to launch it directly or you can launch it directly from the command line.

The simplest, however, is to execute the OmegaT.exe program. The launch parameters in this case will be read from the OmegaT.l4J.ini file, residing in the same folder as the exe file and which you can edit to reflect your setup. The following INI file will reserve 1GB of memory, request French as the user language and Portugal as the country:

`# OmegaT.exe runtime configuration
#
# To use a parameter, remove the '#' before the '-'
# Memory
-Xmx1024M
# Language
-Duser.language=FR
# Country
-Duser.country=PT
# Anti-aliasing (Java 1.5 only)
#-Dswing.aatext=true
# Settings to access the Internet behind a proxy
#-Dhttp.proxyHost=192.168.1.1
#-Dhttp.proxyPort=3128
`

## MacOSX users

### Which package to download?

OmegaT 2.0 requires Java 1.5 to run. Mac OSX 10.4 (Tiger) users should make sure that they use the latest version of Java before installing OmegaT. Use "Software Update..." from the Apple menu to update your Java version.

Download OmegaT_2.0.x_Mac.zip.

### OmegaT installation

Double click on OmegaT_2.0.x_Mac.zip to unpack it. This will create a folder called OmegaT, with the OmegaT icon on it. The folder contains 2 files: documentation.html and OmegaT.app. Copy the folder to a suitable folder (e.g. Applications). Once you have done this, you can delete the OmegaT_2.0.x_Mac.zip file.

### Adding OmegaT to the Dock

Add OmegaT to the Dock by dragging and dropping the file OmegaT.app on the Dock.

### Running OmegaT

Double-click on OmegaT.app or click on its location in the Dock

If you want to change the Java launch parameters you can modify the OmegaT.app default settings by editing the Info.plist file located in OmegaT.app/Contents/. Open the file "Info.plist" by right-clicking on it and selecting your text editor of choice. You can modify the Properties part as well as the VMOptions part. If you want to add values to VMOptions, put a space between them. For example, `-Xmx1024M -Duser.language=ja` will launch OmegaT with 1024MB of memory and with the user interface in Japanese.

Launching OmegaT.app directly will not allow you to run multiple instances of OmegaT.app. If you need to run multiple instances of OmegaT.app, use the file JavaApplicationStub located in OmegaT.app/ Contents/MacOS/ instead.

It is not possible to use the Lucene stemmer from the OmegaT.app package. You need to run OmegaT from the command line (see below).

To change Java launch parameters from the command line, call the OmegaT.jar file that is located in OmegaT.app/Contents/Resources/ Java/. Launching OmegaT.app from the command line is equivalent to using the "generic" package of OmegaT. You'll be able to run multiple instances of OmegaT, as well as to use the Lucene stemmer. Check "Command line launching" below for more informations.

To access any location within the OmegaT.app package, right-click on OmegaT.app and select "Show Package Contents", or "cd" there directly from the command line.

#### Mac OSX goodies

OmegaT.app can be accessed from the Services Mac OSX offers. You can thus select a word anywhere in OmegaT and use the Services to check that word in your Services providing dictionary applications, in Spotlight or in Google. You can also use AppleScript or Automator to create Services or scripts that will automate frequent actions.

## Other systems

### Which package to download?

OmegaT is available bundled with a SUN Java JRE for Linux (Intel x86) and Windows platforms. Users of other platforms (Linux PowerPC, Linux x64, Solaris SPARC/x86/x64, Windows x64 etc) must have a running compatible Java JRE on their system to be able to use OmegaT.

Do you have a Java implementation compatible with SUN's Java 1.5 JRE?

Yes: | download OmegaT_2.0.x_Without_JRE.zip. This package can be used on any platform where a Java 1.5 compatible JRE is installed.
I don't know: | open a terminal and type "java -version". If a "command not found" or similar message is returned, it is likely that Java is not installed on your system.

No:

  obtain a Java JRE for your system (see below) and download OmegaT_2.0.x_Without_JRE.zip. SUN provides JREs for Solaris SPARC/x86 (Java 1.5) and for Linux x64, Solaris x64, Windows x64 (Java 1.5): http://java.sun.com/products/archive/. IBM provides JREs for Linux PowerPC:
  http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/java/jdk/linux/download.html
  Follow the installation instructions of the package you need.

### OmegaT installation

To install OmegaT, simply unpack the OmegaT_2.0.x_Without_JRE.zip file. This creates an ./OmegaT_2.0.x_Without_JRE/ directory in the working folder with all the files necessary to run OmegaT.

### Installing convenient shortcuts

Follow your system's instructions to install OmegaT shortcuts in convenient places.

### Running OmegaT

Once OmegaT is installed, you can launch it directly from the command line, you can create a script that includes launch parameters for the command line or you can click on OmegaT.jar to launch it directly. Methods differ depending on the distribution. Make sure that your PATH settings are correct and that .jar files are properly associated with a Java launcher.

## Command line launching

Normally, it is not necessary to launch OmegaT from the command line. However, the command-line method of launching OmegaT enables aspects of the program's behaviour to be controlled by means of modifications. There are two ways of launching OmegaT using the command line.

### Method 1: opening a command-line window

A command-line window is also referred to as a "terminal window". On Windows it is called an "MS-DOS window" and is available from the Start Menu, inside Programs, through the "MS-DOS" item. The Mac OSX equivalent is the application Terminal located in Applications → Utilities.

To launch OmegaT, you must normally type two commands. The first of these is:

cd {folder}

where {folder} is the name of the folder, with complete path, in which your OmegaT program - specifically, the file OmegaT.jar - is located. In practice, this command will therefore be something like this:

On Windows
  cd C:\Program Files\OmegaT
On Mac OSX
  cd <OmegaT.app location>/OmegaT.app/Contents/Resources/Java/
On Linux
  cd /usr/local/omegat

This command changes the folder to the folder containing the executable OmegaT file. The second command is the command which actually launches OmegaT. In its most basic form, this command is:

java -jar OmegaT.jar

Pay attention to the capitalization - it is important.

This method has a particular benefit of being suitable for debugging: if an error occurs during use of the program, an error message is output in the terminal window which may contain useful information on the cause.

### Method 2: changing the .bat file/launch script

Method 1 is a somewhat impractical way of launching a program routinely. For this reason, the two commands described above are contained in a file (a "script", also called a ".bat file" on Windows systems).

When this file is executed, the commands within it are automatically carried out. Consequently, to make changes to the launch command, it is sufficient to modify the file. When OmegaT is launched from the file, the new commands are then executed.

### Launch command arguments

The basic command has already been mentioned above. Changes to this command involve the addition of "arguments" to it. Arguments are added after the initial "java", and before the "-jar OmegaT.jar" part. Note that in Windows you can change the OmegaT.l4J.ini file to reflect your preferences. On Mac OSX, you can change the Info.plist located in OmegaT.app/Contents/ to do the same.

A list of possible arguments is given below. You can have more information about the arguments by typing man java in the terminal window - man is a terminal window command that displays a manual of the selected command. Your system may or may not have a manual for the command java in your language.

User interface language: -Duser.language=XX

Normally, i.e. when OmegaT is launched without any arguments, the program first detects the language of the user's operating system. If a user interface in this language is available, OmegaT uses it. So, if the user's operating system is Russian and OmegaT has been localized in Russian, OmegaT is displayed with a Russian user interface, Russian menus, etc. If the language of the user's system is not available, OmegaT defaults to English. This is the standard behaviour.
The "-Duser.language=XX" argument causes OmegaT to use the language specified rather than the language of the user's operating system. "XX" in the command stands for the two-digit code of the desired language. To launch OmegaT with a French interface (for example on a Russian operating system), the command would therefore be:

java -Duser.language=fr -jar OmegaT.jar

User country setup: -Duser.country=XX

Next to the language, you can also specify the country, for example CN or TW in case of the Chinese language. To get the correct Instant start guide, you need to specify both the language and the country. This is necessary even if there's only one combination available, like pt_BR in case of Portuguese / Brazil.

Font antialiasing: -Dswing.aatext=true

| This argument effects anti-aliasing of the fonts, thereby improving their appearance.

Font antialiasing (Java 6 onwards) : -Dawt.useSystemAAFontSettings=XX

| Possible values for "XX" are "false", "on", "gasp" and "lcd". Linux users may find that, depending upon the font type and size selected, "on" or "lcd" enhance the appearance of fonts.

Memory assignment: -XmxZZM

| This command assigns more memory to OmegaT. By default, 256 MB are assigned, so there is no advantage in assigning less than this figure. "ZZ" stands for the amount of memory assigned, in megabytes. The command to launch OmegaT with assignment of 1024 MB (1 gigabyte) of memory is therefore: java -Xmx1024M -jar OmegaT.jar

Proxy server address and port: -Dhttp.proxyHost=<server IP address> -Dhttp.proxyPort=<port number>

This command defines a proxy server, to be able to access the Internet from behind a proxy.

java -Dhttp.proxyHost=192.198.1.1 -Dhttp.proxyPort=3128 -jar OmegaT.jar

Arguments can be combined: to launch OmegaT with all the examples described above, the command would be:
java -Dswing.aatext=true -Duser.language=pt -Duser.country=BR -Xmx1024M -Dhttp.proxyHost=192.198.1.1 -Dhttp.proxyPort=3128 -jar OmegaT.jar

## Building OmegaT from source

### Which package to download?

Download OmegaT_2.0.x_Source.zip
  This package contains the source files corresponding to the released version and can be used on any system that is installed with a Java 1.5 JDK or compatible Java system. You will also need the ant utility to build OmegaT.
OmegaT uses Subversion for the versioning control. The most recent code is available on the SVN server:
  https://omegat.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/omegat/trunk

### Building OmegaT

  Unpack the OmegaT_2.0.x_Source.zip file and enter the OmegaT_2.0.x_Source directory or enter the ./omegat/ directory of the SVN checked out code. Check that a build.xml file is present in that folder. Then, on the command line, type:

$ ant jar release

  This will create a full distribution of OmegaT in the ./dist/ directory, in which you will find all the files necessary to run OmegaT.

## Using Java Web Start

Using Java Web Start technology (part of Java 1.5 and above), standalone Java software applications can be deployed with a single click over the network. Java Web Start ensures the most current version of the application will be deployed, as well as the correct version of the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). To start OmegaT for the first time with Java Web Start, load the following URL in your browser:
  http://omegat.sourceforge.net/webstart/OmegaT.jnlp
  Download the file OmegaT.jnlp and then click on it. During the installation, depending on your operating system, you may receive several security warnings. The certificate is self-signed by "Didier Briel". The permissions you give to this version (which might be mentioned as an "unrestricted access to the computer") are identical to permissions you give to the local version, i.e., they allow an access to the hard drive of the computer. Subsequent clicks on OmegaT.jnlp will check for any upgrades, install them, if there's any, and then start OmegaT. After the initial installation you can of course use OmegaT.jnlp also when you are offline.
  Privacy: OmegaT Java Web Start does not save any of your information outside the computer you are running it on. The application runs on your machine only. Your documents and translation memories remain on your computer, and the OmegaT project will have no access to your work or information.
  Note that if you need any launch command arguments (see above), you will have to use the normal installation.

Legal notices | Home | Index of contents