</p>
<p>
Jalview can be run from the command line, and provides a <a
- href="clarguments.html">range of arguments</a>. These arguments
- can also be passed via <strong>.JVL</strong> files, which are opened
- automatically by the Jalview application when double-clicked in a
- file browser on Windows and OSX.
+ href="clarguments.html">range of arguments</a>.
</p>
-
- <p>From version 2.11.2, Jalview includes a <strong>launching shell script</strong> which is the recommended way to
- launch an installed Jalview application from the command line. It supports all the <a href="clarguments.html">command line arguments</a>
- that Jalview has previously supported, but makes it easier to launch directly from the command line.</p>
+ <p>There are a few different ways to do this:</p>
+ <ul>
+ <li>Use the <strong>jalview</strong> command that links to a <strong>launch
+ script</strong>. Launch scripts are available if you are running an up to
+ date version of Jalview (at least 2.11.2.0), or have installed
+ Jalview via a package manager (e.g. conda, homebrew, apt).
+ </li>
+ <li>Embed arguments in a <strong>.JVL</strong> file. These
+ files will be opened automatically by the Jalview application when
+ double-clicked in a file browser on Windows and OSX.
+ </li>
+ <li>Execute the Jalview standalone Jar file with an existing
+ Java installation</li>
+ <li>For older versions of Jalview, call the <a href="#olderinstalls">native launch program directly</a>.
+ </ul>
+ <p>
+ <strong><a name="script">Jalview's command line launch
+ script</a></strong>
+ <p>Since version 2.11.2, the Jalview native application includes a <strong>launching shell script</strong>. This is the easiest way to
+ launch an installed Jalview application from the command line. </p><p>To run the <strong>launch script</strong>, simply open a Terminal (or Command prompt on Windows), and type:<pre>
+ jalview</pre>
+
<p>There are some important differences between the using the launching script and launching Jalview from its icon:
+ </p>
<ul>
- <li>The launching script will NOT look for updates or perform automatic updates.</li>
+ <li>The launching script will NOT perform automatic updates.</li>
<li>The launching script cannot open or use JVL files.</li>
</ul>
+
+ <em><strong>Adding the launch script to your path</strong></em>
+ <p>
+ If typing 'jalview' in the terminal prompt (or windows command line)
+ doesn't work then you will need to add the location of the jalview
+ launch script to your
+ <code>PATH</code>.</p><p>
+ How you do this depends on your operating system.
</p>
-
- <p>If you installed Jalview prior to version 2.11.2 you will not have had the option to add the launching shell script to your PATH.
- If your application has updated to 2.11.2 then the scripts will now be there, but not in your <code>PATH</code>.
- There are instructions below to add the launching shell script to your <code>PATH</code> if you want to do so.</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p><em>In <strong>Linux</strong> or <strong>Unix</strong> (<code>jalview.sh</code>)</em></p>
- <p>The installer gives you the option of adding a symbolic link to
+ <p>Running the Linux installer will give you the option of adding a symbolic link to
that script in your <code>$PATH</code>, if it finds a suitable place that your user can add such a
link (e.g. <code>~/bin</code>, <code>~/.local/bin</code>, <code>~/local/bin</code>, <code>~/opt/bin</code>). If you chose that option then
you should be able to launch Jalview on the command line with the simple command
<li>
<p><em>In <strong>Windows</strong> (<code>jalview.bat</code>, <code>jalview.ps1</code>)</em></p>
- <p>The installer gives you the option of adding Jalview's script folder to your <code>%PATH%</code> allowing you to launch Jalview
+ <p>The Windows installer will give you the option of adding Jalview's script folder to your <code>%PATH%</code> allowing you to launch Jalview
in a Command Prompt simply with the command
<pre>jalview</pre>
If you didn't choose that option during installation (or used an earlier version installer), you can either
<li>
<p><em>In <strong>macOS</strong> (<code>jalview</code>)</em></p>
<p>
- The script you should use to launch Jalview is linked to as
+ We don't currently provide a macOS installer program, so you will need to add the command to you path manually. The script you should use to launch Jalview is linked to as
<pre>/Applications/Jalview.app/Contents/MacOS/jalview</pre>
so you can run that command with its full path, or make your own symbolic link to there, or add that folder to your <code>$PATH</code>.
</p>
- <p>
- <em>If Jalview automatically updated from a version before 2.11.2</em> you will have to make a symbolic link to <code>/Applications/Jalview.app/Content/Resources/app/bin/jalview.sh</code> with the command
- <pre>ln -s /Applications/Jalview.app/Content/Resources/app/bin/jalview.sh jalview</pre>
- </p>
+ <p>
+ If you cannot see the
+ <code>jalview</code>
+ command in the MacOS directory, then you probably have an older
+ Jalview installation. In that case, you should make a symbolic
+ link directly to the launch script with the command
+ <pre>ln -s /Applications/Jalview.app/Content/Resources/app/bin/jalview.sh jalview</pre>
+ <em>If this doens't work, check your installation is running
+ Jalview 2.11.2.0 or later.</em>
+ </p>
</li>
-
- <li>
- <p><em>Future</em></p>
+ </ul>
+<!-- <p><em>Future</em></p>
A future version of Jalview will include a tool to allow adding these "<code>jalview</code>" links to your <code>PATH</code> automatically.
</li>
</ul>
-
- <p><strong>Older versions of Jalview</strong></p>
+-->
+ <p><strong><a name="olderinstalls">Older versions of Jalview</a></strong></p>
<p>
If you are using a version of Jalview prior to 2.11.2, you can still launch from the command line, but you will have to
</li>
<li>OSX Application:
<pre>open /Applications/Jalview.app --args -open /FULL/PATH/TO/myalignment.fa</pre>
- <em>(put all the Jalview arguments <em>after</em> the --args parameter, and note that paths to files should be full paths from <code>/</code>)</em>
+ <em>(put all the Jalview arguments <em>after</em> the --args parameter, and note that <strong>all files must be specified with their full paths</strong>)</em>
<br />
<br /></li>
<li>Jalview standalone executable Jar<pre>