Installing JavaFX

Use Table 1 to determine the JavaFX installation that best suits your needs, then follow the instructions to install JavaFX.

Table 1 JavaFX Installations

What do You Want to Do? What to Install

You want to develop JavaFX applications using the latest JDK and NetBeans IDE.

You want to develop JavaFX applications using the latest JDK and have a Java IDE other than NetBeans IDE.

You want to develop JavaFX applications using either NetBeans IDE or the command line, and you are using a version of the JDK older than 7u2.

You only want to run JavaFX applications.

Install the JDK + JavaFX SDK Bundle

The JavaFX SDK and Runtime are included in the JDK, starting with Java SE 7 Update 2. Download the JDK bundle from the JavaFX Downloads page, then go to the JDK Installation Guide.

Install the Standalone JavaFX SDK

The standalone JavaFX SDK should only be installed if you are using a JDK older than 7u2.

To install the JavaFX SDK: 

  1. Verify your system requirements.

  2. Go to the JavaFX Downloads page.

  3. Find the JavaFX SDK downloads, click the link for your operating system, and follow the prompts to save the executable file.

  4. Run the .exe file and complete the steps in the installation wizard.

    The default installation directory for the SDK is C:\Program Files\Oracle\JavaFX 2.0 SDK. See JavaFX Samples for the directories and content.

    The default installation directory for the Runtime is C:\Program Files\Oracle\JavaFX 2.0 Runtime.

Install the Standalone JavaFX Runtime

The standalone JavaFX Runtime should only be installed if you are an older version of the JDK than 7u2 and do not plan to install the JavaFX SDK.

To install the JavaFX Runtime: 

  1. Verify your system requirements.

  2. Go to the JavaFX Downloads page.

  3. Find the JavaFX Runtime downloads, click the link for your operating system, and follow the prompts to save the executable file.

  4. Run the .exe file.

    The default installation directory is C:\Program Files\Oracle\JavaFX 2.0 Runtime.

Install NetBeans IDE

JavaFX 2.0.2 requires NetBeans IDE 7.1 (at least a prerelease version), which you can download from the JavaFX Downloads page.

See Setting Up NetBeans IDE With JavaFX for troubleshooting information.

JavaFX Samples

Sample JavaFX applications are available to download from the JavaFX Downloads page. Download the zip file that contains the samples and extract the files to your file system.

To run the samples, you must have the JavaFX Runtime installed. To run a sample on your desktop, click the .jar file for the sample.

Source code for each sample is in the javafx-samples-version\src directory. To view the source code, go to the javafx-samples-version\src\sample directory, where sample is the name of the application in which you are interested. Each of the sample source directories is a NetBeans project.

You must have NetBeans IDE 7.1 (at least a prerelease version) to build the samples in the IDE. The NetBeans download is available from the JavaFX Download page.

JavaFX SDK File Structure

By default, the JavaFX SDK software is installed at C:\Program Files\Oracle\JavaFX 2.0 SDK. It contains the directories and content shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 Directories and Content of the JavaFX SDK

Description of Figure 1 follows
Description of "Figure 1 Directories and Content of the JavaFX SDK"

bin/

SDK build tools.

docs/

API documentation.

rt/

JavaFX Runtime directory.

tools/

Ant tasks used by NetBeans for packaging and deployment.

COPYRIGHT.html

Copyright information for the readme.html document.

README.html

A pointer to this document, which provides information about the JavaFX SDK.

THIRDPARTYLICENSEREADME.txt

License information for third-party software included in the JavaFX SDK.

Uninstall JavaFX

To uninstall JavaFX, use the standard uninstall process for your operating system. You must uninstall the JavaFX SDK and Runtime separately.