If you have already installed Java on your Mac, and you find that you no longer use any programs that require Java, you can of course disable Java entirely. Located in the Utilities folder is the Java Preferences utility. So, unless you have a need for Java 6 specifically, you’d likely want to get a newer version, or if you don’t need Java at all, just don’t install it. Get legacy Java for OS X 2015-001 from Apple; That will download an installer that you can use for OS X El Capitan (and Yosemite and Mavericks for that matter).

These documentation pages are no longer current. They remain available for archival purposes. Please visit https://docs.oracle.com/javase for the most up-to-date documentation.

The Java Control Panel is a multipurpose control panel. It allows you to view and set a wide range of parameters controlling how, or if, Java technology runs on your computer. It lets you view and delete temporary files used by the Java Plug-in, which allows Java technology to be used by your Web browser to run applets; and Java Web Start, which allows you to run Java applications over the network. It allows you to control certificates, making it safe to run applets and applications over the network. It enables you to view an active deployment rule set, and to manage the exception site list. It allows you to set runtime parameters for applets that run with Java Plug-in and applications that run with Java Web Start. It provides a mechanism for updating your version of the Java platform so that you always have the latest Java Runtime Environment (JRE). And it allows you to set options for debugging, applet handling, etc. The Java Control Panel includes the following separately viewable panels:

Contents

General

The General panel looks like this:

It includes three subpanels: About, Network Settings, and Temporary Internet Files. As of the JDK 7u10 release, this panel also informs you whether Java is enabled in the browser. This setting is contolled in the Security panel.

About

The About... button displays version information for the latest JRE installed on the computer.

Network Settings

These settings are for network connections. Press the Network Settings... button to get the Network Settings dialog. There are four choices:

Use browser settings

Check this to use the browser default proxy settings. This is the default setting (checked).

Use proxy server

You have two choices here:

You can set the Address and the Port for a proxy server with the option to bypass it for local addresses.
You can press the Advanced ... button to get the Advanced Network Settings dialog. In this panel you can individually set the proxy server for HTTP, Secure, FTP, and Socks connections. You can also provide a list of addresses for which you do not want to use a proxy server. The Advanced Network Settings panel looks like this:

Use automatic proxy configuration script

You can specify the location (URL) for the JavaScript file (.js or .pac extension) that contains the FindProxyForURL function. FindProxyForURL has the logic to determine the proxy server to use for a connection request.

Direct Connection

Select this for situations where you do not want to use a proxy.

Temporary Internet Files

You can do the following:

Press the Settings... button to get the Temporary Files Settings dialog from which you can perform the following:
- Specify if you want to keep temporary files on your computer.
- Specify the location where temporary files are kept.
- Specify the compression level for JAR files.
- Specify the amount of disk space for storing temporary files.
- Delete temporary files by pressing the Delete Files... button, which displays the Delete Temporary Files dialog. From this dialog, you can specify which files you want to delete:
  - Trace and Log Files
  - Cached Applications and Applets
  - Installed Applications and Applets
- Restore default settings for the Temporary Files Settings dialog by pressing the Restore Defaults button.
Press the View... button to get the Java Cache Viewer dialog. This dialog enables you to list applications, resources, and deleted applications stored in the Java cache. In addition, you may perform the following:
- Run and visit the Web page of applications.
- View the JNLP file of applications and resources.

Update

On Microsoft Windows platforms, the Update panel looks like this:

The Update panel, in conjunction with the Java Update Scheduler (jusched.exe), is used to provide the latest Java updates to the end user.

Note: This panel is only available on Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X and only for users with Administrative privileges. On Microsoft Windows, if both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Java are installed, this panel is not available. In this event, you have to launch the Java Control Panel directly from the 32-bit directory command line (C:Program Files (x86)Javajre7binjavacpl.exe).

Update Panel Options

There are two basic options on the Update tab:

Automatic update: Available only on Microsoft Windows XP and higher, and set by default
Manual update

Automatic update is performed on a scheduled basis and it is selected by checking the Check for Updates Automatically check box.

Manual update is performed by pressing the Update Now button.

If you select automatic update, you can then set the notification via the Notify Me: drop-down menu, and you can set the update schedule via the Advanced... button.

With notification, you can chose to be notified before an update is downloaded and before it is installed; or you can chose to be notified only before an update is installed (i.e., the download is automatic).

The Advanced... allows you to select the desired frequency for updates: daily, weekly, or monthly (default). For daily updates, you can select the time of the day for the update. For weekly updates, you can select the day of the week and the time of the day. For monthly updates, you can select the day of the week and the time of the day. Monthly updates check weekly and notify you within 30 days that an update is available, however, if an update is considered critical you are notified within a week of its release.

You can do manual updates at any time by pressing the Update Now button. This allows you to do immediate, unscheduled updates.

Java Update Scheduler

On Microsoft Windows platforms, the Java Update Scheduler (jusched.exe) is used for launching automatic updates when Update Automatically is selected in the Update tab. jusched.exe runs as a background process that launches the Update Manager at predefined intervals set by the user through the Advanced... button of the Update tab. The Update Manager coordinates the update process.

jusched.exe is launched when the user reboots the computer after installing the SDK/JRE. It is normally transparent to the user but can be viewed in the Processes tab of the Windows Task Manager. Should a user for some reason not want the scheduler to run, it can be killed via End Process button of the Processes tab.

Java

The Java panel looks like this:

Click the View... button to access the Java Runtime Environment Settings dialog.

Java Runtime Environment Settings

These settings will be used when a Java application is launched. The Java Runtime Environment Settings dialog looks like the following on Microsoft Windows:

Each row in the Java Runtime Versions panel represents a Java Runtime Environment that is installed in your computer. You may modify the value in each cell by double-clicking it:

Platform: The version of the Java Runtime Environment
Product: The full version number of the Java Runtime Environment (which includes the update number)
Location: The URL that Java Update Scheduler uses to launch automatic updates
Path: The full path name of the Java Run

Should You Download Java On Mac