Copy in sand-boxed app. in 1.6.0_24+

Question

<ul>
<li>Problem Summary
<li>Question
<li>Typical Output
<li>See Also
<li>Accumulated Results
<ul>
<li>Not grabbing focus
<li>Grabbing focus
</ul>
<li>Source
<ul>
<li>PropertyProbe.java
<li>propertyprobe.jnlp
<li>js.html
<li>Java Scripts
</ul>
<li>Post Revisions
</ul>
<h2><a name="summary"></a>Problem Summary</h2>
A security bug was fixed recently in the JRE (1.6.0_24 in Sun's JRE). The result of the fix is that sand-boxed apps. no longer provide 'Ctrl-c' copy (or cut/paste) functionality by default on text output controls like JTextArea & JTable.
While Ctrl-c copy no longer works by default, it is possible to add the functionality back in for any applet run in a 'Next Generation' Java Plug-In. Since Java Web Start existed, JWS provided sand-boxed copy via. the JNLP API's javax.jnlp.ClipboardService, & since Sun 1.6.0_10, & the next gen. plug-in, embedded applets can be deployed using JWS & can access the JNLP API.
I have redesigned an applet that relied on the old functionality, to now use the JNLP API Services if available.
<h2><a name="question"></a>Question</h2>
Does it work for you?
To answer that question:
<ol>
<li>Surf on over to the applet at http://pscode.org/prop/js.html and attempt to copy the data. See the instructions in the page for details of how to copy using the old and new forms of the applet. If the button appears, you should be prompted as to whether to allow the copy.
<li>Paste the data here (assuming the copy is successful). Or report if it fails to copy or the applet fails to appear.
</ol>
<h2><a name="egoutput"></a>Typical Output</h2>
This is what you might see at the applet.
||Property||Value||
|java.version|1.6.0_24|
|java.vendor|Sun Microsystems Inc.|
|os.name|Windows 7|
|os.version|6.1|
<h2><a name="related"></a>See Also</h2>
This relates to the thread Copy & Paste Function in Java JDK 6 Update 24. That thread contains some interesting comments, including:
<ul>
<li>A link to Sami Koivu's blog entry that explains the security bug.
<li>My Re: Copy & Paste Function in Java JDK 6 Update 24 table.
</ul>
<h2><a name="results"></a>Accumulated Results</h2>
<p>The first form of the applet showed a variety of problems with 'post copy focus', if the security prompt appeared in the JWS form of the applet.
<h3><a name="nograbfocus"></a>Not grabbing focus</h3>
||Reporter||Browser||Version||OS name||OS version||Java Vendor||Java version||Focus post dialog||Comments||
|Andrew Thompson|IE|8.0.7600.16385|Windows 7|6.1|Sun Microsystems Inc.|1.6.0_24|applet|(1)|
|Andrew Thompson|Chrome|10.0.648.151|Windows 7|6.1|Sun Microsystems Inc.|1.6.0_24|page|(2)|
|Andrew Thompson|FF|3.6.16|Windows 7|6.1|Sun Microsystems Inc.|1.6.0_24|*nothing*|(3)|
|Walter Laan|FF|3.6.16|Windows 7|6.1|Sun Microsystems Inc.|1.6.0_20|*locked*|(4)|
|almightywiz|FF|3.6.16|Windows 7|6.1|Sun Microsystems Inc.|1.6.0_24|?|(5)|
|camickr|IE|8|Windows XP|5.1|Sun Microsystems Inc.|1.6.0_07|N/A|(6)|
|Christian|FF|3.6.15|Windows XP|5.1|Sun Microsystems Inc.|1.6.0_24|no problems|(7)|
|Walter Laan|?|?|Windows XP|5.1|Sun Microsystems Inc.|1.7.0-ea|page?|(8)|
|abillconsl|FF|3.6.13|Windows XP|5.1|Sun Microsystems Inc.|1.6.0_12|?|(9)|
<ol>
<li>Makes 'Ding' sound when copying the alert is dismissed (who said MS was not security conscious?).
<li>The only way to refocus the applet in Chrome is to click in it with the mouse.
<li>'Alt space' allowed me to minimize/restore FF, but no key combo. I could think of would restore focus to controls in the browser or applet.
<li>Reported serious problems with focus for FF on 1st start-up using 1.6.0_20 JRE. Unable to reproduce on the 1.6.0_24 JRE. Ref. {message:id=9470476}, {message:id=9470587}
<li>Reported no problems with focus. Ref. {message:id=9470371}
<li>1st report for a pre plug-in2 JRE. IE 8 produced no prompts (as expected), so the 'Focus post dialog' does not apply. No auditory warnings. Ref. {message:id=9470761}
<li>'No problems with focus.'. Ref. {message:id=9474121}
<li>Focus returned to page, presumably. Ref. {message:id=9474513}
<li>Ctrl-a seemed to do nothing. No mention of focus. Ref. {message:id=9477829}
</ol>
<h3><a name="grabfocus"></a>Grabbing focus</h3>
<p>The second form of the applet has a provision to grab the focus immediately after the copy (and presumably after the trust dialog).
||Reporter||Browser||Version||OS name||OS version||Java Vendor||Java version||Focus post dialog||Comments||
|camickr|IE|8|Windows XP|5.1|Sun Microsystems Inc.|1.6.0_07|N/A|(1)|
|Andrew Thompson|IE|8.0.7600.16385|Windows 7|6.1|Sun Microsystems Inc.|1.6.0_24|applet|-|
|Andrew Thompson|Chrome|10.0.648.151|Windows 7|6.1|Sun Microsystems Inc.|1.6.0_24|applet|-|
|Andrew Thompson|FF|3.6.16|Windows 7|6.1|Sun Microsystems Inc.|1.6.0_24|applet|-|
|Paŭlo Ebermann|FF?|?|Linux2.6.34.7-0.7-desktop|2.6.34.7-0.7-desktop|Sun Microsystems Inc.|1.6.0_20|?|(2)|
|bogdana|IE|9.0.8112.16421|Windows 7 |6.1|Sun Microsystems Inc.|1.6.0_22 |applet|(3)|
<ol>
<li>The first result for camickr can be inferred from the fact that a pre plug-in2 applet should behave the same in both forms of the applet. Ref. {message:id=9470761}
<li>There are further updates on that thread that have not yet been reflected here. See the thread for details. Ref. P.E. comments at SO
<li>Also reported the auditory warning in IE when dialog disappears. Ref. {message:id=9488352}
</ol>
<h3><a name="java"></a>PropertyProbe.java</h3>
package org.pscode.tool.property;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.awt.datatransfer.StringSelection;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.table.*;
import javax.swing.border.EmptyBorder;
import java.util.Locale;
import java.security.AccessControlException;
import javax.jnlp.*;
/** Adds a comma delimited list of property names defined in the
props param, to the constructor of a new PropertiesPanel and
displays it. */
public class PropertyProbe extends JApplet {
    static String[] defaultProps = {
        "os.name",
        "os.version",
        "os.arch",
        "java.vendor",
        "java.version",
        "java.vm.version",
        "default_locale",
        "display_mode",
        "win.highContrast.on",
        "win.text.fontSmoothingOn",
        "win.defaultGUI.font",
        "awt.font.desktophints",
        "awt.mouse.numButtons",
        "awt.multiClickInterval"
    public void init() {
        String propertyNames = getParameter("prop");
        String[] props;
        if (propertyNames==null) {
            //getContentPane().add( new JLabel("Must specify 'prop' to query!") );
            props = defaultProps;
        } else {
            props = propertyNames.split(",");
        boolean grabFocus = getParameter("jnlp.grab.focus")!=null;
        System.out.println("jnlp.grab.focus: " + grabFocus);
        boolean jnlpServicesAvailable = getParameter("jnlp.launched")!=null;
        PropertyPanel pp = new PropertyPanel(props, jnlpServicesAvailable, grabFocus);
        pp.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(200,140));
        getContentPane().add( pp );
        validate();
    public static void main(final String[] args) {
        Runnable r = new Runnable() {
            public void run() {
                String[] props = defaultProps;
                if (args.length>0) {
                    props = args;
                boolean jnlpServicesAvailable = false;
                try {
                    Class.forName("javax.jnlp.ServiceManager");
                    jnlpServicesAvailable = true;
                    System.out.println("JNLP services available!");
                } catch(Throwable t) {
                    t.printStackTrace();
                    System.out.println("JNLP services ***NOT*** available!");
                PropertyPanel pp = new PropertyPanel(props, jnlpServicesAvailable, false);
                pp.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(200,200));
                JPanel mainPanel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
                mainPanel.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(400,200));
                mainPanel.add( pp );
                JFrame f = new JFrame("Property Probe");
                f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
                f.setContentPane(mainPanel);
                f.pack();
                try {
                    f.setLocation(50,50);
                    f.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
                    f.setLocationByPlatform(true);
                    f.setMinimumSize( f.getSize() );
                } catch(Exception e) {
                f.setVisible(true);
        EventQueue.invokeLater(r);
class PropertyPanel extends JPanel {
    /** The JNLP API service used for copy in apps. deployed using JWS. */
    private ClipboardService clipboardService;
    private boolean grabFocus = false;
    private JTable table;
    /** A widget (JTable) of values for properties specified in the
    array of property names.  The properties are sourced from the
    system, environment and AWT toolkit properties.If there is no
    value defined in one of those three, 'null' is displayed. */
    PropertyPanel(String[] props, boolean jnlpServicesAvailable, boolean grabFocus) {
        super(new BorderLayout());
        this.grabFocus = grabFocus;
        setBorder( new EmptyBorder(5,5,5,5) );
        String[][] propValuePairs = new String[props.length][2];
        for ( int ii=0; ii<props.length; ii++ ) {
            propValuePairs[ii][0] = props[ii];
            propValuePairs[ii][1] = getProperty( props[ii] );
        String[] header = {"Property","Value"};
        table = new JTable( propValuePairs, header );
        try {
            table.setAutoCreateRowSorter(true);
        } catch (Exception e) {
            // pre 1.6 JRE, go with an unsorted table
        this.add( new JScrollPane( table ) );
        if (jnlpServicesAvailable) {
            try {
                clipboardService =
                    (ClipboardService)ServiceManager.
                        lookup("javax.jnlp.ClipboardService");
                Action action = new CopyAction(
                    "Copy",
                    null,
                    "Copy data",
                    new Integer(KeyEvent.VK_CONTROL+KeyEvent.VK_C));
                table.getActionMap().put( "copy", action );;
                final JButton copy = new JButton("Copy to clipboard");
                copy.setMnemonic('c');
                copy.addActionListener( action );
                JPanel bottomPanel = new JPanel(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.CENTER));
                bottomPanel.add(copy);
                add(bottomPanel, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
            // Expecting only javax.jnlp.UnavailableServiceException.  But if we
            // try to catch it, we get a NoClassDefFoundError in non JWS apps.!
            } catch(Throwable use) {
                use.printStackTrace();
                System.err.println("Copy services not available.  Copy using 'Ctrl-c'.");
    /** Check for properties in the order of the toolkit, system
    then environment, on the basis that all the toolkit properties
    are    available to sandboxed apps., as well as some of the system
    properties, but none of the environment properties. */
    public String getProperty(String prop) {
        String value = null;
        if ( prop.equals("default_locale") ) {
            return Locale.getDefault().toString();
        if ( prop.equals("display_mode") ) {
            return getDisplayModeString();
        value = getDesktopProperty(prop);
        if (value!=null) {
            return value;
        value = getSystemProperty(prop);
        if (value!=null) {
            return value;
        value = getEnvironmentProperty(prop);
        if (value!=null) {
            return value;
        return "null";
    public String getSystemProperty( String prop ) {
        try {
            return System.getProperty( prop );
        } catch(AccessControlException ace) {
            // this property is either restricted, /or/ 'null'
            // the plug-in will not reveal which, for a sandboxed
            // app.
            return "unknown";
    public String getEnvironmentProperty(String prop) {
        try {
            Object value = System.getenv().get(prop);
            if (value==null) {
                return null;
            } else {
                return value.toString();
        } catch(AccessControlException ace) {
            return null;
    public String getDesktopProperty(String prop) {
        Object value = Toolkit.
            getDefaultToolkit().
            getDesktopProperty(prop);
        if (value==null) {
            return null;
        } else {
            return value.toString();
    public String getDisplayModeString() {
        DisplayMode dm = GraphicsEnvironment.
            getLocalGraphicsEnvironment().
            getDefaultScreenDevice().
            getDisplayMode();
        String value =
            dm.getWidth()
            +
            "x"
            +
            dm.getHeight()
            +
            +
            dm.getRefreshRate()
            +
            "Hz "
            +
            dm.getBitDepth()
            +
            "bit"
        return value;
    public void copyData(Component source) {
        TableModel model = table.getModel();
        StringBuilder sb = null;
        if (true) {
            sb = new StringBuilder();
            for (int ii=0; ii<model.getRowCount(); ii++) {
                for (int jj=0; jj<model.getColumnCount(); jj++) {
                    sb.append( model.getValueAt(ii,jj).toString() );
                    sb.append( "\t" );
                sb.append( "\n" );
        String s = sb.toString();
        if (s==null || s.trim().length()==0) {
            JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(this,
                "There is no data in the table!");
        } else {
            StringSelection selection =
                new StringSelection(s);
            clipboardService.setContents( selection );
        if (grabFocus) {
            source.requestFocus();
    class CopyAction extends AbstractAction {
        public CopyAction(String text, ImageIcon icon,
            String desc, Integer mnemonic) {
            super(text, icon);
            putValue(SHORT_DESCRIPTION, desc);
            putValue(MNEMONIC_KEY, mnemonic);
        public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
            copyData((Component)e.getSource());
}<h3><a name="jnlp"></a>propertyprobe.jnlp</h3>
<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8' ?>
<jnlp spec='1.0'
    href='propertyprobe.jnlp'>
    <information>
        <title>Property Probe</title>
        <vendor>PSCode.org - Andrew Thompson</vendor>
        <description kind='one-line'>
            Table for common Java properties.
        </description>
        <shortcut online='false'>
            <desktop/>
        </shortcut>
    </information>
    <resources>
        <j2se version='1.2+' />
        <jar href='propprobe.jar' main='true' />
    </resources>
    <applet-desc
        main-class='org.pscode.tool.property.PropertyProbe'
        name='applet'
        width='600'
        height='300' >
        <param name='jnlp.launched' value='true' />
    </applet-desc>
</jnlp><h3><a name="html"></a>js.html</h3>
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<title>
Property Probe - applet
</title>
<script type='text/javascript' src="http://www.java.com/js/deployJava.js"></script>
<script type='text/javascript' src='http://pscode.org/file/urlcode.js'></script>
<script type='text/javascript' src='http://pscode.org/file/queryprm.js'></script>
<script type='text/javascript' src='http://pscode.org/file/urlquery.js'></script>
<script type='text/javascript' src='http://pscode.org/file/appletparams.js'></script>
<script type='text/javascript'>
archiveName = "";
if (true) {
    archiveName = 'propprobe.jar';
} else {
    archiveName = 'propprobe-trusted.jar';
var attributes = {
    code:'org.pscode.tool.property.PropertyProbe',
    codebase:'../lib',
    archive:archiveName,
    width:'600',
    height:'400'
var version = '1.2';
var params;
params.jnlp_href='../lib/propertyprobe.jnlp';
</script>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<H1>Property Probe</H1>
<script type='text/javascript'>
deployJava.runApplet( attributes, params, version );
</script>
<P>.. (text & instructions)
</BODY>
</HTML><h3><a name="scripts"></a>JavaScripts linked in the HTML</h3>
'Sold separately' - pull them by direct fetch into your browser window, if you're that interested.
<h2><a name="revisions"></a>Post Revisions</h2>
Edited by: Andrew Thompson on Mar 26, 2011 5:32 AM
Changed subject.
Edited by: Andrew Thompson on Mar 26, 2011 5:19 PM
Added accumulated results and index, other tweaks.
Edited by: Andrew Thompson on Mar 31, 2011 11:08 AM
Removed 'how output appears in code tags'. Added latest results, 'grab focus' results. Changed URL to invoke 'grab focus'.
Edited by: Andrew Thompson on Apr 2, 2011 4:20 AM
Added 1st result from SO - on Linux system.
Edited by: Andrew Thompson on Apr 2, 2011 6:15 AM
Added latest result.

Answer 1

Walter Laan wrote:
almightywiz wrote:
Walter Laan wrote:
The security popup really messes with the focus in Firefox (3.6.16) though.Not saying you're wrong, but I'm using FireFox 3.6.16, as well, and I have none of the focus troubles you've described.Cannot reproduce it now either. Weird.I got the impression you were referring to keyboard focus, so I did some further tests on focus behavior. The test results are listed in the Accumulated Results table on the 1st post.
The only browser so far that works as I'd expect, or at least as I'd like, is IE.
Applets and keyboard navigation have always been a PITA. Some time ago I vaguely recall seeing an update involving a new parameter to regulate initial focus (applet or page, ..or another applet), but for the life of me I cannot locate it now. Given that it was a parameter for initial focus, I doubt it would help in this case.
Edited by: Andrew Thompson on Mar 26, 2011 6:18 PM
Removed table which has now been expanded & added to 1st post.