Netbeans can, jar can not - NoClassDefFoundError: javax/mail/Address

Question

I have made a simple java application to send out emails. It works on Netbeans. That is, after compilation on Netbeans, and then run it on Netbeans, the email can be sent out successfully.
But after I made a jar file with cmd.exe, and then try to run it on cmd.exe, it throws the following error:
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: javax/mail/Address
Can anyone help to illumine?
thanks a lot!

Answer 1

I did, doesnt work. program only works if I run jar file from location where netbeans puts jar for distribution. If I copy the jar file from the dist to the directory I want to run the jar file, it cant find the other jar i want to include.
I have my program which compiles to a jar for distribution. In netbeans i point to a sqljdbc.jar for connecting to SQL Server. Running it from netbeans works fine. Copying the lib directory in the dist directory together with the jar to my destination where I want to run the program works fine too. But I would like to link to the sqljdbc.jar at its original location.
I have added C:\applibs\sqljdbc.jar to the path in Start >> My Computer >> Properties >> Advanced >> Environment Variables. Doesnt Work.
If I copy C:\dev\myapp\dist\myapp.jar to C:\apps\myapp.jar without copying C:\dev\myapp\lib to teh same location as well, it doesnt run. It gives the NoClassDefinationError when run at the command prompt
C:\apps>java -jar myapp.jar
I even tried
C:\apps>java -classpath .;C:\C:\applibs\sqljdbc.jar -jar myapp.jar
Its like the -classpath flag is being ignored. So obviously there is a concept I am misunderstanding. I read somewhere that I have to build my own jar file. Is that the only option? Should this theoretically be working? Can you just copy the jar file from the dist directory to run somewhere else provided the libs it uses is in the path at an OS level?