• under the Windows Start Menu
• in the Java Control Panel (Windows and Mac)
• under Programs of the Windows Control Panel
• in terminal window command line (Mac)

Use any of these options if you are having trouble running applets to confirm that you have a specific Java version.

Java Version under Windows Start Menu - Java 7 Update 40 (7u40) and later versions

1. Launch the Windows Start menu
2. Click on Programs
3. Find the Java program listing
4. Click About Java to see the Java version

Java Version in the Java Control Panel - Windows and Mac

The Java version can be found in the Java Control Panel.

1. Find the Java Control Panel on Windows
   Find the Java Control Panel on Mac
2. Under the General tab in the Java Control Panel, the version is available through the About section. A dialog appears (after clicking About) showing the Java version.

Java Version in Windows Programs

The latest version(s) of Java on your system will be listed as Java 8 with an associated Update number (eg. Java 8 Update 111). Older versions may be listed as Java(TM), Java Runtime Environment, Java SE, J2SE or Java 2.

Windows 10

1. Click the Start button
2. Scroll through the applications and programs listed until you see the Java folder
3. Click on the Java folder, then About Java to see the Java version

Windows 8

1. Right-click on the screen at bottom-left corner and choose the Control Panel from the pop-up menu.
2. When the Control Panel appears, select Programs
3. Click Programs and Features
4. The installed Java version(s) are listed.

Windows 7 and Vista

1. Click Start
2. Select Control Panel
3. Select Programs
4. Click Programs and Features
5. The installed Java version(s) are listed.

Windows XP

1. Click Start
2. Select Control Panel
3. Click the Add/Remove Programs control panel icon
4. The Add/Remove control panel displays a list of software on your system, including any Java versions that are on your computer.

Using the Command-line to find Java Versions - Mac

The Java Runtime (JRE) that you download from java.com or oracle.com contains a plugin to run Java content from your browser. In order to use the command line tools, you will need to download the Java Development Kit (JDK). The JRE and JDK are separate and can coexist on your system. Only one JRE can be installed on Mac. There can be multiple JDKs installed on a system, as many as you wish.

JRE Version Command Line on Mac

Type the following in a Terminal window:
/Library/Internet\ Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Home/bin/java -version

Determining the Default Version of the JDK on Mac

When launching a Java application through the command line, the system uses the default JDK. It is possible for the version of the JRE to be different than the version of the JDK.

You can determine which version of the JDK is the default by typing java -version in a Terminal window. If the installed version is 7u55, you will see a string that includes the text 1.7.0_55. For example: