ESO Archive Frequently Asked Questions

Data Request: I am a Mac user and have problems using the Download Manager

Lastest update (May 2013): Do you get a message informing you that Your Java is insicure ?
Please update to the most recent Java version:
  • if you have Java 1.6 installed (from Apple), then use the Software Update of your Mac to get the most recent Java for OS X 2013-003 which updates to Java SE 6 to 1.6.0_45, or download it from this apple site.

  • if you have Java 1.7 installed (from Oracle), then please download the latest Java update from this Oracle site.
Since around August 2012 the java version for Mac OS. 10.7.5 and higher was no longer supported by Apple, but by Oracle instead. It was discovered in December 2012 that MacOSX v.10.7.5 and higher could not anymore use the ESO Download Manager to retrieve data through the Instant Download service.
 
At that point, we modified the Download Manager which now relies on a file chooser interface different from the Mac native one.

In principle the file chooser relies on the settings of the machine you are running the Download Manager from. This has introduced a few issues that we want to list below, together with their respective fixes.
 
  • My download manager window opens, but nothing else happens, and the window is blank, or blue:
    • Please make sure you have Java version 1.5 or greater installed on your machine (in the Terminal type: java -version);
    • If your browser requires a plugin to run the Java applet, make sure the plugin is enabled (e.g. about:plugins on Firefox, chrome://plugins in Chrome, Help -> Installed plugins in Safari);
    • We recommend that you clear the cache of your browser, ideally close it, re-open it and try again. This usually solves the problem. You may also remove the "EdmParameters.properties" in your home directory (this file stores the last directory selected for download); if the problem still persists remove also the "defaultSSL.keystore" file in the last directory used for download.
  • When the download manager shows you the file/directory chooser window with the "Set destination directory" disabled (greyed out), you can either navigate to a different directory, or add a period (.) in the File input field if you want to download the file in the present directory: both actions should result in enabling the "Set destination directory" button.
  • When selecting a destination directory I get a "cannot open file null": double-clicking on the destination directory doesn't work, please try again by single-clicking the destination directory.
 
If the problem still persists, please contact us with the following information: a description of the issue you are having, the operating system version, java version, browser version you used. It would also be useful if you could report any error message you find in the java console (which you can activate from the System Preferences -> Other -> Java, Java Control Panel -> Advanced -> Show console [if you have an ORACLE java installation]).