Option not to create a desktop alias

[macfreek]

Summary

On Mac OS X, JOSM always creates an alias to itself on the Desktop (~/Desktop/).
I wish there was an option to turn this behaviour of (I like a clean desktop).

What steps will reproduce the problem?

1. Remove any desktop alias (rm ~/Desktop/* works for me, though you may want to use a rm -i yourself just to make sure you don't delete your wifes/moms cooking class documents which she inexplicably stores on the Desktop of your computer. Don't say I didn't warn you.)
2. Open JOSM
3. Close JOSM

What is the expected result?

I expect my Desktop to be as clean as my underwear.

What happens instead?

My underw.... no, wait, who brought that up?.
My Desktop however is spoiled by a newly created file, called JOSM, which is a MacOS Alias file, pointing to the location of the JOSM application.

My wishes

I would again become a perfectly happy human being once there would be an option in the advanced preferences of JOSM where I can once-and-for-all this desktop-littering behaviour of JOSM.

Please provide any additional information below. Attach a screenshot if possible.

URL:http://josm.openstreetmap.de/svn/trunk
Repository:UUID: 0c6e7542-c601-0410-84e7-c038aed88b3b
Last:Changed Date: 2017-05-02 23:28:33 +0200 (Tue, 02 May 2017)
Build-Date:2017-05-02 21:34:40
Revision:12039
Relative:URL: ^/trunk

Identification: JOSM/1.5 (12039 en) Mac OS X 10.12.4
Memory Usage: 719 MB / 1820 MB (276 MB allocated, but free)
Java version: 1.8.0_131-b11, Oracle Corporation, Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM
Screen: Display 441002177 1920x1200, Display 69732928 1280x800
Maximum Screen Size: 1920x1200
VM arguments: [-Djnlp.application.href=https://josm.openstreetmap.de/download/josm.jnlp, -Djava.util.Arrays.useLegacyMergeSort=true, -Djnlp.tk=awt, -Djnlpx.jvm=<java.home>/bin/java, -Djnlpx.splashport=-1, -Djnlpx.home=<java.home>/bin, -Djnlpx.remove=false, -Djnlpx.offline=false, -Djnlpx.relaunch=true, -Djnlpx.session.data=/var/folders/0q/gw21jc2d0yz17b1lyz0skw7w0000gp/T/session5094725084061301191, -Djnlpx.heapsize=NULL,NULL, -Djava.security.policy=file:<java.home>/lib/security/javaws.policy, -DtrustProxy=true, -Djnlpx.origFilenameArg=${HOME}/Library/Application Support/Oracle/Java/Deployment/cache/6.0/56/1ee8cfb8-46434e5e, -Dsun.awt.warmup=true, -Djava.security.manager]

Plugins:
+ Mapillary (v1.5.3)
+ OpeningHoursEditor (33185)
+ PicLayer (33148)
+ apache-commons (32994)
+ apache-http (32699)
+ buildings_tools (33004)
+ pt_assistant (33108)
+ tag2link (33035)
+ terracer (33088)
+ todo (30100)
+ utilsplugin2 (33297)
+ wikipedia (33288)

Map paint styles:
+ https://josm.openstreetmap.de/josmfile?page=Styles/PublicTransport&zip=1
+ https://josm.openstreetmap.de/josmfile?page=Styles/PTStops&zip=1

Note

Don't tell my wife. Or she'll make me clean up the top of my actual desk too. Which is not so clean, admittedly.

[Don-vip]

The shortcut is created by Java Web Start, not JOSM itself. And it is the behaviour that suits most of our users. If we turn this off, we'll have many bug reports asking us to restore it. You have two options:

• use the macOS package instead of Web Start. You have to update manually your package for each release.
• create your own .jnlp file by copying JOSM one, and removing the <desktop/> tag in it. You keep the auto-update feature without the shortcut.

[macfreek]

How can I distinguish the macOS package from the Java Web Start version?
Since I'm using a package called "JOSM.app", not a .jnlp file, I kinda thought I was using the macOS package.

The few Java Web Start applications that I use never create a alias file on the Desktop (though some browsers indeed create a regular (non-alias) file in the Downloads folder.

I dived a bit deeper, and it seems that the JOSM.app is just a very small wrapper that seems to first downloads a .jnlp file from https://josm.openstreetmap.de/download/josm.jnlp (or use a cached download), and than execute that.

Whatever the cause, if you are correct and it is Java which makes the alias, there is indeed little that JOSM can do, and perhaps my best option is to find a way to tweak the JOSM.app that I have to suppress this behaviour while it is starting the downloaded JNLP file.

I'll check if there command line parameters which indeed can suppress the creation of alias files.

In the mean time, could you clarify what the "macOS package" you refer to is? It seems different to what I got, if only that I don't need to manually update for each release (it seems automatically downloads a new version, though I don't know what triggers that).

[Don-vip]

I have no idea what an macOS "alias" is, but as your bug report contains this information:

VM arguments: [-Djnlp.application.href=https://josm.openstreetmap.de/download/josm.jnlp, -Djava.util.Arrays.useLegacyMergeSort=true, -Djnlp.tk=awt, -Djnlpx.jvm=<java.home>/bin/java, -Djnlpx.splashport=-1, -Djnlpx.home=<java.home>/bin, -Djnlpx.remove=false, -Djnlpx.offline=false, -Djnlpx.relaunch=true, -Djnlpx.session.data=/var/folders/0q/gw21jc2d0yz17b1lyz0skw7w0000gp/T/session5094725084061301191, -Djnlpx.heapsize=NULL,NULL, -Djava.security.policy=file:<java.home>/lib/security/javaws.policy, -DtrustProxy=true, -Djnlpx.origFilenameArg=${HOME}/Library/Application Support/Oracle/Java/Deployment/cache/6.0/56/1ee8cfb8-46434e5e, -Dsun.awt.warmup=true, -Djava.security.manager]

It's clear that the shortcut you use to launch JOSM was created by Java Web Start (after a click on https://josm.openstreetmap.de/download/josm.jnlp)

The macOS package is the zip file we provide with this URL: https://josm.openstreetmap.de/download/macosx/josm-macosx.zip

This package provides further integration with macOS system and does not use JNLP/WebStart.

I don't know what is your "JOSM.app" file/folder/alias (sorry I don't kwow macOS very much) but I suggest you to delete it and try the macOS package to see if it suits your needs.

[macfreek]

Thanks Don, for looking into this. It seems that I had three instalments of JOSM on my computer, two of them packed as a application (JOSM.app), the third the jnlp webstart. However, one was the regular application, the other was a wrapper that actually run the webstart. How I ended up with the later, I don't know. But rest assured that it is purged, and I no longer experience the reported behaviour.

FYI, on Mac OS X, an ​alias is similar to a symlink or Windows shortcut, though it is implemented slightly differently and has some added features (like to ability to point to detachable file systems, and is dynamic, so it keeps working if the original file is moved or renamed). Unfortunately, it is not POSIX-compatible. Mac OS X supports both aliases as well as symlinks. For all practical purposes, read "symlink" where it says "alias".

[Don-vip]

ok thanks, I've learned something :)