Xmind: How to fix compatibility issue with Java JRE 7


Xmind is a very useful  software for the creation of mind-maps and every kind of diagram: flowcharts, organigrams, tables, and many more. It’s possible to tag every map item with a number of markers (they are customizable too).

This tool is a fork of  Eclipse, and for this reason  it needs for the Java Virtual Machine to work.

I personally use for some years and now it’s esential for me.

Many user of this software (including me), have found an annoyng trouble when the version 7 of JRE is installed.

Xmind was designed to work with Java version 6, so, if the user installs  the version 7, the previous version 6 is deleted, and when Xmind starts, the following error message is shown:

A Java Runtime Environment (JRE) or Java Development Kit (JDK) must be available in order to run XMind. No Java virtual machine was found after searching the following locations:
C:/ProgrammFiles(X86)/java/jre6/bin/javaw.exe

Xmind tries to access JRE ver. 6 through an absolute path.

If you install the newer version of JRE, Xmind cannot find the Java ver. 6 directory, and crashes.

How to fix:

Open the file

C:/Program Files (x86)/XMind/XMind.ini

with Notepad, Notepad++ or any other text editor, and change the Java Virtual Machine path. At the beginning of the file you can find:

-vm

C:/Program Files (x86)/Java/jre6/bin/javaw.exe

Change this path with the new installation path of Java (ver. 7):

-vm

C:/Program Files (x86)/Java/jre7/bin/javaw.exe

From now on, Xmind will use the Java Virtual Machine, and will work correctly again.