New features:

• Support for creating ARM64 executables on the "Executable info → Architecture" step
• Optionally global single instance mode on the new "Executable info → Single instance mode" step
• The per-user single instance mode now optionally covers all active sessions
• Support for finding Microsoft, Zulu and Temurin JRE installations
• Show number of configured version-specific VM parameter entries in the "Java invocation" step

Bug fixes:

• Startup notifications that occurred before a listener was registered were not delivered in order
• If dark mode was used in macOS 13 (Ventura)​, the exe4j wizard would hang on startup

New features:

• Support dark mode for the exe4j wizard

Bug fixes:

• Regression in exe4j 8.​0: bin/​ant.​jar was missing
• Changed the way command line parameters are split to behave like java.​exe
• Fixed broken Java version check in some situations

New features:

• Added support for non-OpenJDK Java launchers
• Added a --fail-on-warning command line option for the compiler as well as corresponding properties for Gradle and Ant tasks
• 64-bit install4j launchers now prefer the server JVM on Windows. This fixes problems with recent AdoptOpenJDK Java 11 releases that contain a client VM.
• Using ~ for the home directory is now supported for the redirection files
• The minimum runtime Java version is now 1.​8, the exe4j compiler and wizard need a Java 11 JRE

Bug fixes:

• Could not use absolute locations for the JRE search sequence when the build was not performed on Windows
• An empty JRE search sequence was reverted to the default after opening the project again

New features:

• Support for version ranges in version-specific VM options for launchers
• Less verbose and more human-readable project file format that does not write default settings

Bug fixes:

• For OSGI applications, the method to hide the splash screen could not work due to classloader issues
• Using archives in class and resource paths with a wildcard in the file name did not work if the path was absolute

New features:

• Support for OpenJ9 VMs
• -J-splash:​none can be passed as an argument to disable the splash screen

Bug fixes:

• If the environment variable _JAVA_​OPTIONS was set, the version check for Java 9+ did not work on Windows
• The Java version check did not work for some newer OpenJDKs
• Launcher for the exe4j wizard UI did not work on macOS

New features:

• Removed empty class path warning
• Uncaught exceptions in exe4j wizard are now written to %TEMP%\​exe4j_​error.​log
• Support for running the exe4j wizard and its command line tools with Java 10 and Java 11

Bug fixes:

• Regression in exe4j 6.​0: File and directory chooser buttons in class path configuration did not work anymore

New features:

• Support for Java 9
• Executables can define a Java 9 module path in addition to the class path
• Support for the new multi-resolution features in Java 9, including multi-resolution splash screen support
• In the "Manifest options" step of the wizard, the new default "Java 9+" makes executables DPI aware if Java 9+ is used as a minimum version
• Added a "/​restart" parameter for service executables

Bug fixes:

• If a JRE could not be loaded, more than one error message was shown in sequence
• Extra arguments were not passed correctly when starting a service executable with the /run parameter
• services installed with /install are now always non-interactive

New features:

• Java version-specific VM parameters for launchers
• Service launchers: Print options when invoked with the argument /?
• Command line compiler: Support --license flag together with other options. Added "license" attribute to the ant task.

Bug fixes:

• exe4jc -L [license key]" returned successfully without an error message even if the config file could not be saved
• For wildcard classpath entries of type "archive", the shortest available match is now used
• The current directory was appended to the end of the class path

Bug fixes:

• Fixed crash on startup for very large classpaths
• ant.​jar file was missing in the distribution since 5.​0
• License keys for install4j 6.​x were not accepted in the wizard

New features:

• Generated launchers no longer poll the file system for the internal single instance and splash screen communications
• Splash screen API now works for the Java splash screen as well
• Added "/​run" and "/​run-redirect" parameter for services to start a service in command line mode from a terminal
• Support DPI scaling for with a setting on the "Executable info → Windows manifest options step" of the launcher wizard
• Native file choosers and alerts in the exe4j wizard
• Generated launchers now require at least Java 6, the exe4j IDE now requires at least Java 7

New features:

• exe4j now uses wide characters internally, fixing several problems with characters in directory names from outside the default code page
• Expand launcher variables and environment variables in working directory
• exe4j wizard can now run with Java 8

New features:

• The exe4j wizard now uses the native look and feel

Bug fixes:

• Fixed problem with Windows 8 certification
• Do not force Java 6 locale behavior for Java 7
• exe4j license dialog showed invalid evaluation option

New features:

• Generated executables now pass Windows 8 certification

Bug fixes:

• JAR in EXE service did not delete all temp files
• Unbalanced quotes for arguments were not handled correctly
• Fixed a race condition with the exe4j splash screen

Bug fixes:

• Several command line options were broken (regression in 4.​4.5)
• Javadoc formatting of the API documentation was broken (regression in 4.​4.5)

New features:

• Java 7 can now be used to run the exe4j wizard and the exe4j command line compiler

Bug fixes:

• Temporary directory creation is now more robust
• Remove temporary files if no JRE can be found

Bug fixes:

• Fixed locale regressions in 4.​4.3

New features:

• Add a compatibility manifest for Windows 7 to generated executables

Bug fixes:

• Service shutdown did not work correctly when user code redirected System.​in
• Single instance mode for launchers was broken if there were spaces in the name of the executable
• Some operations in SWT applications could be slow due an application manifest entry

New features:

• Make executable name available for JVM discovery, for example in VisualVM

Bug fixes:

• Language selection was ignored, the language for error messages was always English
• In the fixed VM parameters, a "\​n" was replaced with a newline character

New features:

• Allow a * placeholder in classpath archive entries to support frequently changing version numbers of JAR files like in maven projects

Bug fixes:

• Service arguments embedded in the registered binary path did not work correctly
• Fixed a deadlock for service launchers

New features:

• Added a /create-i4j-log command line parameter for generated Windows executable to easily create and show a native debug log file

Bug fixes:

• Fixed problems with service shutdown

New features:

• Support for OpenJDK on Windows

Bug fixes:

• Fixed internal error 7 when a lot of processes were started at the same time
• Environment variables were not replaced in directory entries of the JRE search sequence
• Set java.​library.​path explicitly to fix problems on some Windows Server 2003 machines

Bug fixes:

• Native libraries screen: Entering the variable %EXE4J_​TEMPDIR% was not possible
• Fixed hanging processes in single instance mode when parent process exits immediately and many processes were started

New features:

• Added option in Executable info → Redirection step of the wizard to append output to existing redirection files
• Command line argument -x / --require-license for exe4j command line compiler and attribute 'requirelicense' of exe4j ant task to avoid producing evaluation executables
• Service launchers: Added the option non-interactive after /install to register services that should not be allowed to interact with the desktop.

Bug fixes:

• A listener registered with com.​exe4j.​Controller#​registerStartupListener was not called reliably for a rapid succession of invocations
• Added a workaround for an undefined TMP environment variable

New features:

• Support for including other .vmoptions files with the new -include-options [path to .vmoptions file] VM parameter. This works in the fixed VM parameters as well as the .vmoptions files.
• GUI launchers: Added an optionally recognized -console parameter that connects stderr, stdout and stdin to the console from which the launcher was invoked
• Redirection files: Absolute paths and environment variables are now supported

Bug fixes:

• Using a splash screen image in PNG format with an alpha channel lead to a compilation error
• Running the command line compiler with a relative path name for the config file did not correctly resolve resources

Bug fixes:

• Workaround for erroneous virus definition in CA Anti-Virus 2009

New features:

• Support for Java 6 splash screens
• Launchers can now request heap sizes (-Xmx values) of the same maximum size as the default java launchers if the built-in splash screen is not used. Previously the maximum size was reduced due to fragmentation of the address space.
• Improved several error messages in the launcher

Bug fixes:

• Temporary files created by Windows launchers are now deleted immediately after exit rather than on the next launch

New features:

• Support environment variables in the names of redirection files

Bug fixes:

• Executing a service launcher with the /start argument on Windows did not return with an error code if it failed to start the service
• arguments with quotes in the argument like arg=​"1 2" were not supported

Bug fixes:

• Fixed error messages
• Fixed a SecurityManager issue with shutting down services
• Fixed a library dependency problem with Java 6 on older Windows versions

New features:

• Use long path names on Windows if the current code page supports all characters in the path name
• Display splash screen before JAR files are unpacked for instant feedback
• Service executables do not require anymore that the main method returns after the initialization
• Configurable execution level for Windows Vista
• Option for generating 64-bit executables that work with 64-bit JREs

Bug fixes:

• Increased timeout when checking for JRE versions
• Fix for very long classpaths
• Changed stack settings to allow huge numbers of concurrent threads

New features:

• Support for bundled BEA JRockit JVMs (no registry detection)
• Java 1.​6 beta is now recognized as a beta release

Bug fixes:

• Larger timeout when checking for JRE versions fixes problems with JREs on slow network drives
• Fixed a crash with the "JAR in EXE" mode
• More robust deletion of temporary files

Bug fixes:

• service installation left a temporary file
• Native library step did not work correctly in exe4j wizard

Bug fixes:

• could not start from CD with JRE in relative location on Windows 98/​ME
• rare ClassNotFoundException when launcher is executed quickly multiple times
• single-instance mode without notification handler causes the third and subsequent processes to stay alive

New features:

• option to use only full JDKs and no JREs
• *.​vmoptions file is read and each line is added as a separate VM parameter (previously *.​exe.​vmoptions)
• Java 1.​5 early access releases are now recognized as beta releases
• services on Windows can now interact with the desktop
• splash screen now works correctly with SWT apps
• reload splash screen image when modification time changes

Bug fixes:

• no save dialog was shown on open or reopen
• working directory was always the first entry in classpath

New features:

• setting the environment variable EXE4J_​LOG=​yes will create a log file for the JRE search sequence
• command line switch for exe4jc to enter a license key without the GUI

Bug fixes:

• multi-byte character fixes

New features:

• full support for Unicode

Bug fixes:

• fixed startup notification issues when opening multiple files concurrently

New features:

• new API for notification of multiple startups in single instance mode
• creation of redirection files on demand
• possibility to redirect stderr and stdout to the same file
• new process architecture: the started process of an exe4j executable remains the same during the entire execution
• improved startup error notification
• possibility to use environment variables in classpath entries
• full support for UNC path names
• possibility to set the description for services
• it is now an error if the path for redirection log files does not exist
• several usability improvements in the exe4j wizard

Bug fixes:

• in some cases, entering multiple native library paths did not work correctly
• stdout and stderr file names were always converted to lower case

New features:

• option whether to use beta JREs on Windows or not
• in the JRE step, you can now specify patch levels like 1.​4.1_​01

Bug fixes:

• the main class selector in the Java invocations step did not work when the distribution source directory was relative
• the .vmoptions file did not work for service executables if the executable had a long filename
• the command line compiler was not included in the Mac OS X distribution
• the ant task did not work on Mac OS X