Java 1.5.0 or Later

• 1). Open the Control Panel. The simplest way to do this in Windows 98 or later editions is to click "Start," then "Settings" and finally "Control Panel." An alternative is to click "Start," "Run"--or "Start Search" (depending on your version of Windows)--and then type the word "control."
  
  
• 2). Open the Java settings by clicking the "Java" icon.
  
  
• 3). Enable the console. In the Java control panel window that pops up, select the "Advanced" tab. From the Settings list, click the plus box next to "Java Console" to expand it and list all the options. Choose "Show console" and click "Apply." Click "OK."
  
  

Java 1.4.2

• 1). Open the control panel using Step 1 from Section 1.
  
  
• 2). Open the Java plug-in settings by double-clicking the icon.
  
  
• 3). Enable the console. Instead of being under the "Advanced" tab, as it is for Java versions 1.5.0 and later, in 1.4.2 the option is located under the "Basic" tab. Click the "Show Console" option and hit "Apply" and "OK."
  
  

The Browser Console

• 1). If you are using Internet Explorer, click the "Tools" option from the menu bar and select Sun Java Console."
  
  
• 2). Mozilla-based browsers, such as Firefox, also have a Java console available for their applets; it is located under the Web Development submenu of the Tools menu.
  
  
• 3). If you are using the Safari browser under Windows, you can still view the Java console by going to the Preferences window from the File menu. Select the "Advanced" tab and enable the setting titled "Show Develop menu in menu bar."