Where is the default index.jsp file in a Java EE project in NetBeans?

Question

I create a simple web application in NetBeans, named WebApplication1. There is a file created, named index.jsp. When I run the application, and the browser goes to index.jsp.

Nowhere in the project is it mentioned as the welcome page. Then how is it going there?

I checked files build.xml, glassfish-web.xml, all XML files, and prop files in the nbproject folder, but nowhere is the mention of index.jsp. How is it taking?

Have you checked web.xml ? – AllTooSir Jun 22 '13 at 06:18 — AllTooSir, Jun 22 '13 at 06:18
Yes, no mention of anything. – user1559227 Jun 22 '13 at 06:22 — user1559227, Jun 22 '13 at 06:22

score 19 · Accepted Answer · edited Jan 30 '21 at 17:50

19

In NetBeans by default, if you create a project with no added frameworks, no deployment descriptor (file web.xml) is provided.

To change it, right click on the project and select New>Other>web>Standard Deployment Descriptor(web.xml).

Now edit the web.xml file and set

<welcome-file-list>
    <welcome-file>newjsp.jsp</welcome-file>
</welcome-file-list>

in order to change the default to file newjsp.jsp.

Explicitly for Tomcat...

If no web.xml file is provided in the application, the default web.xml($CATALINA_HOME/conf/web.xml) of Tomcat is supplied to the application. This deployment descriptor has the following lines:

<!-- -->
<!-- If you define welcome files in your own application's web.xml -->
<!-- deployment descriptor, that list *replaces* the list configured -->
<!-- here, so be sure to include any of the default values that you wish -->
<!-- to use within your application. -->

<welcome-file-list>
    <welcome-file>index.html</welcome-file>
    <welcome-file>index.htm</welcome-file>
    <welcome-file>index.jsp</welcome-file>
</welcome-file-list>

That is why the index.jsp file is shown by default.

edited Jan 30 '21 at 17:50

Peter Mortensen

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answered Jun 22 '13 at 06:22

MaVRoSCy

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For http web servers it is index.html , are you sure if the web.xml doesn't have welcome-file-list defined , still the container will pick index.jsp ? – AllTooSir Jun 22 '13 at 06:24
@MaVRoSCy So, the cause was Glassfish/Tomcat? – user1559227 Jun 22 '13 at 06:24
if nothing is added in web.xml and you have index.html and index.jsp it will pickup the html file – MaVRoSCy Jun 22 '13 at 06:33
@The New Idiot please see my UPDATE – MaVRoSCy Jun 22 '13 at 06:44
@PhilipRego it maybe not correct right now but you can understand what you really have to do right? – MaVRoSCy May 23 '17 at 05:47
@PhilipRego As i see it in NB8.2 it is still the same. You right click on the project and select new>other>web>standard deployment descriptor (web.xml) – MaVRoSCy May 24 '17 at 06:54

score 6 · Answer 2 · edited Jan 30 '21 at 17:47

6

If you are using NetBeans you need to click right the button on your project and then properties. A new pop up window will open, and on the left menu there will be a label called Run. Click there and then in the "relative URL". You should input:

./nameOfYourJspFile.jsp

And that's all!

edited Jan 30 '21 at 17:47

Peter Mortensen

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answered May 01 '15 at 20:37

SomeAnonymousPerson

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This is great can you briefly tell me what that means ? And why I couldn't get the page to load by just using a – MadMax Sep 13 '18 at 01:32

score 1 · Answer 3 · edited Jan 30 '21 at 17:43

1

Make sure the JSP code file is not in the Web-Inf directory. It should be in the Web Pages directory.

edited Jan 30 '21 at 17:43

Peter Mortensen

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answered Nov 18 '14 at 04:02

Sar

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score 0 · Answer 4 · edited Jan 30 '21 at 16:58

0

It could be index.html or index.jsp, the welcome page of your web application in NetBeans.

Also there is also a bug in NetBeans IDE 8.2: even if you make changes in the descriptor web.xml file (by adding the "welcome-file-list" tag), "Run" runs the old version of your index!

To fix this, put './index.html' in the 'Relative URL' field in the category "Run" in properties of your project.

edited Jan 30 '21 at 16:58

Peter Mortensen

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answered Feb 13 '18 at 10:15

JGaber

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Where is the default index.jsp file in a Java EE project in NetBeans?

4 Answers4

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