

If this rings a bell, RS Components want you to enter their Design Challenge using their new 3D CAD Software Design Spark Mechanical (free, easy to download & fast iteration between other programmes). Switch to a different browser (Firefox, Internet Explorer or Safari on Mac) to run the Java plug-in." Anyway, that's an incidental matter.We know that engineers are superheroes at heart, just wanting to make the world a better place through invention. My preferred browser is actually Google Chrome, but when I try to "Verify Java Version" in Chrome I get the message: "The Chrome browser does not support NPAPI plug-ins and therefore will not run all Java content. Windows 8.1 Control Panel shows Java 8 Update 60 as the only Java installed. In the process of installing that version, I had uninstalled the older Java 8 Update 31. Running "Verify Java Version" in Internet Explorer confirms that "You have the recommended Java installed (Version 8 Update 60)". Then I get the popup message "This feature requires the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) and for Java to be enabled on your system. In the exercise "Importing and Working with 3D Models", I get to the point where I have selected a part from the library and now I am to click on the option "Insert in my Design now". I'm working my way through the Getting Started examples that appear in the right-hand column when DesignSpark is started up. In short, my DesignSpark installation seems to think Java is not installed.

This really should go in the DesignSpark support forum, and I have posted it there, but I've noted that very few posts get a response over there, so I'm hoping you might be able to point me in the right direction.
