Troubleshooting Launchers that Silently Fail to Launch Applications or Designer

Issue:

A launcher (Vision Client Launcher, Perspective Workstation, or Designer Launcher) fails to launch it's application/designer with seemingly no errors produced.

Background:

Sometimes when attempting to launch an application/designer from a launcher, it appears that the process failed, but an error message isn't displayed. This often makes it seem like "nothing happened". When this occurs there is usually a log file in the launcher's installation directory with more information. 

Troubleshooting Tips:

1. Check the client logs for any errors. The logs are located in the launcher's installation directory. The default directories are listed below:
   • • Linux - ~/.ignition/clientlauncher-data/

     • Windows - C:\Users\username\.ignition\clientlauncher-data\
       On Windows, if the launcher was installed for "all users", then the directory will instead be located at:
       C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Inductive Automation\
       
       

2. Locate the appropriate log file for the problem launcher. 
   

   Designer Launcher	designerlauncher.log
   Perspective Workstation	workstation.log
   Vision Client Launcher	visionclientlauncher.log

3. If there are no errors in the log file, you can attempt to launch an application from terminal/command line. Any errors that occur with this approach will be shown in terminal.
   
   Using the log files mentioned above, search for the most recent line where an application attempted to launch. Search for the following phrase: 

   Starting java with the following parameters:

   Copy all the text after parameters:. For example, it might look like the following:
   

   C:\Users\USERNAME\.ignition\cache\resources\runtimes\11.0.11.1\bin\java.exe -classpath C:\Users\USERNAME\.ignition\cache\resources\platform\launchclient.jar\0000000032B3F066\launchclient.jar -Djavaws.sr.gateway.addr.0=http://localhost:8088 -Djavaws.sr.launchts=1638375646643 -Djavaws.sr.main=com.inductiveautomation.ignition.designer.DesignerStartupHook -Djavaws.sr.platform.edition= -Djavaws.sr.platform.plugins= -Xms64M -Xmx2048M -Djavaws.sr.memory.init=64M -Djavaws.sr.memory.max=2048M -Dsun.java2d.d3d=false -Dsun.java2d.noddraw=false -Djavaws.sr.screen=0 -Djavaws.sr.scope=D com.inductiveautomation.ignition.client.launch.BootstrapSwing

4. Open a Terminal, and paste the copied launch commands, which will attempt to launch the application. If an error occurs, the terminal will display it. 

The above should help produce more information to help gain a better understanding of why an application fails to launch.