title: Change java version used by java applets in browser
body: <p>I am trying to do some automated testing with selenium on a site that has a java applet. Specifically, I want to test different java versions on different browsers.</p>
  
  <p>It is relatively easy to change the jre that is being used by local applications/commandline - usually just a modification of the PATH and perhaps a registry tweak (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/JavaSoft/Java Runtime Environment/CurrentVersion seems to need to be changed sometimes).</p>
  
  <p>But I can't seem to manage to change what a browser applet uses. It is my understanding that this version is determined by the plugin for that browser. I've tried to get around this by actually uninstalling all the jre on the machine, then installing the specific version I want to test. However, I need java to be available at all times so I am preserving a jdk (1.8.0_25).</p>
  
  <p>This works, sometimes. Recently I've been trying to install jre7 (update 71 and update 72) but neither installation seems to affect the version of java used in the applet. In firefox, the add-ons page shows <code>Java (TM) Platform SE 7 U72 10.72.2.14</code> under plugins, and yet it is running <code>1.8.0_25</code> in applets (from <a href="http://javatester.org/version.html" rel="nofollow">http://javatester.org/version.html</a>)</p>
  
  <p>My question is: how can I ensure that a specific version of java is running in browser applets? Sorry if my situation is a bit confusing - I've tried cutting it down to the bare minimum.</p>
  
  <p>OS: Windows 7 Enterprise</p>
  
  <p>Browsers: Chrome 39.0.2171.71 m, FF35.0, 33.0, 27.0, IE8</p>