[FIXED] "This feature is not yet enabled. Press Next to activate it.", but pressing" Next" does not Activate it. In netbeans

Issue

I can't create a New Project of any kind. I get this error message, "This feature is not yet enabled. Press Next to activate it.", but pressing" Next" does not Activate it.

Solution

Overview

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I ran into this same exact issue after installing Netbeans on a fresh Ubuntu system. Turns out I selected all the defaults when I installed Netbeans, and the defaults happened to be incorrect.

For me, I fixed it by altering a line in the file netbeans.conf. Assuming you already have the Java Developer's Kit (JDK) installed, the following steps should fix the issue.

Solution

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1. Identify the JDK's home folder. If you have the JAVA_HOME environment variable set, execute this from a terminal: env | grep JAVA_HOME

If the JAVA_HOME variable isn't set, you can execute: whereis java
You'll need to note the installation directory of the java executable. On my system executing whereis java returns the following:

username@hostname$ whereis java<BR>
java: /usr/bin/java /usr/lib/java /usr/share/java /usr/lib/jvm/java-7-oracle/bin/java /usr/lib/jvm/java-7-oracle/jre/bin/java /usr/share/man/man1/java.1.gz

Using the information above, my JAVA_HOME directory is: /usr/lib/jvm/java-7-oracle
To confirm you've noted the correct JAVA_HOME directory, using terminal change directory there and execute the command:

ls -la

If you have the JDK installed and you've located the correct directory, you should see two folders in the listing:

include/
lib/

2. Locate the netbeans.conf file by executing the following in terminal:

username@hostname$ sudo find / -name netbeans.conf

3. Edit the netbeans.conf file and change the path of the netbeans_jdkhome variable to the JAVA_HOME directory (identified in step 1).

Note: you might need to edit the netbeans.conf file using sudo. For example you could enter in a terminal:
sudo gedit <netbeans_install_directory>/etc/netbeans.conf

Conclusion

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If you located all of the correct directories and have the JDK installed, this should fix the issue. You'll need to restart Netbeans after you complete the steps. And it should tell you one last time it needs to update a few plugins, but this time it should locate them and download the required Java plugins.

A couple of other things to note, if the solution worked you should see a coffee icon in the Projects tab of Netbeans (see screenshot below). And if you click on the menu Tools -> Options -> Java -> Java Debugger in Netbeans, you should no longer see the Activate button all by itself. Instead, you should see several fields and options you can select from, to configure the Java Debugger.

Answered By - MikeyE
Answer Checked By - Mildred Charles (JavaFixing Admin)