Local classpath is always pulled from first. One doesn't normally expect to find something in the local classpath, beyond the system classes though.

Keep in mind this is the classpath of the browser, not your CLASSPATH environment variable. IE pulls its CLASSPATH out of the Registry and Netscape relies on a specific directory.

Normally your applet cannot access the classpath of the local machine, so this ordinarily should not be an issue. An exception can occur if you use the Java Plug-In - it seems to pick up files from the local machine first, but only if certain conditions are met, to my knowledge, e.g. if you place jar files in the lib/ext directory of your plugin installation.

Dermot