diff --git a/uk/ac/sanger/artemis/components/ArtemisMain.java b/uk/ac/sanger/artemis/components/ArtemisMain.java
index 4e4b90fddd3649c8294ec155a22afc715b9f91ea..db9db3c3626c0a4a70b475056981702ebd1d9708 100644
--- a/uk/ac/sanger/artemis/components/ArtemisMain.java
+++ b/uk/ac/sanger/artemis/components/ArtemisMain.java
@@ -294,6 +294,8 @@ public class ArtemisMain extends Splash
       System.setProperty("artemis.environment", System.getProperty("jnlp.artemis.environment"));
     if(System.getProperty("jnlp.sanger_options") != null)
       System.setProperty("sanger_options", System.getProperty("jnlp.sanger_options"));
+    if(System.getProperty("jnlp.read_only") != null)
+      System.setProperty("read_only", System.getProperty("jnlp.read_only"));
     
     if(args.length == 0) 
     {