...

1. Java JDK (not JRE) 1.6+ is required.  Feel free to download and install the Java JDK from: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html
2. Download the cTAKES GUI code (currently in beta) from https://ohnlp.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/ohnlp/branches/cTAKES-GUI-0.0.1/ctakes-gui-0.0.1.zip
3. Unzip the contents to a local directory
4. If required, modify the startup.bat or startup.sh with the path to your JAVA_HOME environment variable.  Also available as an environment variable is the JETTY_PORT (defaults to 9998).
5. Open a command line window/terminal and execute startup.sh or startup.bat
6. Wait for the message "Jetty running on http://localhost:9998/index.jsp"
7. Open your favorite web browser and point the url to: http://localhost:9998/index.jsp
8. cTAKES GUI Quick Reference Guide.pdf

...