The following tips and tricks give some helpful ideas for increasing your productivity.
Now, where was I? | Workbench editors keep a navigation
history. If you open a second editor while you're editing, you
can press Navigate > Backward (Alt+Left Arrow, or the ![]() |
Finding a string incrementally | Use Edit > Incremental Find Next (Ctrl+J) or Edit > Incremental Find Previous (Ctrl+Shift+J) to enter the incremental find mode, and start typing the string to match. Matches are found incrementally as you type. The search string is shown in the status line. Press Ctrl+J or Ctrl+Shift+J to go to the next or previous match. Press Enter or Esc to exit incremental find mode. |
Go to last edit location | Navigate > Go
to Last Edit Location (Ctrl+Q) takes you back to
the place where you last made a change. A corresponding button marked ![]() |
Shortcuts for manipulating lines
| All text editors based on the Eclipse editor framework support editing functions, including moving lines up or down (Alt+Arrow Up and Alt+Arrow Down), copying lines (Ctrl+Alt+Arrow Up and Ctrl+Alt+Arrow Down), inserting a new line above or below the current line (Ctrl+Shift+Enter and Shift+Enter), and converting to lowercase or uppercase (Ctrl+Shift+Y and Ctrl+Shift+X). |
Quick Diff: seeing what has changed as you edit |
Quick Diff provides color-coded change indication while you are typing. It can be turned on for text editors using either the ruler context menu, Ctrl+Shift+Q or for all new editors on the Workbench
> Editors > Quick Diff preference page. The colors show additions, deletions,
and changes to the editor buffer as compared to a reference, for
example, the contents of the file on disk or its latest CVS revision.
When the mouse cursor is placed over a change in the vertical ruler, a hover displays the original content, which can be restored using the ruler's context menu. The context menu also allows you to switch between the references and enable/disable Quick Diff. |
Customizing the presentation of
annotations
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You can customize the presentation of annotations in editors on the Workbench
> Editors > Annotations preference page:
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Managing screen real estate with fast views | Use fast views to free up screen real estate while keeping views easily accessible. Clicking on the icon for a fast view temporarily reveals it over top of the other views. The fast view retracts as soon you click outside of it. The Fast View command in the view's system menu toggles whether it is a fast view. You can also create a fast view by dragging a view onto the shortcut bar at the left. |
Opening editors using drag and drop | You can open an editor on an item by dragging the item from a view like the Navigator or Package Explorer and dropping it over the editor area. |
Restoring deleted resources | Select a container resource and
use Restore from Local History to restore deleted files. You can
restore more than one file at one time.
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Like to start afresh each session? | A setting on the Workbench > Editors preference page closes all open editors automatically whenever you exit. This makes start-up cleaner and a bit faster. |
Better UI for editor / view synchronization | The Navigate > Show In
command provides a uniform way to navigate from an open editor to a view
showing the corresponding file (e.g., in the resource Navigator view), or
from a file selected in one view to the same file in a different view (e.g.,
from the resource Navigator view to the Packages Explorer view).
Typing Alt+Shift+W opens a shortcut menu with the available view targets. |
User customizable key bindings |
If you find yourself repeatedly
doing some command, you might be able to streamline things by assigning
a key sequence to trigger that command. Assigning new key bindings, and
viewing existing bindings, is done from the Workbench > Keys preference
page.
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Faster workspace navigation | Navigate > Open Resource (Ctrl+Shift+R) brings up a dialog that allows you to quickly locate and open an editor on any file in the workspace. In the same vein, Navigate > Go To > Resource expands and selects the resource in the Navigator view itself, if it has focus. |
Tiling the editor work area | You can use drag and drop to modify
the layout of your editor work area. Grab an editor tab and drag it to the
edge of the editor work area. The arrow dock icons (e.g., ![]() |
Linking view to current open editor | The resource Navigator view (and similar views) is not tightly linked to the currently open editor by default. This means that closing or switching editors does not change the selection in the Navigator view. Toggling the Link with Editor button in the Navigator view toolbar ties the view to always show the current file being edited. |
Copying and moving resources | You can drag and drop files and folders within the Navigator view to move them around. Hold down the Ctrl key to make copies. |
Importing files | You can quickly import files and folders into your workspace by dragging them from the file system (e.g., from a Windows Explorer window) and dropping them into the Navigator view. The files and folder are always copied into the project; the originals are not affected. Copy and paste also work. |
Exporting files | Dragging files and folder from the Navigator view to the file system (e.g., to a Windows Explorer window) exports the files and folders. The files and folder are always copied; workspace resources are not affected. Copy and paste also work. |
Global find/replace | Use Search > File from the main menu to specify the text that you want to replace and the scope in which you want to replace it. Then press Replace.... |
Replace from Search view | You can replace the matches in the files by using Replace... or Replace Selected... from the context menu in the Search view. |
Collapsing all open items | Use the Collapse All button
on the toolbar of the Navigator view (and similar views) to collapse all
expanded project and folder items.
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Open editors with a single click | Use the Open mode setting on the Workbench preference page to activate single click opening for editors. In single click mode, a single click on a file in the Navigator view (and similar views) selects and immediately opens it. |
Next / previous navigation | You can use Ctrl+. and Ctrl+, to navigate to the next or previous search match, editor error, or compare difference. These are the shortcut keys for Navigate > Next and Navigate > Previous. |
Describing your configuration | When reporting a problem, it's often important to be able to capture details about your particular setup. The Configuration Details button on the Help > About Product dialog opens a file containing various pieces of information about your setup, including plug-in versions, preference settings, and the contents of the internal log file. You can save this, and attach the file to your problem report. |
Workspace project management | Use the Project > Close Project command to manage projects within your workspace. When a project is closed, its resources are temporarily "offline" and no longer appear in the Workbench (they are still sitting in the local file system). Closed projects require less memory. Also, since they are not examined during builds, closing a project can improve build times. |
Restoring a perspective's layout | Rearranging and closing the views in a perspective can sometimes render it unrecognizable and hard to work with. To return it to a familiar state, use Window > Reset Perspective. |
Pinning editors | When the Close editors automatically
preference is active (found on the Workbench > Editors preference
page), you can stop an editor from being closed by using the Pin Editor
button which appears in the workbench toolbar.
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Importing an existing project | If you import an existing project, the resources files for the project are not copied. If you check the properties of the project, you'll see that the project's location in the file system is the location you specified. |
Reordering editor tabs | You can rearrange the order of open
editors by using drag and drop. Grab the editor tab and drag it to the position
you want the editor to appear. When positioning editors, the stack icon
![]() |
Deleting completed tasks | Use the Delete Completed Tasks command in the Task view context menu to remove all completed tasks from the Tasks view. This is more convenient than individually selecting and deleting completed tasks. |
Quick navigation between views, editors and perspectives | A look at the Window > Navigation
menu reveals a number of ways to quickly navigate between the various views,
editors, perspectives, and menus in the workbench. These commands have keyword
accelerators such as Ctrl+F6 for switching between editors, Ctrl+F7
for switching between views, Ctrl+F8 for switching between perspectives,
and F12 for activating the editor.
To directly navigate to a particular view you can define a keyboard shortcut to a view via the Workbench > Keys preference page. |
Maximizing a view or editor | You can maximize a view or editor by double-clicking on the view's title bar or the editor's tab. Double-click again to restore it to its usual size. |
Viewing resource properties | Use the Properties view (Window
> Show View > Properties) when viewing the properties for many
resources. Using this view is faster than opening the Properties dialog
for each resource.
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Quickly find a resource | Use the Navigate > Go To > Resource command to quickly find a resource. If the Go To > Resource command does not appear in your perspective, you can add it by selecting Window > Customize Perspective > Other > Resource Navigation. |
Extra resource information | Label decorations are a general mechanism for showing extra information about a resource. Use the Workbench > Label Decorations preference page to select which of the available kinds of decorations you want to see. |
Filtering resources | The Navigator and Tasks views both support filtering of their items. You control which items are visible by applying filters or working sets. The Filters commands are found on the view menu. The working set is selected using the Select Working Set command in the Navigator view menu. In the Tasks view, a working set can be selected from within the Filters dialog. |
Customizing toolbar and menu bar | You can customize which items appear
on the main toolbar and menu bar using the Window > Customize Perspective
command.
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Quick fix in Tasks view | You can use the Quick Fix command in the Tasks view to suggest an automatic fix for the selected item. The Quick Fix command is only enabled when there is a suggested fix. |
Creating path variables | When creating a linked folder or
file, you can specify the target location relative to a path variable. By
using path variables, you can share projects containing linked resources
without requiring team members to have exactly the same path in the file
system. You can define a path variable at the time you create a linked resource,
or via the Workbench > Linked Resources preference page.
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Comparing zip archives with each other or with a folder | Select two zip archives or one
archive and a folder in the resource Navigator view and choose Compare
With > Each Other from the view's popup menu. Any differences
between the two inputs are opened in a Compare editor. The top pane shows
all the archive entries that differ. Double clicking on an item performs
a content compare in the bottom pane.
This works in any context where a file comparison is involved. So if a CVS Synchronize operation lists an archive in the resource tree, you can double click on it in order to drill down into changes within the archive. |
Switch workspace
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Instead of shutting down eclipse and restarting with a different workspace you can instead use the File > Switch Workspace. This trick is also useful when you change certain preferences that require a restart to take effect (such as the Workbench > Appearance Presentation preference). To restart quickly simply switch workspaces to your current workspace. |
Ctrl+E Editor List
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You can quickly switch editors using the Ctrl+E keybinding which opens a list of all open editors. The list supports type-ahead to find the editor as well as allows you to close editors using a popup menu or the Delete key. |
View Minimizing
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Running out of space? Try minimizing
your unused views to reclaim screen real-estate. Each view stack contains
a minimize icon along side the maximize icon.
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Detached Views
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In 3.0 it's possible to dock a view in its own window, seperate from the workbench window. To do so, simply drag a view outside of the workbench window. To return it to the workbench window, drag it back. |
Fast Views and the Perspective
Bar
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The fast view and perspective bars
are independant entities in 3.0 and they may be docked independant of one
another.
By default the Perspective Bar is located in the upper right hand corner of the screen. It may also be docked on the top left, under the main toolbar or to the far left. It may be moved via the perspective bar context menu or via the Workbench > Appearance preference page. By default the Fast View Bar is located in the bottom left hand corner of the screen. Like the Perspective Bar, it may be docked elsewhere. This may be done by dragging the area to either the left or right side of the screen (or back to the bottom if it is already in one of these positions). |
Key Binding Assistance
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Eclipse supports key bindings that contain more than one key stroke. Examples of such key bindings are "Ctrl+X S" ("Save" in the Emacs key configuration) or "Alt+Shift+Q Y" ("Open Synchronize View" in the Default key configuration). It is hard to learn these keys, and it can also be hard to remember them if you don't use them very often. It is now possible to get a little pop-up showing you the possible completions for the keys you have pressed already. In the preferences, under Workbench > Keys, there is an "Advanced" tab. Go to this tab, and check "Help Me With Multi-Stroke Keyboard Shortcuts". |
Always Run in Background
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In Eclipse 3.0 many operations can be optionally run in the background so that you can continue working while they complete. In the Workbench preference page you can choose to always run in background so that you never get the initial dialog for these operations. |
Disabling Unused Capabilities
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If there are parts of the Eclipse Platform that you never use (for instance, you don't use CVS repositories or you don't develop Plug-ins) it's possible that you can disable them from the UI entirely. Segments of the Workbench that may be filtered can be found in the Workbench > Capabilities preference page. By disabling capabilities you are able to hide views, perspectives, preference pages and other assorted contributions. |
Launching from the Context menu
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You can launch an Ant build from the context menu. Select an Ant buildfile and then choose Run > Ant Build from the context menu. To configure options before running the build, use Run > Ant Build..., which will open the launch configuration dilaog. A build can also be started from the Ant editor outline context menu. |
Specification of JRE
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You can specify the JRE that an Ant build occurs in using the JRE tab of the launch configuration dialog for an Ant launch configuration. The build can be set to run in a separate JRE (the default setting) or the same JRE as the Eclipse workspace. Note that some Eclipse specific tasks require that the build occurs in the same JRE as Eclipse. |
Running Ant targets in the Ant view | You can double click on a target in the Ant view to run it (equivalent to selecting the target and choosing the Run command from the context menu). |
Terminating Ant builds | The Terminate command in the console (or Debug view) can be used to terminate an Ant build running in the background. |
Ant output and hyperlinks | The output from Ant builds is
written to the Console view in the same hierarchical format seen
when running Ant from the command line. Ant tasks (for example "[mkdir]")
are hyperlinked to the associated Ant buildfile, and javac error reports
are hyperlinked to the associated Java source file and line number.
The Console supports hyperlinks for javac and jikes as well as the Eclipse Java compiler. All such error reports are hyperlinked to the associated Java source file and line number. |
Ant can find it | When the Run > External Tools > Run As > Ant Build launch shortcut is used, it searches for the buildfile to execute starting in the folder of the selected resource and working its way upwards (some will recognize this as Ant's "-find" feature). The names of buildfiles to search for are specified in the Ant preference page. |
Help bookmarks | You can now keep your own list of
bookmarks to pages in help books. Create a bookmark with the ![]() ![]() |
Help working sets | Help working sets allow narrowing searches down as far as a section of a
book. Working sets are persisted from one session
to the next, and can be used in workbench help searches or from the Help
browser.
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Configuring a custom help browser | If you have a favorite web browser, you can configure Help to use it instead of the default browser, via a setting on the Help preference page. |
CVS Watch/Edit | The "edit" portion of CVS Watch/Edit is now supported. Through settings on the Team > CVS > Watch/Edit preference page (which must be set before the projects are added to your workspace), you can choose to automatically notify the CVS server whenever you start to edit a file. In turn, the CVS server will notify others on the watch list for that file. When you go to edit a file, you are warned if there are others editing the same file. Team > Show Editors on a file's context menu lists everyone currently working on the file. There are also Team > Edit and Unedit commands. |
Working set for imported team projects | There is an option to create
a working set for projects imported into the workspace via Import >
Team Project Set. This works for all types of repositories.
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CVS now supports working sets | Users can now define working sets which will limit the number of projects shown in the CVS Repositories view. |
Comparing different versions | Select any folder or file in the CVS Repositories view and choose Compare With from context menu to compare it against another version, branch, or date. |
Restoring deleted files from CVS | Deleted files can now be queried and restored from the CVS repository using the Team > Restore from Repository command, which is available on CVS projects and folders. |
Pin a Synchronization
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You can now have multiple synchronizations defined and available in the Synchronize View. Use the pin toolbar button in the Synchronize View to pin a synchronization. The next time you synchronize a new synchronization will be created. This way you can synchronize different sets of resources. |
Checkout Wizard
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You can now checkout projects in one easy step via the File > Import > Checkout projects from CVS wizard. This also allows checking out projects from a CVS server that doesn't support browsing of its contents. |
Browsing changes by CVS commit set
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You can browse a set of changes shown in the Synchronize View grouped logically by author, comment, and date. Enable the layout via the view's dropdown menu Layout > Commit Sets. This layout can be used when merging, synchronizing, and comparing. |
Schedule a synchronize
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You can schedule that a certain synchronization run periodically. You can schedule any CVS synchronization from within the Synchronize View via the Schedule... action in the view's dropdown menu. |
Want to release changes to an existing branch
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If you have changes in your workspace that you would like to commit to another branch than the one currently connected to, you can run the Team > Update command and switch to another branch. This operation won't modify the changed files and you can then commit them to the other branch. |
Schedule a synchronize
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You can schedule that a certain synchronization run periodically. You can schedule any CVS synchronization from within the Synchronize View via the Schedule... action in the view's dropdown menu. |
Sharing your CVS lineup with others | You can save the list of projects shared with CVS into a team project set. This provides an easy way of re-creating your workspace with shared CVS projects.
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Reverting a managed CVS file that was edited, but not committed | There are a two ways of doing this:
or
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Show ancestor pane in 3-way compares |
Whenever a CVS synchronization results in a conflict, it is helpful
to view the common ancestor on which the two conflicting versions are based.
You can view the common ancestor by toggling the Show Ancestor Pane button in the compare viewer's local toolbar. If you always want to have the ancestor pane open automatically for conflicts, you can check the option Initially show ancestor pane on the Text Compare tab of the Compare/Patch preference page. |
Merge in Compare editor
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You can merge incoming changes in the compare editor with one click. Hover over the small square in the middle of the line connecting two ranges of an incoming or conflicting change. A button appears that allows you to accept the change.
Note that for this the option Connect ranges with single line on the Workbench > Compare/Patch > Text Compare preference page has to be enabled. |