12 Tips to make you more productive using Eclipse

Updated 3 months, 1 week ago

Integrated development environments make developing application fair easier. They highlight syntax, let you know if you have a compilation error, and allow you to step through your code among so many other things. Like all IDEs Eclipse has a bunch of little shortcuts and tools that can make your life a lot easier, I've compiled a list of several that I use on a daily basis:

1. Auto-complete – Eclipse has an auto-complete feature that can be accessed with ctrl + space. When clicked a small ...

pop-up box is displayed with a list of context sensitive suggestions. If there is only one possibility then Eclipse completes it for you.

2. Quickly format your code – Code that is being heavily modified can quickly become an ugly sight. Without proper indention it can become extremely difficult to determine what is happening in code. Code can be quickly formatted using the shortcut: Ctrl + shift + F. You can even setup your own style rules by going to: Project>Preferences>Java Code Style>Formatter, check “enable project specific settings” edit the profile and then save it under a new name.

3. Get rid of unnecessary code – Heavily worked on projects that aren't maintained well can quickly build up a bunch of unnecessary imports, casts, among other common easily detectable coding mistakes. Quickly remove these mistakes by running a code clean up. Right click on your project folder>source>clean up. Like the code formatter you can also customize your code clean up.

4. Go to declaration – Want to know where that method, variable, or class is declared? This can easily be done by holding down ctrl and then clicking on the reference.

5. Find all references – If you need to find all the references for a method, variable, or class highlight the desired reference right click>reference and select the desired search scope.

6. Quickly select groups of characters – Need to delete an entire string, or everything within a method's argument declaration? Select the enclosing character (e.g. the “ or "(" respectively), this will select everything within the enclosing characters. This even works with the bodies of classes and methods. You can also select an entire line by triple clicking.

7. Rename all instances – If you need to rename a method, variable, or class you can rename ever instance by highlighting a reference and pressing alt + shift + r an box will highlight the reference and you can rename it. Upon pressing enter all instance will be renamed in your project.

8. Change a method signature – If you need to change any part of a methods signature; a methods name, its arguments, or return type, you can quickly make a change to all references of the method in the project by highlighting the method and pressing alt + shift + c a pop-up box will appear giving you options to change the method's signature.

9. Automatically generate getters and setters – Writing getters and setters is for suckers. After you write out all the members of a class right click anywhere in the code screen>source>generate getters and setters. Select the variables you want to have getters and setters made for.

10. Javadoc is a cinch – Eclipse makes writing Javadoc easy, just type “/**” and press eneter above a declaration. Eclipse automatically creates context sensitive Javadoc annotations (i.e. a methods parameters, or the author of a class). After that you only have to write out what the method actually does.

11. Run a unit test – To run a unit test highlight the unit test and press alt + shift + x followed by t. You can also run a unit test in the debugger by pressing alt + shift + d followed by t.

12. Comment out code – If you need to quickly comment out a chunk of code, highlight the corresponding lines and press ctrl + /, you can uncomment code the say way.

Chime in with your own Eclipse shortcuts.

43 comments on this story

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Showing 31 relevant reactions out of 43.

dukthen 3 months, 1 week ago on Reddit

Here's my take on the list:

1. use vim

1. use vim

1. use vim

1. use vim

1. use vim

1. use vim

1. use vim

1. use vim

1. use vim

1. use vim

1. use vim

1. use vim

hectorwc 3 months, 1 week ago on Reddit

Yeah, I was looking for the tip on how to make it not freeze up for thirty seconds whenever I try to do anything.

pemboa 3 months, 1 week ago on Reddit

On what are you running Eclipse to see this?

b100dian 3 months, 1 week ago on Reddit

> Automatically generate getters and setters

No thanks, I use a modern language with built-in getters and setters.

MindStalker 3 months, 1 week ago on Reddit

.NET?

Doing things behind your back for you is just stupid.

b100dian 3 months, 1 week ago on Reddit

C#, Actionscript 3, JavaScript 1.5, Vala, Delphi to name just a few.

f3nd3r 3 months, 1 week ago on Reddit

Wow, they could have at least checked it for typos one time.

codecafe 3 months, 1 week ago on Reddit

> more productive

> eclipse

Did you mean to submit this to the /r/funny/...? Oh... you were being serious?

strelok 3 months, 1 week ago on Reddit

What a lame list. I was expecting to finally find the magic option how to make Eclipse auto detect static methods instead of going into Content Assist->Favourites, or something that will make Groovy usable in Eclipse. But, no, HOW TO RUN A FUCKING UNIT TEST! :) Tip No. 1 should be download IntelliJ. Oh IntelliJ I miss you!

masklinn 3 months, 1 week ago on Reddit

IntelliJ is not gone. IntelliJ will live forever… in our hearts.

masklinn 3 months, 1 week ago on Reddit

1. Use intellij

kopkaas2000 3 months, 1 week ago on Reddit

Too lazy to read the article. Is tip 1 "apt-get install vim"?

vonbladet 3 months, 1 week ago on Reddit

M-x eclipse-mode

pozorvlak 3 months, 1 week ago on Reddit

Meh. Knew all those already. OTOH, I do use them all more-or-less constantly, so I suppose they're worth collecting together :-)

rene_silva 3 months, 2 weeks ago on Twitter

leyendo: "12 tipos para ser más productivo en Eclipse" http://icio.us/wcfvj1

elliotrock 3 months, 2 weeks ago on Twitter

Hey bro @retrogamer4ever , have you seen this http://bit.ly/17nA49 : 12 Tips to make you more productive using Eclipse #flexbuilder

Anthon Yuan 3 months, 3 weeks ago on Wordpress

ALT-SHIFT-D is for debugging, ALT-SHIFT-X is for executing

Sinisa 3 months, 3 weeks ago on Wordpress

crtl-shift-L : all keyboard shortcuts.

wookashs 3 months, 3 weeks ago on Wordpress

Ad 5. ctrl + H on method or type (who uses mouse) ;]

Also ctrl + t to look for type hierarchy

uberVU - social comments 3 months, 3 weeks ago on Wordpress

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by TurnleafDesign: Rambling on: 12 Tips to make you more productive using Eclipse http://www.turnleafdesign.com/?p=240…

Trent 3 months, 3 weeks ago on Wordpress

ctrl-shift-t : Open Java Type

ctrl-shift-r : open resource (i.e. any file in project)

ctrl-alt-t: Refactor menu

…and you should probably memorise all the shortcuts in that menu.

nn14 3 months, 3 weeks ago on Wordpress

Very Helpful. Many thanks

6553321 3 months, 3 weeks ago on Reddit

For the quickly format your code point, I saw something on Proggit once where someone said that if you're going to make a checkin that fixes formatting for a large chunk of code, only fix formatting in that checkin. Otherwise it becomes hard to distinguish between real changs and indentation changes if you do an svn diff.

Scaryclouds 3 months, 3 weeks ago on Reddit

Your definitely right there, you do want to attempt to merge code or view code after it has been formatted (assuming there was a sizable amount of changes). It's one of the reasons once you get your code formatted you want to constantly be clicking ctrl+shift+f to ensure your code is properly formatted at all times.

Billy Korando 3 months, 3 weeks ago on Wordpress

Make a better one then and I’ll link to it.

AFN 3 months, 3 weeks ago on Wordpress

Pretty Lame List

Billy Korando 3 months, 3 weeks ago on Wordpress

Ack! Need to proof this a little more next time.

Chris Hurd 3 months, 3 weeks ago on Wordpress

item 7 shoud be alt-shift-r

fprintf 3 months, 3 weeks ago on Reddit

Very nice! I wasn't aware of the auto-complete feature and will try it next. Apparently at Stanford (I get to say that now, I guess, since I am taking the online course) we get to build a game of Hangman in CS106a, so I'll try it later! :-)

Billy Korando 3 months, 3 weeks ago on Wordpress

You’re right, thanks for catching the typo.

Brian 3 months, 3 weeks ago on Wordpress

Pretty sure that item 11 – Run a unit test is ALT-SHIFT-D (not T) followed by T. At least that’s how it is in my key bindings and I have no memory of customizing it.

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