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Catalog / Eclipse IDE Cheat Sheet

Eclipse IDE Cheat Sheet

A comprehensive cheat sheet for the Eclipse IDE, covering essential features, shortcuts, debugging, and refactoring techniques to boost developer productivity.

General Usage & Navigation

Basic Shortcuts

Ctrl+Shift+R

Open Resource (files, etc.)

Ctrl+Shift+T

Open Type (classes, interfaces)

Ctrl+N

New… (project, file, class, etc.)

Ctrl+O

Quick Outline (members of current file)

Ctrl+E

Open Editor (switch between open files)

Ctrl+Shift+E

Open Editor in Group

Ctrl+F6

Next Editor

Ctrl+Shift+F6

Previous Editor

Navigation

F3 or Ctrl+Click

Open Declaration (go to definition)

Ctrl+Alt+H

Open Call Hierarchy

Alt+Left Arrow

Go Back (in navigation history)

Alt+Right Arrow

Go Forward (in navigation history)

Ctrl+L

Go to Line

Ctrl+Shift+G

Find References in Workspace

Working Sets

Working sets group projects for easier management. Useful for large projects.

  • Create: Window > Show View > Other... > Working Sets
  • Add Projects: Right-click on a working set, Add Projects...
  • Configure: Edit Working Set...

Editing & Refactoring

Code Completion & Generation

Ctrl+Space

Code Completion (suggests methods, variables, etc.)

Ctrl+1

Quick Fix/Assist (suggests solutions to errors, generates code)

Alt+Shift+S

Source Menu (generate getters/setters, constructors, delegate methods, etc.)

Ctrl+Shift+O

Organize Imports (add/remove import statements)

Ctrl+I

Correct indentation

Ctrl+Shift+F

Format code

Refactoring

Alt+Shift+R

Rename (refactor variable, method, class names)

Alt+Shift+M

Extract Method (create a new method from selected code)

Alt+Shift+C

Change Method Signature

Alt+Shift+V

Move (move classes, packages, etc.)

Alt+Shift+I

Inline (replace method call with method body)

Alt+Shift+L

Extract Local Variable (create a new local variable from selected expression)

Code Templates

Code templates are predefined code snippets that can be inserted into your code.

  • Access: Window > Preferences > Java > Editor > Templates
  • Examples: sysout (for System.out.println()), for (for a basic for loop)

Debugging

Debugging Basics

F5

Step Into (go into the method)

F6

Step Over (go to the next line)

F7

Step Return (go out of the method)

F8

Resume (continue execution)

Ctrl+Shift+B

Toggle Breakpoint (add/remove breakpoint at current line)

Ctrl+R

Run to Line

Breakpoints

Breakpoints halt execution at specific locations. Right-click in the editor’s left margin to set breakpoints.

  • Conditional Breakpoints: Right-click on a breakpoint, Breakpoint Properties..., add a condition to only break when the condition is true.
  • Hit Count Breakpoints: Break only after the breakpoint has been hit a certain number of times.

Inspecting Variables

During debugging, you can inspect variable values.

  • Variables View: Shows all variables in the current scope.
  • Expressions View: Allows you to evaluate custom expressions.
  • Hover: Hover over a variable to see its value inline.

Search and Customization

Advanced Search

Eclipse provides powerful search capabilities.

  • File Search: Ctrl+H (Text tab) - Search for text within files.
  • Java Search: Ctrl+H (Java Search tab) - Search for types, methods, fields, etc.
  • Call Hierarchy Search: Find all callers of a method.

Customization

Perspectives

Arrangements of views and editors tailored to specific tasks (e.g., Java, Debug).
Window > Perspective > Open Perspective > Other...

Views

Reusable components that display information (e.g., Project Explorer, Outline).
Window > Show View > Other...

Editors

Components for editing files. Eclipse supports various editors for different file types.

Key Bindings

Customize keyboard shortcuts.
Window > Preferences > General > Editors > Text Editors

Themes

Change the look and feel of Eclipse.
Window > Preferences > General > Appearance
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