My "~/eclipse" folder contains the following subfolders: about_files, configuration, dropins, features, p2, plugins, readme.
Is it important to include this folder, or some of its subfolders, in the regular backup of my hard-drive? Or are they just standard files that come with the installation and can always be restored by re-installing Eclipse?
Making a backup of the complete eclipse folder makes sense as it contains all the plug-ins which you have installed. Sometimes eclipse breaks because of a new plug-in or just any random problem. Then it's great to have a backup and you don't need to install every plug-in which you had before.
Related
I have limited space on my C drive, hence installing Eclipse in my E drive. After installation I find that about 1mb is on my E drive and all the rest is on my C drive!
Any idea how to get Eclipse to actually install in the folder I want? in previous versions all plugins went into the plugins folder of the install, but it seems Neon wants to install everything into a .p2 folder in my user folder.
Which is pretty useless too if I wanted Eclipse to be available to other users too...
thanks.
It appears that you downloaded the Windows installer version, which I would avoid if at all possible. While it is possible to tweak your installation to behave as expected, I suggest uninstalling it and downloaded the package of your choice from Eclipse Downloads. Unzip the package on your E: drive. The resulting eclipse directory will house all current files and plugins and others as you add/download them. The .p2 directory will still be created in your user directory, but will not contain anything other than some user-specific configuration information.
You can create a shortcut to eclipse.exe or on Windows 10 right-click and Pin to Start for easy reference. Also make sure that any workspaces you create are created someplace other than your user directory.
My "workspace" folder includes a hidden folder called ".metadata". Is it important to backup this folder regularly?
The .metadata folder is an area where Eclipse plug-ins can save any information they want to save. This will include things like your preference settings, information about the contents of projects and the indices the Java plug-in uses to find classes and methods quickly.
It also includes the .log file where Eclipse logs errors.
Exactly what is stored there depends on the plug-ins you have installed (one of my plug-ins has a database in the .metadata) so it is a good idea to back it up (along with the projects).
I am behind an intranet that does not have access to the download sites. Assuming I have access to all of the correct zip and jar files. What are the step by step instructions to get Eclipse to the point where I can go to Windows -> Preferences and see the Google entry?
1) I don't have access to the http://code.google.com/eclipse/docs/getting_started.html site because I am on a closed network.
2) I tried using the dropins folder and when I re-open Eclipse and go to Windows->Preferences "Google" isn't listed.
Any ideas?
The official zip-file installation instructions are at http://code.google.com/eclipse/docs/install-from-zip.html
This uses the Eclipse dropins mechanism, which helps Eclipse to pick up the new plugins in a clean way, quote:
... the dropins folder can be used much like the plugins directory was used in the past. A subtle twist on old behavior here is that plug-ins and features added to the dropins folder are properly installed into the system rather than being forced in.
Note:
Make sure, that you extract the zip file into the correct destination. It can easily happen, that it gets extracted e.g. into some subdirectory - so please check twice. You should have the following structure:
eclipse (this is your Eclipse installation folder)
dropins
eclipse (this is the directory created by extracting the zip file)
features
com.google.*
plugins
com.google.*
features
(your already installed features)
plugins
(your already installed plugins)
...
Then (re-)start Eclipse.
Just install the plugin from here and you are set to go.
http://code.google.com/eclipse/docs/getting_started.html
If you get a correct zip file for plugin, you will see "plugins" and "features" as soon as you open the zip file.
If your eclipse is in a location "c:\eclipse", extract the zip file into "c:\eclipse". The files will go into the corresponding folders.
Drop them in the plugins folder
I've just installed a new Linux distro on my box and want to move my Eclipse home from the old /home/username/ to my new one. Because I changed the desktop, I don't want to copy all hidden folders from ~/. So which directories do I need copy in order to have all my installed plugins?
I've already copied ~/.eclipse/ and it definitely contains files related to the plugins but Eclipse won't load them. Any hints?
We've eventually found the directory containing all that stuff by accident. Somehow we broke it and Eclipse refused to start on my coworker's computer:-)
See ~/workspace/.metadata/.plugins or wherever your workspace resides.
As far as I know, Eclipse stores its plugins in its installation directory (eclipse). They might reside in eclipse/plugins or eclipse/dropins. You can copy the whole eclipse directory from your old box.
I'm using Eclipse and have plenty of plugins installed and configured to my needs. Is there any good way to backup these plugins and the configuration of them. I want to be able to replay these plugins in futures eclipse version (as long as they are compatible) and on different PCs.
I know I could simply archive the whole eclipse/ folder, but I find this a little inelegant.
There are two parts to your question:
Copying your settings between Eclipse installs
Copying your installed plugins between Eclipse installs
#1 is easy to do. You can export your Eclipse preferences from the File -> Export... -> Preferences. The resulting file contains all of your preferences for each installed plugin. It is portable between Eclipse installs and versions.
#2 is not really the "Eclipse" way of doing things. It is possible, but you need to structure your installed plugins differently. Rather than using the standard update manager to install your plugins, you can use the dropins folder. What you need to do is to copy every feature and plugin that you want to be shared across multiple installs into a zip file with the following structure:
eclipse/
features/
plugins/
Then you can unzip the file into the dropins folder of all the Eclipses that you want.
More information on dropins:
http://help.eclipse.org/helios/index.jsp?topic=/org.eclipse.platform.doc.isv/reference/misc/p2_dropins_format.html
P2 installation replication is a tool to help you backup installed plug-ins, you could install it via Eclipse Marketplace.
According to the settings of configuration, most of them are persisted in your workspace. So you could backup your workspace/.metadata folder.
While inelegant, archiving the entire eclipse folder is also insufficient. I think you want to archive the following:
The entire eclipse installation folder.
The .metadata folder of every workspace.
By doing this, you will not only preserve the plugins and their settings, but you will also preserve an eclipse installation in which you know your plugins work.
I've made small service for myself to synchronize Eclipse settings. Currently it supports Java Templates + Bash Aliases. Could be useful for someone else.
http://confsync.com