Using multiple screens I normally place multiple classes (files) in different screens, this helps me a lot while refactoring, checking tests and comparing changes.
Visual Studio Code does not allow me to drag a tab outside the window and view it in (for example) another monitor.
I checked the documentation and plugins, but the only way I found, is to open two windows, pointing to the same project (folder) and put those in different screens.
I don't like this solution, that causes also some problem when I watch code changes using TypeScript.
Any suggestion?
I use Windows 10, latest version of VSCode.
A solution is to press CTRL+K and after releasing CTRL, press O.
This will open the current file in a new window.
There are few things I don't like about this solution:
- Drag and Drop does not work
- Create a new instance of VS Code resulting in (for me) 180MB of ram used
- To open the file it takes to me few seconds (quite slow)
- The file remains open in the original window as well
Update 20/03/2019:
There is a feature request you can track here:
https://github.com/Microsoft/vscode/issues/10121
And an explanation about why this is difficult to implement here:
https://github.com/Microsoft/vscode/issues/10121#issuecomment-345770248
Update 20/03/2019:
Another important side effect highlighted by #Mär is that:
the IntelliSense fails to establish references it had when the file
was opened in the window, where the entire project is opened
The easy way but with the same drawbacks. More ram and resources will be used. Is to wrap your project in a folder.
It's the best possible thing. As by now!
=> Duplicate the workspace.
Open the command pannel ctrl+shift+p or F1.
Then write dupl
You'll get that
That's it.
More
If you want to add more folder to the working space.
=> go to File then Add Folder To Workspace
You can add as many as you like.
Also better more
You can open a new window (ex: ctrl+n)
And then go File > Add Folder To Workspace.
And start adding folders to your new Workspace. You can add any folder, that is already open or not. That's too way great. You can have all the needed folders for example in the second screen.
A little hack I used is to just stretch the editor window to fill both screens and split the view pane between the monitors such that both screens show just one open file.
This is a cheap hack that works without opening multiple instances of VSC.
It may not be the proper solution, but it works without eating up all my system memory.
I found the following way to work on multiple monitors (important: they must be the same size and resolution):
open a visual studio in windowed mode on the 1st monitor (in my case it is a left monitor)
move the window to the (left) top corner
stretch window to the 2nd monitor (right) bottom corner
split screen by clicking “split editor” several times
move the code sections separator to the edge between the monitors
This is old qestion, but such way can be useful for someone. It is not very convenient, but it works. The solution may have already appeared in the VS itself, but I didn't find it.
Visual Studio Code does not allow me to drag a tab outside the window and view it in (for example) another monitor
Actually, VSCode 1.57 (May 2021, 4 years later) will propose something close:
Improved editor drag and drop across windows
Support for dragging editors to other windows was improved in this release. You can now drag diff editors, custom editors and the entire editor group to another window to open the editors there.
My solution was to use Remote-ssh to connect to self and open in another window. This does take extra resources. But I find this comfortable as I don't need to create additional workspace.
For me on Ubuntu the solution was to create a project folder symlink and ope it in a new window (as it won't open the same folder in another window)
Eclipse has a common idiom where when you're editing say an XML file, it may have a "visual" editing view (key/value pairs, tree view, even the Android UI editor), with the option to switch to editing "raw" XML using a tab at the bottom of the window. I can switch between open documents with CTRL+PGUP/PGDN. Is there a way to switch editors?
I do this a ton when editing Android UIs, and always reaching for the mouse / trackpad is getting really old.
ETA: As another, perhaps more common example, consider editing a pom.xml file with the Maven plugin installed. You can get multiple "sub-tabs" for project settings, dependencies, reporting, etc., as well as editing the raw XML directly. I'd like to be able to switch between those tabs with a keyboard shortcut.
As seen on this post https://stackoverflow.com/a/9479062 use Alt + Pg Up and Alt + Pg Down to switch the bottom tabs on the XML editor.
I don't know if there is an existing (standard) key binding to do that. (Indeed, I'm not exactly sure I understand what you are trying to do).
However, if you go to Window > Preferences > General > Keys, you will see lots of commands that currently have no bound keys. Select the command that corresponds most closely to whatever you are trying to do and add a custom key binding.
I have switched my development environment from Adobe DreamWeaver to Eclipse, and I had one question regarding the Eclipse environment. Whenever I copy and paste sections of code from one area of a script to another, often times the indenting isn't consistent with the surrounding code.
Is there a way I can indent/outdent large sections of code instead of having to manually correct them on a line-by-line basis?
Thank you for your time.
To indent or outdent a section of code, you can select the entire section and then press tab or shift-tab.
I do Java development in Eclipse and to format code I select it and press Ctrl + Shift + F. It is also available from Menu -> Source -> Format.
Note that I am working with Eclipse 3.5.1, but I dont think this key combination will change for other versions.
Sometimes when I jump into source code, e.g. from search or when looking up the declaration of something, the Eclipse text editor tries to display nearby long lines by horizontal scrolling. This happens even if the item I jumped to is well within the display without scrolling. I find this rather annoying, so:
Is there a way to disable this? I have searched in vain through all the editor settings.
Specifically, this is about Eclipse CDT, but I suppose the behaviour is the same in JDT.
This seems to happen in other eclipse editors too (like PDT for PHP)
It could have been related with the ScrolledFormText, but the Plugin Spy tells us a WorkbenchWindow class is concerned, as well as an AbstractDecoratedTextEditor, that is in essence an org.eclipse.ui.texteditor.AbstractTextEditor.
The source of that AbstractTextEditor indicates having:
a ScrollLinesAction for vertical scrolling
a TextNavigationAction for settings the cursor and potentially triggering horizontal scrolling
I am not sure how to change that behavior, except by contributing somehow to the active editor identifier (for instance, for java, "org.eclipse.jdt.ui.ClassFileEditor"), and modifying that Action.
I was having the same issue and found these open bugs for it on the Eclipse Bugs:
https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=314208
https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=321189
You can prevent it from happening when you switch the Code Folding off and reload the file.
grtz,
T
right click on your eclipse shortcut and choose properties. in compatibility tab choose "windows xp(servicepack 3). http://www.vistax64.com/vista-general/133849-disable-dynamic-horizontal-scrolling-vista.html
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I have been using Eclipse as an IDE for a short amount of time (about 3 months of full use) and almost every day I learn about some shortcut or feature that I had absolutely no idea about. For instance, just today I learned that Ctrl+3 was the shortcut for a Quick Access window.
I was wondering what your most useful/favorite Eclipse features are. With the IDE being so big, it would be helpful to learn about the more commonly used parts of the program.
My most commonly used features are
ctrl+1 quick-fix / spell-checker
opening files
ctrl+shift+t load class file by classname
ctrl+shift+r load any file by filename
matches are made on the start of the class/filename. start your search pattern with a * to search anywhere within the filename/classname.
Formatting
ctrl+shift+f Format source file
(set up your formatting style in Window | preferences | java | code style | formatter)
ctrl+shift+o Organise imports
Generated code
alt+s,r to generate getters and setters
alt+s,v to insert method signatures for overidden methods from superclass or interface
Refactorings
alt+shift+l Extract text-selection as local variable (really handy in that it determines and inserts the type for you.
alt+shift+m Extract text-selection as a method
alt+shift+i inline selected method
Running and debugging.
alt+shift+x is a really handy prefix to run stuff in your current file.
alt+shift+x, t run unit tests in current file
alt+shift+x, j run main in current file
alt+shift+x, r run on server
There are more. The options are shown to you in the lower-right popup after hitting alt+shift+x.
alt+shift+x can be switched for alt+shift+d in all the above examples to run in the debugger.
Validation
As of the recent Ganymede release, you can now switch of validation in specified files and folders. I've been waiting for this feature for ages.
Go to Project | Properties | Validation
click on the ... button in the settings column of the validator you want to shut up
Add a rule to the exclude group
code navigation
hold down ctrl to make all variables, methods and classnames hyperlinks to their definitions.
alt+left to navigate back to where you clicked ctrl
alt+right to go "forwards" again
This is cool: If someone has emailed you a stack trace, you can copy and paste the stack trace into Eclipse's Console window. You can then click on class names in the stack trace as if your own code had generated it.
In terms of actual features, rather than shortcuts, I strongly recommend taking a look at Mylyn.
It essentially skins Eclipse with a task focussed view. It tracks the files you touch when working on a task, and focusses many aspects of the UI onto the resources that it decides are relevant to the job in hand. Eclipse can be somewhat busy to look at, especially with a big multi module project, and Mylyn helps cut through the cruft. The connectivity to issue tracking software and source control repositories is also excellent.
In my experience, it polarises opinion amongst those who try working with it, which is probably a sign that it is offering something interesting... Don't mean to sound like a fanboy - it is definitely worth a look though.
A shortcut that I use everyday is Ctrl+K. In your editor (not only Java file), simply select a text (like a variable, a function, etc.), and then use this shortcut to go to the next occurrence of this text in the current editor.
It's faster than using the Ctrl+F shortcut...
Note also that you can use Ctrl+Shift+K to search backwards.
Ctrl-Alt (up/down) Copy selected line(s) above or below current line.
Alt (up/down) Move current (or multiple selected) lines up or down
Ctrl-Shift-R Bring up the resource window, start typing to find class/resource
Ctrl-O Bring up all methods and fields for the current class. Hitting it again will bring up all methods and fields for current class and super classes.
Ctrl-/ or Ctrl-Alt-C Comment single or multiple lines with //
Ctrl-Shift-/ Comment selected lines with /* */
Ctrl-. Take you to the next error or warning line
CTRL+PAGE DOWN / CTRL+PAGE UP to switch between opened editors
CTRL+E to also switch between opened editors (allows to type the name)
CTRL+O is extremely important for me. You don't longer need the Outline View then (you can close it which will give you more space). Then, you can type a method name or just the beginning of it and you quickly can get to it. I also use it to inspect what stuff is available. For example: CTRL+O and then type get ... now I see all getters.
F3 while an element is selected in the code: brings you to its definition or it's source. e.g. used on a method call it brings you into the source code of that method.
CTRL+M to maximize the current window
As already said, CTRL+3 is extremely good. It basically allows you to use Eclipse completely without a mouse. Just type CTRL+3 and then package explorer for example.
CTRL+F8 cycle trough perspectives
CTRL+L allows to type a line number and brings you directly to that line.
CTRL+SHIFT+G searches for all references to the selected element in the workspace.
And not a shortcut: In the project settings under Java Editor you can find Save Actions. This allows you to set up the project so that the code is automatically cleaned up and formatted when you save a file. That's very good it safes you from constantly pressing CTRL+O and CTRL+F.
Eclipse auto refresh isn't on by default so if you make changes to a file outside of eclipse, the change won't be reflected in your build. this is very annoying if you just did an svn/git update/rebase and things aren't working the way they're supposed to.
Turn it on in windows->preferences->workspace and tick Refresh Automatically.
Local History
It's a great feature. Eclipse has its own mini-CVS for all files in a project. If you want to revert some change you made, or even restore deleted file - you can right click on the project and select "Restore from Local History".
Just saved my ass *tears of joy*
CTRL+Shift+P to jump to the matching bracket/parenthesis.
One key feature: Shift+Alt+T for the refactoring menu.
Ctrl-shift-T, but only type the initial characters (and even a few
more) of the class you're looking
for. For example, you can type
"NetLi" to find NetworkListener
In the Search window, Ctrl-. takes you to the first leaf of a tree branch
Alt-/ is Word Completion. Slightly different from Ctrl-space
CTRL+SHIFT+X selected text becomes UPPERCASE
CTRL+SHIFT+Y selected text becomes lowercase
I'd like to add two additional shortcuts:
CTRL+F6 Switch between open editors (CTRL+SHIFT+F6 to scroll through the list in the opposite direction)
CTRL+F11 start program in debug mode
F11 start program in normal mode
A lot of the key bindings depend on the perspective and view currently active.
My most used ones for the Java perspective:
ctrl-shift-r open resource
ctrl-shift-t open type
ctrl-1 quick fix/refactor
ctrl-j incremental search
ctrl-h search in files (select a base directory and set scope to selected resources)
ctrl-o list methods
ctrl-alt-h open call hierarchy
ctrl-shift-l list shortcut keys
hit ctrl-shift-l again to go directly to preferences to change key mappings
I am also a fan of Eclipse, however since I spend a majority of my time in Visual Studio, I will suggest that you read Eric Sink's series of articles "C# to Java" (parts 1-4). Not only is Eric always an entertaining read, but this brief series covers some awesome Eclipse insight for those who have not been into Eclipse or have been away from it for a while:
From C# to Java: Part 1
From C# to Java: Part 2
From C# to Java: Part 3
From C# to Java: Part 4
Ctrl-Shift-M while the cursor is on a class name in your java file, will specifically add that and only that class to your imports. This is different from Ctrl-Shift-O which will not only add those imports not already defined, but will also remove imports not currently needed, something you might not necessarily want to do.
I forgot about [Ctrl+2 -> r] scope variable rename. Place the cursor in the variable you wish to rename, press Ctrl+2, then r, then type the new name watching all instances of that variable get renamed at the same time.
It's awesome at refactoring Hungarian Notation.
alt-shift-a is extremely useful in a few situations.
I use a lot of the above and also like for quick search: CTRL+J then type what I am looking for, then CTRL+K for next occurrence.
Lately I've been using the MouseFeeds plugin to automatically tell me what the key stroke combinations are. That way by repetition I remember them better.
This link has a better picture and description of what it looks like and does.
Shift+Alt+b for the simple navigation row over the editor.
I've just released this blog post about Top 5 Useful Hidden Eclipse Features. It contains:
Favorites: Types and members that will always show up in auto-completion
The awesome block selection mode: For multi-line editing
The EGit staging view: Much better than git itself
Type filters: To remove awt and java.lang.Object stuff from auto-completion
Formatter tags: To delimit code sections that shouldn't be auto-formatted
Alt+left and Alt+ right will navigate you forward and back.
I find the project-specific settings useful in Eclipse 3.3.
For example, if you have several developers working on a project who have different code styles for curly braces, line spacing, number of imports etc. then you can specify the style settings for the project. Then you can configure the save actions so that the code is automatically formatted when a file is saved. The result is everyone's code is formatted the same before it's checked in.