10 Best Eclipse Shortcuts

yes, eclipse is a very visual and gui oriented ide. but this does not mean that everything is mouse oriented. while programming i have my hands on the keyboard. so i want to do as much as possible with shortcuts and the keyboard. the good news is that eclipse comes with a great set of helpers built-in. here is my list of my favorite hotkeys and shortcuts…

1. f3 — jumps to include file or variable declaration/definition. if you want to use the mouse for this, press the ctrl key and hover over the source with the mouse. shortcut for navigate > open declaration .
2. alt+left and alt+right — navigate through my source to back and forward. shortcuts for navigate > back and navigate > forward and backward .
3. ctrl+space — content assist which proposes methods/member variables and more based on my typing. start typing with a. and it will show me the struct members. shortcut for edit > content assist :
   

   ctrl+space: content assist

4. ctrl+3 — quick access let me go to views, perspectives and more. shortcut for window > navigation > quick access :
   

   ctrl+3: quick access

5. ctrl+m — maximizes the current view or editor. press ctrl+m again and it goes back to the previous size. shortcut for window > navigation > maximize active view or editor .
6. ctrl+shift+/ — insert block comment, remove it again with ctrl+shift+\. shortcut for source > add block comment . depending on your keyboard layout you might re-assign this short cut (e.g. if on your keyboard ‘/’ is only reached with the shift key).
7. ctrl+shift+t — open an element with wildcard support. shortcut for navigate > open element :
   

   ctrl+shift+t: open element

8. ctrl+f7 — switch to next view. pressing again ctrl+f7 let you iterate to the next view. use ctrl+shift+f7 for previous view. shortcut for window > navigation > next view:
   

   ctrl-f7: views

9. ctrl+alt+h — opens the call hierarchy. shortcut for navigate > open call hierarchy :
   

   ctrl+alt+h: call hierarchy

10. ctrl-o — open the quick outline view . shortcut for navigate > quick outline :
    

    ctrl+o: quick outline view

if you do not like the shortcuts (or key bindings): go to window > preferences > general > keys and change the bindings:

key bindings

i admit: this is my personal list. if you know about a ‘secret’ shortcut which you would like to see on this list, post a comment.

happy short cutting