DZone
Thanks for visiting DZone today,
Edit Profile
  • Manage Email Subscriptions
  • How to Post to DZone
  • Article Submission Guidelines
Sign Out View Profile
  • Post an Article
  • Manage My Drafts
Over 2 million developers have joined DZone.
Log In / Join
Refcards Trend Reports
Events Video Library
Refcards
Trend Reports

Events

View Events Video Library

Related

  • Debug Like a Pro in 2025: 10 New Eclipse Java Debugger Features to Enhance Your Productivity (With Spring Boot Examples)
  • Introducing Graph Concepts in Java With Eclipse JNoSQL, Part 3: Understanding Janus
  • Introducing Graph Concepts in Java With Eclipse JNoSQL, Part 2: Understanding Neo4j
  • Introducing Graph Concepts in Java With Eclipse JNoSQL

Trending

  • Comparing Top Gen AI Frameworks for Java in 2026
  • Improving Java Application Reliability with Dynatrace AI Engine
  • How to Detect Spam Content in Documents Using C#
  • Stop Poisoning Your Models: How I Built a CV Dataset Quality Toolkit I Can Reuse Forever
  1. DZone
  2. Coding
  3. Frameworks
  4. Fixing an Eclipse Workspace That Does Not Open Anymore

Fixing an Eclipse Workspace That Does Not Open Anymore

Has your Eclipse workspace just stopped loading? In this post, we take a look at how you can correct this issue without having to create a new workspace.

By 
Erich Styger user avatar
Erich Styger
·
Oct. 04, 17 · Tutorial
Likes (3)
Comment
Save
Tweet
Share
33.3K Views

Join the DZone community and get the full member experience.

Join For Free

It can happen to everyone using Eclipse: launching Eclipse with a workspace, and then it is stuck loading it. As a last resort, create a new workspace and go on? Possible, but painful, right? For some time, I have this strange issue nagging me. From time to time, I’m not able to switch to a workspace that worked before. The IDE starts loading, but then is stuck:

Eclipse Oxygen Stuck Loading Workspace

Eclipse Oxygen Stuck Loading Workspace

The problem happens to me for multiple versions of Eclipse, including Oxygen (4.7). What I have found out is that it is because of some views open in the workspace, and they somehow might block the Eclipse startup. For example, the Processor Expert ‘Component Repository’ view can cause this in Eclipse Neon (4.6) or Oxygen (4.7).

Components Library View in Eclipse

Components Library View in Eclipse

So the usual workaround was to open that workspace with another instance of Eclipse (not having that view), closing that view in the Eclipse Perspective, and then I was able to load that workspace again.

Knowing that this has something to do with the perspectives and views, and thanks to a tip (thank you, Livio!), I have finally found the solution to unblock such a workspace.

Inside the workspace .metadata folder, there is a file named workbench.xmi:

.metadata/.plugins/org.eclipse.e4.workbench/workbench.xmi.


This file stores the perspective window arrangements. So after deleting that file, the IDE windows are reset, and I’m able to load that workspace again.

I hope this tip is useful for everyone having such an occasional problem.

Happy Reloading!

Workspace Eclipse

Published at DZone with permission of Erich Styger. See the original article here.

Opinions expressed by DZone contributors are their own.

Related

  • Debug Like a Pro in 2025: 10 New Eclipse Java Debugger Features to Enhance Your Productivity (With Spring Boot Examples)
  • Introducing Graph Concepts in Java With Eclipse JNoSQL, Part 3: Understanding Janus
  • Introducing Graph Concepts in Java With Eclipse JNoSQL, Part 2: Understanding Neo4j
  • Introducing Graph Concepts in Java With Eclipse JNoSQL

Partner Resources

×

Comments

The likes didn't load as expected. Please refresh the page and try again.

  • RSS
  • X
  • Facebook

ABOUT US

  • About DZone
  • Support and feedback
  • Community research

ADVERTISE

  • Advertise with DZone

CONTRIBUTE ON DZONE

  • Article Submission Guidelines
  • Become a Contributor
  • Core Program
  • Visit the Writers' Zone

LEGAL

  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy

CONTACT US

  • 3343 Perimeter Hill Drive
  • Suite 215
  • Nashville, TN 37211
  • [email protected]

Let's be friends:

  • RSS
  • X
  • Facebook