Boost Your Java Productivity: Essential IntelliJ IDEA Tips & Shortcuts

Preface

During a department‑organized training for new hires on IntelliJ IDEA, many newcomers were found using only basic features, missing out on numerous productivity‑boosting tricks. This article shares those tips to help both beginners and experienced users get more out of the IDE.

High‑Efficiency Configuration

1. Case‑Insensitive Code Completion

Settings → Editor → General → Code Completion

(In older versions set Case sensitive completion to None.)

2. Auto‑Import and Related Optimizations

Settings → Editor → General → Auto Import

3. Ctrl + Mouse Wheel to Adjust Font Size

Settings → Editor → General → Change font size (Zoom) with Ctrl+Mouse wheel

After enabling, you can zoom the editor font with Ctrl + scroll.

4. Show All Tabs in Multiple Rows

Window → Editor Tabs → Tabs Placement, uncheck Show Tabs In Single Row

Resulting layout is shown below.

5. Show Line Numbers

Settings → Editor → General → Appearance → check Show Line Numbers

Essential Daily Shortcuts (★★)

Search

Navigation & Switching

Coding‑Related

Code Reading

Version Control

Coding Efficiency (★★)

File and Code Templates

Settings → Editor → File and Code Template

Here you can view all built‑in file templates and set file headers.

Result after configuration:

Live Templates

IntelliJ IDEA provides powerful live templates such as sout for System.out.println(); and psvm for a public static void main method.

These templates are managed under Settings → Editor → Live Templates.

Custom Templates

IDEA also allows you to create your own live templates.

Create a custom template library

Create personalized code templates

Other Handy Shortcuts

Ctrl + Alt + T (Surround With)

Ctrl + Alt + T

quickly wraps selected code with a chosen construct.

Local History

IDEA’s built‑in local history feature helps you safely experiment with code.

Debugging & Source Reading (★★★)

View Modes

IDEA offers two special view modes:

Presentation Mode – ideal for code reviews.

Distraction Free Mode – focuses on coding without UI clutter.

Debugging Features

1. Conditional Breakpoints

Set breakpoints with custom conditions to speed up debugging.

2. Force Return

Force a method to return a specific value directly from the stack.

3. Simulate Exception

Force an exception to be thrown at a breakpoint, useful for testing error handling.

4. Evaluate Expression

Modify variable values on the fly during debugging.

Plugins

Installation

File → Settings → Plugin

Search and install plugins directly from the built‑in repository, or download from the official JetBrains plugin site.

Recommended Plugins

Commonly used plugins include:

Alibaba Java Coding Guidelines

Enforces Alibaba’s Java coding standards.

FindBugs

Static code analysis for bug detection.

PMD

Another static analysis tool.

InnerBuilder

Quickly generates builder pattern code.

Lombok Plugin

Supports Lombok annotations.

Maven Helper

Assists with Maven dependency management and conflict analysis.

Rainbow Brackets

Colors matching brackets for better readability.

String Manipulation

Provides shortcuts for string operations (e.g., Ctrl+W, Alt+J).

Translation

Translates selected text, useful when reading source code.

GenerateAllSetter

Key Promoter X

Shows keyboard shortcuts for mouse actions.

GenerateSerialVersionUID

Press Alt + Insert to quickly generate SerialVersionUID.

GsonFormat

RestfulToolkit

Quick navigation to RESTful APIs (Ctrl/Cmd + ? or Ctrl + Alt + N).

Displays RESTful interface structures.

Simple HTTP request tool.

Material Theme UI

Personal favorite UI theme.

MyBatis Log Plugin

Restores full SQL statements from MyBatis logs for clearer inspection.

Free MyBatis

A free MyBatis plugin.

Author: Richard_Yi https://segmentfault.com/a/1190000019977265