IntelliJ IDEA Tips and Tricks for Efficient Development

Preface

If a worker wants to do a good job, he must first sharpen his tools.

Recently I was invited by my department to give a unified training on IntelliJ IDEA for new hires. I discovered that many newcomers use only basic functions of this excellent IDE, missing many useful tricks. After preparing the material I also learned new tips myself, so I share them here to help others.

Based on IDEA version: IntelliJ IDEA 2018.2.2 (Ultimate Edition)

Knowledge overview:

High‑efficiency configuration

Daily essential shortcuts (★★)

Search

Navigation & switching

Coding related

Code reading related

Version control related

Coding efficiency (★★)

File code templates

Live templates

Other custom templates

Code debugging & source reading (★★★)

Plugins

References

High‑efficiency Configuration

1. Case‑insensitive code completion

Settings → Editor → General → Code Completion

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

2. Auto‑import and related optimizations

Settings → Editor → General → Auto Import

3. Adjust font size with Ctrl + mouse wheel

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

After enabling this option you can zoom the editor font size by holding Ctrl and scrolling the mouse wheel.

4. Show tabs in multiple rows

Some developers prefer to keep all tabs visible. To enable this, go to:

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

Result:

5. Show line numbers in the editor

Settings → Editor → General → Appearance → Show Line Numbers

Daily Essential Shortcuts (★★)

Search

Navigation & Switching

Coding Related

Code Reading Related

Version Control Related

Coding Efficiency (★★)

File Code Templates

Settings → Editor → File and Code Template

Here you can view all built‑in file templates. When you create a new file, IDEA generates code according to the selected template. You can also set file headers.

Result after setting a header:

Live Templates

IDEA provides powerful live templates. For example, typing sout expands to System.out.println(); and psvm expands to a public static void main(String[] args) {} method.

These templates are managed at:

Settings → Editor → Live Templates

Custom Code Templates

IDEA also allows you to create your own template libraries and custom templates.

Create your own template library

Create custom code templates

Other Handy Shortcuts

Ctrl + Alt + T (Surround With)

Ctrl + Alt + T

opens the “Surround With” menu, allowing you to wrap selected code with constructs such as if, try/catch, etc.

Local History

IDEA includes a built‑in local history feature that lets you safely track and revert changes made to your code.

Code Debugging & Source Reading (★★★)

View Modes

IDEA offers two special view modes:

Presentation Mode – for code review or demo presentations.

Distraction‑Free Mode – a Zen mode that focuses on code.

Debugging Features

1. Conditional Breakpoints

Set breakpoints that trigger only when a specified condition is true, improving debugging efficiency.

2. Force Return

During a breakpoint you can force a method to return a custom value, which is very flexible.

3. Simulate Exception

You can force an exception to be thrown at a breakpoint, useful when debugging library code.

4. Evaluate Expression

While debugging, you can modify variable values on the fly using the “Evaluate Expression” feature.

Plugins

Plugin Installation

File → Settings → Plugin

Plugins can be searched and installed directly from the IDEA plugin repository. If the network is poor, download the zip from the official site (https://plugins.jetbrains.com) and use “Install from Disk”.

Recommended Plugins

My daily development 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 generate builder pattern code.

Lombok Plugin – supports Lombok annotations.

Maven Helper – visualizes Maven dependency trees and conflicts.

Rainbow Brackets – color‑codes matching brackets.

String Manipulation – assists with string operations (used with Ctrl+W, Alt+J, etc.).

Translation – translates selected text, handy for reading source code.

GenerateAllSetter – batch generates setter methods.

Key Promoter X – reminds you of keyboard shortcuts for mouse actions.

GenerateSerialVersionUID – quickly creates serialVersionUID fields.

GsonFormat – formats JSON strings into Java objects.

RestfulToolkit – jump to REST APIs, view API structures, and send simple HTTP requests.

Material Theme UI – my preferred UI theme.

MyBatis Log Plugin – restores full SQL statements from MyBatis logs.

Free MyBatis – a free MyBatis helper plugin.

Reference Links

Pure Spring Security Architecture Sharing (recommended by a fellow programmer)

Dada O2O Backend Architecture Evolution: Handling 4,000 High‑Concurrency Requests

iQIYI’s Database Selection Practices

OPPO’s Million‑Level MongoDB Cluster Optimization

Alibaba Cloud Redis Development Guidelines

My 10‑Hour Guide to Alibaba Data Platform Analytics

Nginx Core Architecture: Why It Supports High Concurrency

Volatile Keyword Interview Questions (Must‑Know)

5‑Minute Cache Consistency Optimization

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