Master IntelliJ IDEA: Essential Settings, Shortcuts, and Tips for Faster Development

1. Set Maven

1. In File → Settings → search "maven"
2. Maven home directory – set the path to the bin folder of the Maven installation
3. User settings file – specify the location of the settings.xml file
4. Local repository – configure the local repository location

2. IDEA – Set Code Line Width

1. File → Settings → Editor → Code Style
2. Enable "Wrap when typing reaches right margin" to auto‑wrap long lines
3. In Code Style → Java, enable "Wrapping and Braces" and check "Ensure right margin is not exceeded"
4. Optionally enable the same check under "Keep when reformatting"

3. IDEA – Case‑Insensitive Completion

1. Open File → Settings → Editor → Code Completion
2. Change "Case sensitive completion" to NONE

4. Force Maven Dependencies Update

1. Delete libraries under Project Settings → Libraries
2. In the Maven tool window, clean the project to remove compiled files
3. Right‑click the project → Maven → Reimport

5. IDEA Configuration Default Save Location

1. Default path: C:\Users\<username>\.IntelliJIdea14
2. Backup this directory to restore settings if needed
3. Modify the path via %IDEA_HOME%/bin/idea.properties

6. Hide Unwanted Files/Folders (Eclipse‑like Filter)

1. Settings → File Types → Ignore files and folders → add patterns (e.g., *.iml, .idea)

7. Change to Eclipse Keymap

File → Settings → Keymap → select Eclipse

8. Modify Default Settings

Adjust the "default" setting as needed

9. Mark Modified Files with *

Editor → General → Editor Tabs → enable "Mark modified tabs with asterisk"

10. Disable Automatic Code Completion

Preferences → IDE Settings → Editor → Code Completion → adjust "Autopopup documentation" timing

11. Common Shortcuts

Ctrl+Tab – switch tabs
Ctrl+W – expand selection
Template/Postfix + Tab – generate code
Ctrl+Shift+A – find actions
Shift+Shift – search everywhere
Ctrl+Shift+Enter – complete statement
Alt+Insert – generate code (e.g., getters/setters)
Ctrl+Shift+Space – smart completion
Alt+Enter – quick‑fix
Ctrl+Shift+Alt+T – refactor

12. Reduce CPU Usage When Opening New JSP/Java Files

File → Settings → Editor → Inspection – disable unnecessary inspections

13. SVN Sync Issue Fix

File → Settings → Subversion → General → enable "Use command line client"
Specify the path to svn.exe (avoid spaces in the path)
Install full TortoiseSVN components

14. Exclude *.iml Files from SVN

Editor → File Types → Ignore files and folders → add *.iml and .idea (end with a semicolon)

15. Change Editor Font Size

File → Settings → Editor Colors & Fonts → Font → Size

16. IDEA Encoding Settings

File → Settings → File Encodings → set IDE, Project, and properties file encodings

17. Live Templates

Use shortcuts like "sout" to expand to System.out.println("...");
Create custom templates for loops, etc.

18. Tomcat VM Options

-Xms256m -Xmx512m -XX:PermSize=128m -XX:MaxPermSize=256m

19. Install Plugins

Online: File → Settings → Plugins → Browse repositories → install and restart
Offline: Download plugin zip, then File → Settings → Plugins → Install plugin from disk

20. Increase IDEA Memory Allocation

Edit %IDEA_HOME%/bin/idea.exe.vmoptions

21. Import Eclipse Web Project to Tomcat

Add web facet in project configuration and include the module in Artifacts for deployment

22. Enable Spring/Struts Support

Project Settings → Modules → add the required frameworks

23. Auto‑Compile After Class Changes

File → Settings → Build, Execution, Deployment → Compiler → enable "Make project automatically"
Resolve compilation errors caused by mixed JDK versions

24. Prompt for Serializable Interface

Preferences → Editor → Inspections → Serialization issues → enable prompt to generate serialVersionUID (Alt+Enter)

25. Presentation Mode

Alt+V → View → Enter Presentation Mode to focus on a single file; exit via Alt+V → Exit Presentation Mode

26. Inject Language for JSON Strings

Place cursor inside quotes, press Alt+Enter, choose "Inject language or reference", select JSON to get automatic escaping and a JSON editor view

27. Symbol Search

Ctrl+Shift+Alt+N – search for symbols (methods, classes) by name fragments

28. Resolve Shortcut Conflicts with Windows

Right‑click desktop → Graphics Options → Keyboard shortcuts → disable conflicting shortcuts