Master IntelliJ IDEA: Essential Settings, Tips, and Shortcut Guide
This guide walks you through the most useful IntelliJ IDEA configurations, practical usage tips, and a comprehensive list of keyboard shortcuts, helping developers quickly adapt to the latest IDE version and boost their coding efficiency.
Common Settings
After reinstalling IntelliJ IDEA, configure the following essential settings:
Theme: set to Dark via Settings → Appearance & Behavior → Appearance.
Editor font size: Settings → Editor → Font.
File encodings (global and project): Settings → Editor → File Encodings.
Code templates: Settings → Editor → File and Code Templates.
Keymap: customize via Settings → Keymap.
Usage Tips
IDEA provides three toolbars (left, middle, right); using toolbar actions can reduce reliance on shortcuts.
Core navigation: Search Everywhere (double‑press Shift) searches files, classes, actions, and settings.
Find an action you forget via Search → Action (Ctrl+Shift+A).
When editing MyBatis mapper.xml, add a MySQL data source ( Database → Data Source → MySQL) to enable SQL and column suggestions.
For missing language injections, set Inject Language or Reference → MySQL.
The floating toolbar that appears after selecting code offers quick actions such as surround, extract variable, and format.
Common Shortcuts
Frequently used shortcuts (Windows) and their menu paths:
Global Search (files/classes/actions/settings) : Shift + Shift (double‑press). Menu: Navigate → Search Everywhere.
Search Class : Ctrl + N. Menu: Navigate → Class.
Find Action (Execute Command) : Ctrl + Shift + A. Menu: Help → Find Action.
Go to Declaration : Ctrl + Click. Menu: Navigate → Declaration.
Show Implementations : Ctrl + Alt + B. Menu: Navigate → Implementation.
Find Usages : Alt + F7. Menu: Edit → Find Usages.
Navigate Back/Forward : Alt + ← / →. Menu: Navigate → Back / Forward.
Go to Line : Ctrl + G. Menu: Navigate → Line….
File Structure (Current File Methods) : Ctrl + F12. Menu: Navigate → File Structure.
Basic Code Completion : Ctrl + Space. Menu: Code → Completion → Basic.
Smart Code Completion (Type Matching) : Ctrl + Shift + Space. Menu: Code → Completion → Smart.
Auto‑Import / Show Intentions : Alt + Enter. Menu: Right‑Click → Show Context Actions.
Reformat Code (Current File) : Ctrl + Alt + L. Menu: Code → Reformat Code.
Comment/Uncomment Line : Ctrl + /. Menu: Code → Comment with Line Comment.
Comment/Uncomment Block : Ctrl + Shift + /. Menu: Code → Comment with Block Comment.
Copy Current Line : Ctrl + D. Menu: Edit → Duplicate Line.
Delete Current Line : Ctrl + Y. (No dedicated menu entry.)
Move Line Up/Down : Alt + Shift + ↑ / ↓. Menu: Edit → Move Line Up / Down.
Undo : Ctrl + Z. Menu: Edit → Undo.
Redo : Ctrl + Shift + Z. Menu: Edit → Redo.
Rename (Variable/Class/Method) : Shift + F6. Menu: Refactor → Rename.
Column Selection (Vertical Editing) : hold Alt and drag mouse. Menu: Edit → Column Selection Mode.
Git Commit : Ctrl + K. Menu: Git → Commit.
Conclusion
The above settings, tips, and shortcuts streamline development in IntelliJ IDEA and reduce the need to memorize numerous commands.
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