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Eclipse unable to clean build output

I have an Eclipse (4.4.1) working set consisting of ~60 projects (the number may be relevant, as it takes more time to refresh the workspace). Occasionally, I encounter build failures because Eclipse is unable to clean the output folder before build:
It turned out that the process which locks the file is Eclipse itself:
It also turned out that files being locked are always of XML content. Particularly, if I define resources with *.foo extension as XML files (via Preferences -> General -> Content Types), there's a good chance they will be locked, too, once they're copied to the output path.
I thought the problem was caused by all XML resources being validated automatically:
-- so I added exclusion filters 1st and even disabled XML/XSD validation entirely. The problem stopped occurring that often, but still emerges from time to time. Refreshing or closing-reopening a project isn't helpful.
The only remedy is restarting Eclipse or running Unlocker every 1/2 hour, which is not very convenient.
Any ideas how to solve or at least further diagnose this?

Just my 2 cents.
Perhaps you can fix this issue by following this steps:
Project -> Properties -> Builders -> New -> Program
Define a custom "Cleaner"-Program, for example Unlocker or your own Java- or CMD-script
Move your custom Builder-Program up. It should be the first Builder in the list
P.S. some times i have similar problems caused by Avira Antivirus Scanner...

Disable third-party version control daemons. (Like TGitCache).
They only lock resources for a short while and are not visible in Process Explorer, but are the most frequent cause of such failures.

Assuming that XML Validation is the main cause of your problem, I suggest you extend your search for validation points in your projects' configuration, to set off all of them:
General preferences/Validation
General preferences/XML/XML files/Validation (the "honour all schema locations" option might be causing delay at validating)
Project preferences/Validation (check them; might be overriding the general preferences)
Project preferences/Builders/Validator
Hope it helps.

I have experienced similar issues. Yes, the number of projects is probably the cause. Close the projects not in use. If that cleans things up moving groups of related project into separate work spaces should help you out.
i.e File-> Close project

I'm not familiar with the problem, but I would tackle the problem this way:
download File Leak Detector
add the agentpath to your eclipse.ini (e.g.,
-javaagent:path/to/file-leak-detector.jar=http=19999, see documentation of File Leak Detector)
when the problem happens again, see which (eclipse) class is responsible for holding a handle of the file
Find out what is the purpose of the class that holds the handle
This way, you are maybe able to pin down the Eclipse feature that causes your problem.

Netbeans refuses to auto suggest known classes for imports

I just discovered that my NetBeans suddenly stops importing classes that are found in the Java API but can still import classes from my external libraries. Take a look at the image below:
As you can see, List and ArrayList are classes from the java.util package but the usual suggestions for importing them are not shown here, instead it is asking me to create class. I know that I can type import java.util.List; on the top of the code but life was better before! Please I need help thanks.

I had the same problem a couple minutes ago... Terrible. The same problem has been reported here:
Bug 235712
The solution which I've found there was sufficient - simply delete the Netbeans cache...
In order to do this, go to Help ==> About . Then go to the directory with cache and delete all you find in the "index" catalog.
After restarting the NB, everything was cool.

Today I came across the same problem. It happens that it actually is very easy to exclude a class from code completion if you click in the wrong place while working.
To solve it (netbeans 8.2) go to
Tools - Options -> Editor tab
Then select Code Completion Tab
In the drop Down select JAVA (in my case it was Java)
You will find a box bellow titled Package/Classes
In the EXCLUDE tab you probably will find the packages marked to be excluded from code completion. Just remove the ones you want back.

Check under Preferences->Editor->Code Completion to make sure auto complete is on, though by your screen shot I assume that it is.
Also try Preferences->Editor->Formatting and set your Language to Java

In my case, NetBeans was refusing to suggest Scanner. As it turned out, all I had to do was remove java.util.Scanner from Options » Editor » Code Completion » Packages/classes: » Exclude. Then the autocompletion for Scanner returned.

Eclipse - Force Refresh of IDs

I'm using eclipse for Android development, and the editor always seems to take a while to actually update and recognize if I change an ID in a layout, then try to use it in a class with R.id.someId. Is there a way to force a refresh?

You may be running into the delay where automatic building meets unsaved files. Try manually saving the file after the change.
If you have the generated file, R.java, open in an editor then it may not update.
Alternately, you can blow everything away with a Project/Clean.
Alternately, you could manually build.
Highlighting the project and hitting "F5" may work for you.
Let us know what, if anything, worked for you.

Yes, you can do a Project -> Clean.

AutoIndent in Eclipse possible?

I have been wracking my brain trying to figure this out. For the first time I used jEdit the other day and I was pleasantly surprised that it auto indented my code (meaning that I'd put in the following code:
int method () {
_ //<-- and it put me here automatically
I've tried to get the same thing working with eclipse but with no success. I got into the code formatter but I don't see how to make that happen.
Is it possible to do this? Also while I'm here, is there a such thing as a eclipse plugin that will allow you to search the methods and classes of the standard java library?
Thanks

Personally all I use for this is the format options Window->preferences under Java->Code Style ->Formatter.
I once took the time to tweek how I like my code to look like when I work and exported the whole thing. After that I just code without too much bother on what it looks like. When I find the code looks messy by pressing the combination ctrl+shift+f and the whole class becomes pretty again, comments and all.
After a while it pretty much became a reflex...
code code code
ctrl-s, ctrl-b (cause I disable auto build sometimes), ctrl-shift-f
code some more etc...
Once I got used to this I never really cared how it presented the code as i was typing because I knew it would look all pretty as soon as the loop/if/switch/method etc is finished

My clean eclipse install does this by default.
Have you changed any options? Make sure the file you are editing has the .java file extension. The preference options that control the typing automations are under Java -> Editor -> Typing in the Window -> Preferences menu.
Also, I find that the auto-indenting, and most of the other auto-complete functions of eclipse do not function well if the file I am editing has errors in it which prevent compilation. Make sure that your curly-braces are matched correctly, this is the main one that I've noticed blocks auto-indent.
Regarding searching through the standard Java libraries, use the Search -> Java.. menu option, and check the JRE libraries checkbox, then search away. You can also use the Hierarchy view to see how the classes relate. Also, in the Package and Project views you can expand the JRE System Library, and then expand rt.jar which holds pretty much all the standard Java pacakges.

Eclipse has always done this for me by default.
One really cool thing about eclipse is that you can search preference pages. Just right click and go to prefrences. Go to the "Window" menu, and click "Prefrences". Then at the top of the tree view there's a text box that says "type filter text". Replace that with "indent" and it should bring up the page where the indent option is.
Make sure that eclipse recognizes your file as a java file, that you're using the Java distribution, the latest version, etc.

Iv been trying to work around the eclipse indenting and other supposed features for years, and it seems that the bottom line is this ...
It only works for the programming style of the authors, so to use it you need to modify your style to comply.
This would be OK except that the authors of eclipse have some very strange ideas about common shortcut keys.
One horrid example is the search features, eg when did Ctrl+K become "Find Next occurrence" and why doesnt F3 or n work?
That all being said I use eclipse because if you have the time to wait around while it starts up - or never close it - and you can modify everything youve learned about using an editor - why why why - then it will certainly increase your efficiency.
Please note that there is a preference setting for indenting, it can be set for a project, a workspace, or globally, but no matter how you set it eclipse will still chuck tab characters in where you dont want them.
In fact its indent crazy, like it wants to indent everything, even if its already indented.
Like I said Iv been using it for years and it STILL drives me nuts with its random behavior.

Follow these steps for Eclipse:
Select all text: ctrl+A
Correct indentation: ctrl+I

You should check:
Hidden features/tricks for Eclipse?
What is your favorite hot-key in Eclipse?

Questions about IntelliJ to Eclipse transition

I just started using eclipse for some personal projects and am finding the transition from IntelliJ (what I use at work) kind of annoying. I hope it's kosher to ask a few different questions in the same thread. Here goes:
1) How do I get "views" (I'm not sure if this is the term. I mean windows such as Project Explorer, Servers, Console, etc) to stay expanded and on top even after I've clicked back on the editor or another view. I'm pretty sure that right now all of these tabs are "quick views" that I have minimized and then docked, so I may not be doing this right to begin with. In IntelliJ, I would simply just pin the tab.
2) How can I open a file (for instance, an ant build.xml) without having to make it part of an eclipse project? I want the syntax highlighting and Ctrl-click ability that the IDE will give me (not to mention being able to use eclipse's built-in ant), but I don't need to associate the file with any others and so don't see the point of having to make it a part of a project.
3) Is it just me (wouldn't be surprised) or does eclipse have a bug with parsing empty html tags within the body of html tags of the same type. I've only tested this in a JSP, and it doesn't happen with JSF tags. For example: <div id="foo"><div id="bar"/></div>. Eclipse will give a warning saying the first div tag has no end tag. This is with the most recent version of eclipse for Java EE, no plugins have been installed.
4) Finally, a general question: Any best practices or resources to look at for organizing the eclipse interface and perspectives/views? What about workspaces/projects? Is there some tutorial out there that would be really informative that I could read through in less than an hour?
I appreciate any answers and tips/tricks.

First of all, please acknowledge that there are different people in the world and there are people who don't work the "Eclipse way". Even if I was paid for it (and I am), I couldn't work with IDEA. So if Eclipse rubs you the wrong way, it may not be for you. That out of the way, your answers:
In Eclipse, you open a view and let it stay where it is. In IDEA, the view changes all the time, things pop up and go away. Eclipse is static unless you specifically move things around. There are two ways to move things: You can minimize a part (a part is something which contains tabbed views). This moves the part into the closest border. Or you can maximize the current part (Ctrl-M). This pushes all other parts out of the way. Another Ctrl-M will restore the view.
This is a good place to show the difference between IDEA and Eclipse. IDEA tries to anticipate what you're doing and to be helpful. For me, this means it always gets in my way. It will start to format source as I type, things move, etc. That freaks me out. Eclipse is like a toolbox. Everything is there but you have to pick it up. A toolbox doesn't move on its own accord and it doesn't try to be smart.
Eclipse is based on the idea of a workspace. The workspace is the universe and nothing outside exists. If you need to go outside, you must first create a file or folder. In the "New File/Folder" wizard, you can open the advanced options (at the bottom) and link this resource to a real file/folder in the file system. May sound like a lot of effort but it allows Eclipse to display virtually anything in the explorer since it just shows "resources" in there, not actually files.
Smells like a bug. Please report it at https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/
I'm not aware of anything.
[EDIT] 3. As cletus pointed out, is not valid HTML. So that might cause the warning.

An Eclipse Perspective is a collection Views and their position. You can customize or create new perspectives, but the existing ones are good enough for a start (Java, J2EE, Java Browsing etc.). I recommend to stick with the default layout for a while until you've managed to use the quick view feature (which, personally, i find quite annoying). On small screens, i simply like to use Ctrl-M to switch the Editor to fullscreen mode and back, without the need of minimizing single views or move them around.
Yes, you can run external build scripts as well and it's called External Tool in Eclipse. Go to Run > External Tools > External Tools Configurations. Create either a new Ant-based config or a native executable (Program). The location of the build script or executable can either be workspace-relative (Browse Workspace) or absolute on the file system (Browse File System)