Java Reference
In-Depth Information
you've used the project recently, it's listed in the
File | Reopen
submenu, which
maintains a list of the most recently used projects.
Working with multiple projects
When you attempt to work on a project while one is already open,
IDEA
asks if you
wish to open the project in a new frame. If you want to work on multiple projects
simultaneously, click
Ye s
. Otherwise, click
No
to close your existing project and
open the new one.
When you open multiple projects, each is loaded in its own
IDEA
frame. The
two projects are completely independent; other than letting you cut and paste
between the application windows, they can't share data. To close a project, select
the
File | Close Project
menu option.
Regardless of how many projects you have open at once, only a single
instance of
IDEA
is running, so all open projects must share the same
memory space. You may need to bump up the amount of memory al-
located to
IDEA
if you plan to frequently have multiple projects open
at once.
WARNING
4.2.3
Working with project files
IDEA
stores the configuration data for projects and their components in plaintext
XML
files, making it easy to manage, edit, and share project configuration data
with others.
IDEA
creates three different types of files: the project file, the work-
space file, and the module file.
Project files have an
.IPR
extension and contain information core to the
project itself, such as the names and location of its component modules, compiler
settings, Ant configurations, and so forth. You can click an
.IPR
file to launch the
project in
IDEA
. By default, this file is created at the root of the project.
Along with each project file,
IDEA
creates an
.IWS
file to store your personal
workspace settings. This file remembers the placement and positions of your win-
dows, your
VCS
and History settings, your Run/Debug configuration targets, and
other data pertaining to the development environment. This file is always created
alongside your project file. If this file is deleted, it's regenerated automatically,
unlike the project
.IPR
file.
Module files are created for each module you defined and have the
.IML
extension. The module file stores all the path and dependency information asso-
ciated with the module. Its exact contents depend on what type of module it is. By
default, module files are located in the module's content root folder.
