CLion 2017.2 Help

Project Tool Window

View | Tool Windows | Project
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The Project tool window lets you look at your project from various viewpoints and perform the tasks such as creating new items (directories, files, classes, etc.), opening files in the editor, navigating to the code fragment of interest, and more.

Most of the functions in this tool window are accessed as context menu commands in the content pane and associated shortcuts.

Views

The tool window provides you with the Project view. In this view, all the project items along with their dependencies (SDKs and libraries) are shown. The emphasis is on the directory structure (though the packages are also shown).

Title bar context menu

The context menu that appears by right-clicking on the title bar, provides settings for project views.

The following table lists and briefly explains the available commands and options.

ItemShortcutDescription
Autoscroll to Source If this option is on, CLion will automatically open the selected item in the editor.
Autoscroll from Source If this option is on, CLion automatically locates documents that you open in the editor in the Project tool window.
Folders Always on Top If the option is on, all the folders are shown before the files. Otherwise, all the items are sorted alphabetically, and the files and folders appear intermixed.
Pinned, Docked, Floating, Windowed, Split ModeThese options let you control general appearance and behavior of the tool window. See Tool Windows Viewing Modes.
Remove from Sidebar This command hides the tool window, removes the associated tool window button from the tool window bar and removes the tool window from the quick access menu (show tool window bars or show hide tool window bars).

To open the tool window again (and restore the associated features), use the main menu: View | Tool Windows | <Window Name>.

Move to To associate the tool window with a different tool window bar, select this command, and then select the destination tool window bar (Top, Left, Bottom or Right).
Resize To resize the tool window by moving one of its borders, select this command, and then select the necessary Stretch to option.

Note that this command is not available for the floating mode.

Hide Shift+Escape Use this command to hide the tool window.

Title bar buttons

ItemShortcutDescription
icon scroll from source on title bar Click this icon to navigate from a file in the editor to the corresponding node (file, class, field, method, etc.) in the Project tool window.

This icon is not available if the Autoscroll from Source option is currently on.

icon collapse all on title bar Ctrl+NumPad - Use this icon or shortcut to collapse all the nodes.
icon viewMode Click this button to open the menu for configuring the current view and changing the tool window viewing modes.

Note that most of the menu items are options that you can turn on or off. An option which is on has a check mark to the left of its name.

The available options are a subset of the title bar context menu items. Depending on the current view, the menu may include the following options:

icon hideSide Shift+Escape Use this icon or shortcut to hide the tool window.

When used in combination with the Alt key, clicking this icon hides all the tool windows attached to the same tool window bar.

Content pane

The content pane shows the project items such as directories, files, etc.

The icons for the main categories (node types) are shown and briefly explained in the following table. The icons used for the main file types are listed in File Types Recognized by CLion; the icons for the main symbols (classes, fields, methods, etc.) are shown in Symbols.

ItemDescription
folder A folder (directory). Different folder types have different colors:
  • An "ordinary" folderfolder.
  • A source folderroot_Source.png.
  • Excluded excludeRoot 2x
library External Libraries, a category for grouping third party software associated with the project. The node is only shown when the Project view is selected.

Context menu commands for the content pane items

When you right-click an item in the content pane, the context menu for this item is shown. This menu provides access to all the functions available for the selected item:

ItemShortcutDescription
New Alt+Insert Use this command to create a new item (directory, file, or class). within the selected one (project or directory).
Reload CMake Project Use this command to reload the CMake project. See details in Reloading Project procedure description.
Cut Ctrl+X Use this command to move the selected item or items from the current location to the clipboard.
Copy Ctrl+C Use this command to copy the selected item or items to the clipboard.
Copy Path(s) Ctrl+Shift+C Use this command to copy the full path(s) of the selected item or items to the clipboard.
Copy Relative Path Ctrl+Shift+Alt+C Use this command to copy a relative path to the selected item to the clipboard.
Paste Ctrl+V Use this command to insert the contents of the clipboard into the selected location.
Find Usages Alt+F7 Use this command to find the usages of the selected item. (The Find Usages dialog will open.)
Inspect CodeUse this command to run code inspection for the selected file or folder.
Refactor Use this command to perform one of the refactorings available for the selected item.
Add to FavoritesUse this command to add the selected item to an existing or new list of favorite items. See Adding to Favorites.
Delete Delete Use this command to delete the selected item. Use with care!
Run '<item_name>'
Debug '<item_name>'
Ctrl+Shift+F10 Run or debug a test configuration.
Local History Use this command to view local history for the selected file or directory, or to create a label for the current version of your project. See Local History and Using Local History.
Synchronize '<item_name>'Use this command to synchronize the selected item with its version saved in the file system.

(If you change a file or directory contents externally, CLion, under certain circumstances, may not be aware of the corresponding changes unless you use this command.)

Show in ExplorerUse this command to open a file browser (e.g. Windows Explorer or Finder) and show the selected item there.
File Path Ctrl+Alt+F12 Use this command to open the File Path menu. This menu shows the path from the file system root to the selected element with individual directories as the menu items.

When you select an item in this menu (e.g. a directory), a file browser (e.g. Windows Explorer or Finder) opens, and the selected item is shown there.

Compare With Ctrl+D Use this command to compare the selected file or directory with another file or directory. Select the other file or directory the dialog that opens. See Comparing Folders and Differences Viewer for Folders.
Compare File with EditorUse this command to compare the selected file with the file open on an active editor tab. See Comparing Files and Differences Viewer.
Mark Directory As Use this command to make the selected directory a source root or, to make the directory excluded, etc.

The necessary category for the directory is selected from the submenu.

File status highlights

If VCS integration is enabled for the current project, CLion uses colors to denote VCS file status in the Project tool window. The following table presents information about the meaning of the colors.

ColorFile StatusDescription
BlackUp to dateFile is unchanged.
highlightBlackTxt
Gray DeletedFile is scheduled for deletion from the repository.
highlightGrey
Blue ModifiedFile has changed since the last synchronization.
highlightBlueTxt
Green AddedFile is scheduled for addition to the repository.
highlightGreenTxt
Violet MergedFile is merged by your VCS as a result of an update.
highlightVioletTxt
Brown UnversionedFile exists locally, but is not in the repository, and is not scheduled for adding.
highlightBrown
Olive IgnoredFile will be ignored in any VCS operation.
highlightOlive
Light brown HijackedFile is modified without checkout. This status is valid for the files under Perforce, ClearCase and VSS.
hijacked
Red Merged with conflictsDuring the last update, file was merged with conflicts.
highlightRedTxt
Lilac Externally deletedFile is deleted locally, but was not scheduled for deletion, and still exists in the CVS repository.
highlightLilac
Dark cyan SwitchedThe file is taken from a different branch than the whole project. This status is valid for CVS and SVN.
highlightCyanTxt
Last modified: 15 December 2017

See Also