CLion 2018.2 Help

Analyzing applications

Dependencies analysis

CLion suggests the following means of analyzing dependencies in your projects:

  • Analysis of usages, which helps you locate all references to a certain class, variable, function or parameter. This facility includes search and view usages across the project and highlighting usages in a file.

  • Possibility to view file structure.

  • Possibility to explore hierarchy of the imports, types, functions, and function calls.

Building hierarchies

CLion provides facilities for building the following hierarchies:

  • Type hierarchies that show parent and children classes of a class. To build a type hierarchy, select the desired class in the Project tool window or in the editor and choose Navigate | Type Hierarchy on the main menu (or just press Ctrl+H).

  • Function hierarchies (Navigate | Method Hierarchy) that show classes where a function is defined, not defined, or should be defined if the class is not abstract.

  • Call hierarchies (Navigate | Call Hierarchy) that show callers (supertypes) or callees (subtypes) of a method.

  • Imports hierarchies that show where the current file is included and track all files included in the current file. To build an import hierarchy, open the file in the editor or select it in the Project view, and choose Navigate | Imports Hierarchy on the main menu.

When built, a hierarchy can be immediately viewed and examined in the Hierarchy tool window. By default, every new built hierarchy overwrites the contents of the current tab.

You can retain the current tab and have the next hierarchy built in a new one.

Viewing hierarchies

Once built, hierarchies can be brought up for close examination in the Hierarchy tool window. Note that the Hierarchy tool window is not shown when there are no hierarchies to display.

Opening the Hierarchy tool window

Do one of the following:

  • On the main menu, choose View | Tool Windows | Hierarchy.

  • Use Alt+8 keyboard shortcut.

Navigating between the tabs of the Hierarchy tool window

Do one of the following:

  • Right-click the currently displayed tab, and choose Select Next Tab/Select Previous Tab on the context menu.

  • Use the Alt+Right and Alt+Left keyboard shortcuts.

  • Click the currently displayed tab, and choose the next tab to display.

Toggling between views

To show ascending or descending hierarchy (callee vs. caller methods, parent vs. children classes etc.), use the toolbar of the Hierarchy tool window:

  • Click icons hierarchy supertypes svg to show supertypes.

  • Click icons hierarchy subtypes svg to show subtypes.

Viewing structure of a source file

You can examine the structure of the file currently opened in the editor using the Structure tool window or the Structure pop-up window. By default, CLion shows all the classes, methods, etc. presented in the current file.

To have other members displayed, click the corresponding buttons on the toolbar of the Structure tool window. You can also have class members shown in the Project tool window.

Viewing the file structure

Do one of the following:

Displaying class fields

  • Click icons nodes field svg on the toolbar of the Structure tool window.

Displaying inherited members

  • Click show inherited on the toolbar of the Structure tool window.

By default, CLion shows only methods, constants, and fields defined in the current class. If shown, inherited members are displayed gray.

Displaying class members in the Project tool window

  • Turn on the Show members item on the context menu of the Project tool window title bar.

If this option is on, the files in the tree that contain classes turn into nodes. When such node is unfolded, the contained classes with their fields, methods, and other members of the selected item are shown.

Last modified: 27 November 2018