CLion 2018.2 Help

Refactoring Source Code

Refactoring is a process of improving your source code without creating a new functionality. Refactoring helps you keep your code solid, dry, and easy to maintain.

Invoke refactoring

  1. Select an item to refactor. You can select a file/folder in the Project tool window or expression/symbol in the editor.

  2. Press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+T to open a pop-up list of refactorings that can be selected.

    cl refactoring invoke
    Alternatively, you can press a shortcut for a specific refactoring.

  3. If you need to undo your refactoring, press Ctrl+Z.

Preview refactoring changes

For some refactorings CLion provides an option to preview the changes before applying them.

  1. To see the potential changes and make the necessary adjustments, click Preview in the refactoring-specific dialog.

    cl refactoring dialog

  2. Check the changes that are going to be made in the Find tool window.

    cl refactoring preview

  3. Click Do Refactor (Alt+D) to proceed with the changes.

Resolve conflicts

When CLion encounters problems with your refactoring, it opens a dialog with the list of conflicts and their brief descriptions.

cl refactoring conflicts dialog
  • Click Continue to ignore the problem and proceed to open the preview in the Find tool window.

  • Click Show Conflicts in View to open the conflict entries in the Find tool window and deal with them further.

    For example, you can try to exclude an entry from refactoring by pressing Delete or click Cancel and return to the editor.

    cl refactoring conflicts toolwindow

Configure refactoring settings

  1. Press Ctrl+Alt+S and from the options on the right, select Editor | General.

  2. On the General page, in the Refactorings section, adjust the refactoring options and click OK.

Last modified: 27 November 2018

See Also