IntelliJ IDEA 2016.2 Help

Rename Refactorings

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Basics

Rename refactorings allow you to rename symbols with all the references to them in the code corrected automatically.

The following rename refactorings are available in IntelliJ IDEA:

  • Rename Package. The following usages are renamed:
    • Package statements
    • Import statements
    • Qualified names of classes
  • Rename Class. The following usages are renamed:

    • Import statements
    • Qualified names of classes
    • Variables with the selected class type
    • Class inheritors
  • Rename Method. The following usages are renamed:
    • All calls of the method.
    • All overridden/implemented methods in subclasses.
  • Rename Field.
  • Rename Function.
  • Rename Variable.
  • Rename Parameter. The following usages are renamed:
    • All usages of the parameter.
    • The corresponding param tag in documentation comment.
  • Rename CSS color value.
  • Rename File.
  • Rename Directory.
  • Rename views and references to views in the Grails applications.

Example

BeforeAfter
public class MyClass { // some code here } ... public void myMethod() { MyClass myClass = new MyClass(); }
public class YourClass { // some code here } ... public void myMethod() { YourClass yourClass = new YourClass(); }

Renaming a symbol

To rename a symbol, follow these general steps

  1. Select the item to be renamed.
    • To select a file, click the desired file in the Project tool window.
    • To select a symbol in the editor, place the caret at the name of the symbol to be renamed.
    • To select a symbol in the Project tool window, make sure that the members are shown, and then click the desired symbol.
    • To select a symbol in the Structure view, click the desired symbol in the Structure tool window.
  2. Choose Refactor | Rename on the main menu or on the context menu, or press Shift+F6.
  3. The subsequent behavior depends on the check box Enable in-place mode ( Settings | Editor ).
    • If this check box is selected, the suggested name appears right below the symbol in question. You can either accept suggestion, or type a new name. However, if you press Shift+F6 once more, IntelliJ IDEA will display the Rename dialog box with more options.
    • If this check box is not selected, the Rename dialog box opens immediately.

    The set of controls and their names depend on the type of the symbol to be renamed.

  4. If you want IntelliJ IDEA to find and rename objects related to the renamed class, whose names contain the changed string, check one or more of the following options:
    • Rename variables to rename the variables of that class type.
    • Rename inheritors to rename class inheritors.
    • Rename bound forms to rename the GUI forms bound to the class.

    If you chose to rename any of the objects bound to the renamed class, IntelliJ IDEA searches for appropriate items and displays them in a sequence of dialogs, sorted by type. In each dialog you may select the items you want to change.

  5. Preview and apply changes.

Renaming a file or directory

To rename a file or directory

  1. Select a desired file in the Project tool window.
  2. Choose Refactor | Rename on the main or context menu or press Shift+F6.
  3. In Rename File dialog box that opens, specify the new file name. Select Search in comments and strings checkbox to let IntelliJ IDEA apply changes to comments and strings.
  4. Press Preview to observe possible changes in Find Tool Window. Press Refactor to proceed.

    IntelliJ IDEA finds all the occurrences of the file name and changes them respectively.

Important notes

See Also

Last modified: 23 November 2016