IntelliJ IDEA 2017.1 Help

Creating Empty Files

Generally, all the files that you create when developing applications are template-based. However, sometimes you may want to create empty files.

To create an empty file

  1. Do one of the following:
    • In the Project tool window, select the directory or package in which you want to create a new file, and then choose File | New on the main menu.
    • Right-click the corresponding directory or package and select New from the context menu.
    • Press Alt+Insert
  2. Select File.
  3. In the New File dialog, in the field underEnter a new file name, type the file name and extension.

    You can specify the whole directory structure prepending the new file name. If the nested directories do not yet exist, they will be created:

    /help/img/idea/2017.1/new_file.png
  4. Click OK.

    If the names of non-existent sub-directories were specified before the new file name, the whole structure will be created under the target directory:

    /help/img/idea/2017.1/new_file_with_subdir.png
  5. If the extension you have specified is not associated with any of the file types recognized by IntelliJ IDEA, the Register New File Type Association dialog is displayed. In this dialog, you can associate the extension with one of the recognized file types. To do that, select the file type under Open matching files in IntelliJ IDEA and click OK. As a result, the extension is associated with the specified file type.

See Also

Last modified: 18 July 2017