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
Select an item to refactor. You can select a file/folder in the Project tool window or expression/symbol in the editor.
Press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+T to open a pop-up list of refactorings that can be selected. Alternatively, you can press a shortcut for a specific refactoring.
If you need to undo your refactoring, press Ctrl+Z.
Preview refactoring changes
For some refactorings IntelliJ IDEA provides an option to preview the changes before applying them.
To see the potential changes and make the necessary adjustments, click Preview in the refactoring-specific dialog.
Check the changes that are going to be made in the Find tool window.
Click Do Refactor (Alt+D) to proceed with the changes.
Resolve conflicts
When IntelliJ IDEA encounters problems with your refactoring, it opens a dialog with the list of conflicts and their brief descriptions.
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.
Configure refactoring settings
Press Ctrl+Alt+S and from the options on the right, select Editor | General.
On the General page, in the Refactorings section, adjust the refactoring options and click OK.
The most popular refactorings supported in IntelliJ IDEA
Safe Delete
Alt+Delete
Makes sure that you do not delete files that are referenced in your source code.
