IntelliJ IDEA 2023.2 Help

Tool windows

Tool windows provide access to development tasks: viewing your project structure, running and debugging your application, integration with version control systems and other external tools, code analysis, search, navigation, and so on. By default, tool windows are attached to the bottom and sides of the main window. However, you can rearrange and even detach them to use as separate windows, for example, on another monitor.

The following screenshot shows several common tool windows occupying the space around the editor:

Tool windows
  1. Project

  2. Structure tool window

  3. Run tool window

  4. Maven tool window

Some tool windows are always available (for example, Project and Structure), some are activated when a specific plugin is enabled or your project has a specific structure (for example, Maven, Gradle, and Spring), and some appear only when you perform a certain action (for example, Run, Debug, and Find).

For example, the Run tool window appears only after you run your code. It is accessible from the main menu View | Tool Windows | Run or using the shortcut Alt+4 as long as there is some output in the console, and you don't close all the tabs in it.

Open a tool window

To show or hide a tool window, do one of the following:

  • Go to a tool window under View | Tool Windows.

  • Use the corresponding shortcut, for example, Alt+1 to open the Project tool window . If there is no shortcut for a tool window, you can assign it as described in Configure keyboard shortcuts.

  • Click the corresponding tool window button on the tool window bar.

    Tool window bar

  • In the Classic UI, hover over the quick access button Icon for quick access to tool windows / the Tool windows icon in the lower left corner of the main window and select a tool window.

    Quick access to tool windows

Hide the active tool window

  1. Press Shift+Escape or select Window | Active Tool Window | Hide Active Tool Window from the main menu.

    To show the hidden tool window, use the shortcut assigned to it (go to View | Tool Windows to see the full list of tool windows with shortcuts).

  2. Right-click the tool window's icon on the toolbar and select Hide.

  3. Click the Hide button (the Hide icon) on the tool window's title bar.

To focus your attention on the editor, you can hide all tool windows and then when necessary, quickly restore all windows that were open when you've hidden them.

Hide or restore all tool windows

  • Press Control+Shift+F12.

  • Double-click the editor tab that you want to maximize. This will only work if Perform 'Hide All Tool Windows' / 'Restore Windows' with double-click on editor tab is enabled on the Advanced Settings page of the IDE settings Control+Alt+S.

  • Select Window | Active Tool Window | Hide All Windows/Restore Windows from the main menu.

  • To change focus from a tool window to the last caret location in the editor, press Escape.

  • If you selected a code item in a tool window, for example, a search result, a code issue, or a bookmark, press F4 to open the corresponding file and locate this item in the editor.

  • To change focus from the editor back to the last active tool window, press F12 or select Window | Active Tool Window | Jump to Last Tool Window from the main menu.

Tool window bars and buttons

Tool window bars on the sides of the main window contain the icons of tool windows. Click an icon to show or hide the tool window. Right-click a tool window icon to open the context menu, where you can hide or move the tool window. You can also drag tool window icons to rearrange tool windows.

Show or hide tool window icons

  • Select or clear Tool Window Bars from the main menu under View | Appearance.

When the tool window bars are hidden, you can double-press and hold Alt to show them.

Tool window bars on the edges of the main window contain buttons to show and hide tool windows. Right-click a tool window button to open its context menu, where you can change the viewing mode and move the tool window. You can also drag tool window buttons to rearrange tool windows.

Tool window bars

Show or hide tool window bars

  • Click the quick access button Icon for quick access to tool windows in the lower left corner of the main window to hide the tool window bars. The button changes to Icon for quick access to tool windows and you can click it to show the tool window bars.

  • Alternatively, select or clear Tool Window Bars from the main menu under View | Appearance.

When the tool window bars are hidden, you can double-press and hold Alt to show hidden tool window bars.

Tool window components

Generally, all tool windows have a title bar, a toolbar, and a content pane.

Components of a tool window

Some tool windows are also separated using tabs or a dropdown selector in the title bar, based on the functionality that it covers. Select Window | Active Tool Window | Group Tabs to show tabs. Disable this option to show a dropdown menu.

The Project tool window with the Group Tabs option enabled
The Project tool window with the Group Tabs option disabled

The title bar contains the tool window options menu The tool window options menu / Options for changing the viewing mode and the position of the tool window. You can also access these options by right-clicking the title bar or the tool window button. Some tool windows can have other options in this menu, depending on the functionality (for example, to sort, filter, and group items listed in a tool window).

Click the Hide button to hide the tool window and use other buttons that may be on the title bar, for example:

  • The Expand All button and The Collapse All button to expand and collapse the contents of the tool window

  • The Select Opened File button to locate and select the file from the editor in the tool window

Actions from the tool window toolbar are usually also available in the main menu and context menus. Some of them can also be executed with a default shortcut. You can assign shortcuts for actions as described in Configure keyboard shortcuts.

For all tool windows that display tree-like structures (for example, Project tool window) you can display vertical lines that mark indent levels in tree views and help you better understand the hierarchy of the components in your project. To display these lines, enable Show tree indent guides on the Appearance and Behavior | Appearance page of the IDE settings Control+Alt+S.

You can use the following shortcuts to manage IntelliJ IDEA's tool windows:

Hide Active Tool Window

Shift+Escape

Hide All Tool Windows

Control+Shift+F12

Jump to Last Tool Window

F12

Stretch to Left

Control+Alt+Shift+ArrowLeft

Stretch to Right

Control+Alt+Shift+ArrowRight

Stretch to Top

Control+Alt+Shift+ArrowUp

Stretch to Bottom

Control+Alt+Shift+ArrowDown

Show Project window

Alt+1

Show Bookmarks window

Alt+2

Show Find window

Alt+3

Show Run window

Alt+4

Show Debug window

Alt+5

Show Problems window

Alt+6

Show Structure window

Alt+7

Show Services window

Alt+8

Show Version Control window

Alt+9

Show Commit window

Alt+0

Show Terminal window

Alt+F12

Last modified: 16 October 2023