Images

IntelliJ IDEA offers several ways to view images. You can use navigation to source or open an image in an external graphical editor.

Supported image formats

IntelliJ IDEA supports all popular image formats, such as PNG, SVG, JPG, and GIF, out of the box.

Find a full list of supported image file types

Open Settings by pressing Ctrl+Alt+S and go to Editor | File Types.
In the Recognized File Types list, locate the Image item. The File name patterns area shows a complete, version-accurate set of recognized extensions of image files that can be opened from IntelliJ IDEA.

Learn more about file types supported in IntelliJ IDEA from File type associations.

View images

View images in IntelliJ IDEA

In the Project tool window, find and select the image file.
Alternatively, place the caret at the reference to the image in the editor and press Ctrl+B.
To preview an image in a popup instead of in a separate tab, select the reference to it and press Ctrl+Shift+I.

View images in an external editor

In the Project tool window, right-click the image file and select Jump to external editor.
Alternatively, press Ctrl+Alt+F4.
IntelliJ IDEA opens the image in the editor that is used in your OS by default. You can configure another image editor in which the IDE will open files.

Change the default external editor

Right-click an image in the editor and select Edit Path to External Editor… from the context menu.
You can also press Ctrl+Shift+A and type Edit Path to External Editor.
In the Path to External Editor dialog, specify the path to the application in which you want to open images and click Save.

Import images

Example: Import an image

Images belong to resource files. They should be stored in a dedicated folder – Resources Root. If you do not have this folder in your project, create a new directory, right-click it in the Project tool window, and select Mark Directory As | Resources Root.

Copy the file in the file manager and then paste in to the folder with resource files in the IntelliJ IDEA Project tool window.
In the dialog that opens, edit the filename and the target location if necessary. Click OK.
Right-click the pasted image in the Project tool window and select Copy | Path from Source Root.
In the class in which you want to use the image, place the caret at the necessary line and press Ctrl+V to paste the path to the image.
Run your application or a fragment of it to make sure that the image is inserted correctly.

16 July 2026