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Basics

IntelliJ IDEA allows you to work with several projects simultaneously, each one in a separate window. The projects are independent, and cannot share information, except for the Clipboard operations. All the projects run in the same instance of IntelliJ IDEA and use the same memory space.

This behavior is controlled by the options in the section Project opening in the System Settings page of the Preferences dialog.

Opening project in a new window

To open a project in a new window, follow these steps
  1. Open a project, while another one is already open.
  2. Depending on the selected behavior:
    • If the option Open project in a new window is selected, IntelliJ IDEA will silently open new project in a new window.
    • If the option Confirm window to open project in is selected, IntelliJ IDEA will prompt you to specify whether you want to open project in a new window, or close the current project and reuse the existing window.

      ../../Shared/openProjectInNewFrame.png

      Click the New Window button to leave the current project in its window and open the new one in a separate window.

      Click This Window button to close the current project and opening the new one in the same window.

IntelliJ IDEA suggests to memorize your choice by selecting the check box Remember, don't ask again.