Yes, eclipse is a very visual and GUI oriented IDE. But this does not mean that everything is mouse oriented. While programming I have my hands on the keyboard. So I want to do as much as possible with shortcuts and the keyboard. The good news is that eclipse comes with a great set of helpers built-in. Here is my list of my favorite hotkeys and shortcuts…

F3 — Jumps to include file or variable declaration/definition. If you want to use the mouse for this, press the Ctrl key and hover over the source with the mouse. Shortcut for Navigate > Open Declaration. Alt+Left and Alt+Right — Navigate through my source to back and forward. Shortcuts for Navigate > Back and Navigate > Forward and Backward. Ctrl+Space — Content assist which proposes methods/member variables and more based on my typing. Start typing with a. and it will show me the struct members. Shortcut for Edit > Content Assist: Ctrl+3 — Quick Access let me go to views, perspectives and more. Shortcut for Window > Navigation > Quick Access: Ctrl+M — Maximizes the current view or editor. Press Ctrl+M again and it goes back to the previous size. Shortcut for Window > Navigation > Maximize Active View or Editor. Ctrl+Shift+/ — Insert block comment, remove it again with Ctrl+Shift+\. Shortcut for Source > Add Block Comment. Depending on your keyboard layout you might re-assign this short cut (e.g. if on your keyboard ‘/’ is only reached with the Shift key). Ctrl+Shift+T — Open an element with wildcard support. Shortcut for Navigate > Open Element: Ctrl+F7— Switch to next view. Pressing again Ctrl+F7 let you iterate to the next view. Use Ctrl+Shift+F7 for previous view. Shortcut for Window > Navigation > Next View: Ctrl+Alt+h — Opens the call hierarchy. Shortcut for Navigate > Open Call Hierarchy: Ctrl-O — Open the Quick Outline View. Shortcut for Navigate > Quick Outline:

If you do not like the shortcuts (or key bindings): go to Window > Preferences > General > Keys and change the bindings:

I admit: this is my personal list. If you know about a ‘secret’ shortcut which you would like to see on this list, post a comment.

Happy short cutting