Chapter 3. The Editor

The editor is the core and strongest feature of IntelliJ IDEA. This is the part of the IDE where IntelliJ IDEA really shines and shows its huge potential. In this chapter, we will have an overview of the editor, set it up, use state of the art code completion and hints, discuss how to effectively navigate through the files, quickly display code documentation, and get to know how to compare files and folders. We will also set up and use powerful features of Live Templates. You will spend most of your development time in the editor, so we will focus on productivity tips and the most useful keyboard shortcuts throughout the chapter.

We will cover the following topics in this chapter:

• An overview of the editor and setup
• Navigating in the editor
• The editor basics
• Using Live Templates and postfix completion
• Comparing files and folders
• Looking for help