Q:

Eclipse correct way to add dependency to another Maven project?

I have three maven projects all under active development, One is a common library the other two perform ui tasks and use the common project.
In eclipse what is the alternative of adding the common library project as a dependency manually like so:
 build path -> require projects on the build path

A:

Maven is the build tool, eclipse an IDE. You should focus on the Build Tool, so add the dependency in the maven typic pom.xml.
You could only add dependencys that have been downloaded into your local repository!
In your case you have to install your dependency into your local repository. This is done by the mvn install command. You could call it by rightclick on the pom.xml file of the dependency you like to use, select run-as->maven install.

