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Eclipse allows you to open more than one text editing "window" at a time to get a "split screen" effect. This is great, but the problem I'm having is that there doesn't seem to be any way to switch between these windows, directly.

Now, you can use the usual commands (Ctrl+Page Down, CTRL+e, ALT+RIGHT, etc.) to switch between specific buffers. In other words, if I have window 1 with A.java and B.java open, and window 2 with C.java open, I can use Ctrl+Page Down to go from A, to B, to C. However, I can't just go from A or B (ie. from window 1) in to C (ie. to window 2), unless I use CTRL+e and type in "C.java".

There are half a million Eclipse commands though, and they're certainly not all labeled consistently, so it's quite possible I'm just failing to find the relevant command. Does anyone out there in SO-land happen to know it?

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3 Answers

up vote 9 down vote accepted

By default, its Ctrl+F6. However, its useful if you map you keys to Ctrl+Tab to switch between open editors like Windows.

You can change your preferred keys in Window>Preferences>General>Keys and change "Next Editor" to any key of your choice(Ex: Ctrl+Tab). Hope this is what you needed.

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Thanks, but CTRL+F6 is basically the same as CTRL+e, in that it gives you a list of open editors to choose from; the only difference is that CTRL+F6 lists all of the editors in both windows (CTRL+e only lists the current windows'). I'm looking for a command that just switches between Eclipse windows in the same way that ALT+TAB switches between actual (OS) windows (without me having to pick anything from a list). –  machineghost Feb 20 '12 at 19:36
I have Aptana installed, and they have their own "next editor" also. However, even when I use the Aptana "next editor" (which is mapped to CTRL+TAB), it still isn't quite what I'm looking for. It goes to the next editor, without prompting for a list, which is good. However, it just goes to the next editor, in either window, not to the current editor in the next window, which is what I'm looking for. –  machineghost Feb 20 '12 at 19:39
Pressing Ctrl+F6 just once also switches between two alternate windows as I can see which is same as windows default action of Alt+Tab. However if there are multiple windows open, obviously it'll ask u to choose which one to jump into. Or is there something else which I m not able to understand? Can u upload a screenshot of what kind of switching u r referring to. –  pansp Feb 20 '12 at 19:46
Ahhhh ... when I was doing it I was seeing the list pop up, so I was trying to select from it; I didn't realize I could just let go and have it switch. Thanks! –  machineghost Feb 20 '12 at 19:49
Happens.. :) Happy dat u got it.. U're welcome –  pansp Feb 20 '12 at 19:52
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This can be achieved easily if you are using Vrapper in Eclipse. Vrapper is a Vim plugin for Eclipse. If you are trying to maximize your productivity in Eclipse like we all are, it's well worth the try.

Once you got it installed, check out the Split Editor Plugin for Vrapper. You can then create splits on the fly and switch between them using the standard Vim shortcut: Ctrl-w w

Bonus: don't forget to maxmize your editors using Ctrl-m.
If your editor ever loses focus for some reason, regain it by pressing Ctrl-F12
Finally open any file in your project using Ctrl-Shift-r

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You can install the HandySplit plugin from Eclipse Marketplace and bind its 'Toggle focus between split editors' command to any keyboard shortcut you like.

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