Searching the workbench

In this section, you will search the workbench for Java elements.

In the Search dialog, you can perform file, text or Java searches. Java searches operate on the structure of the code. With File Search you can search files by name and/or text content. Indexing makes Java searches faster, while searches on text content will allow you to find matches inside comments and strings.

Performing a JDT search

1.
In the Java perspective, click the Search button in the workbench toolbar or use Search > Java from the menu bar.
2.
If it is not already selected, select the Java Search tab.
3.
In the Search string field, type runTest. In the Search For area, select Method, and in the Limit To area, select References.
Verify that the Scope is set to Workspace.
Java Search page
Then click Search. While searching  you may click Cancel at any time to stop the search. Partial results will be shown.
4.
In the Java perspective, the Search view shows the search results.
Search results view
Use the Show Next Match and Show Previous Match buttons to navigate to each match. If the file in which the match was found is not currently open, it is opened in an editor.
5.
Note that when you navigate to a search match using the Search view buttons, the file opens in the editor at the position of the match. Search matches are tagged with a search marker in the marker bar.
Editor with Search marker

From a Java view

Java searches can be performed from several views, including the Outline, Hierarchy view or the Package Explorer view.

1.
In the Package Explorer view, double-click junit.framework.Assert.java to open it in an editor.
2.
In the Outline view, select the fail(String) method, and from its context menu, select References > Workspace.
Search context menu in Outline view

From an editor

From the Package Explorer view, open junit.framework.TestCase.java. In the editor, select the class name TestCase and from the context menu, select Search > References > Workspace.
Search context menu in editor
 

From the search view

The Search Results view shows the results for the TestCase search. Select a search result and open the context menu. You can continue searching the selected element's references and declarations.
Search context menu in Search results view
 

Performing a file search


1.
In the Java perspective, click the Search button in the workbench toolbar or select Search > File from the menu bar.
2.
If it is not already selected, select the File Search tab.
3.
In the Containing text field, type TestCase. In the File name patterns field, make sure that is set to *.java. The Scope should be set to Workspace.
Then click Search
File search tab
4. To find all files with a given file name pattern, leave the Containing Text field empty.

Viewing previous search results

In the Search Results view, click the arrow next to the Previous Search Results button to see a menu containing the list of the most recent searches. The list can be cleared by invoking Clear History from this menu.
Previous search results menu
 
The Previous Search Results button will display a dialog with the list of all previous searches from the current session.
Previous search results dialog
 
Select any one of these previous searches either in the menu or in the dialog to review the results of the selected search.