Automatic reloading of Java class resources in IntelliJ IDEA

Question

In Eclipse, when developing web apps, for example, any changes to HTML files inside packages are automatically reflected when viewed in browsers even when the program is running.

This does not seem to be the case in IntelliJ IDEA. So I need to re-run the program every time I make small changes to HTML. Is there a setting that will enable this, or is it not possible at all?

Answer 1

Eclipse automatically makes your project by default, while IntelliJ doesn't. That explains the difference of behaviour.

You can "make" (Ctrl+F9) manually as yo need to reload resources. You shouldn't have to restart your app, and it should be really faster.

Or you can enable it in your compiler settings but could produce some freezing of your environment so that is may be not what you want.

Answer 2

When an application is being debugged in IntellJ IDEA, you can reload all the changed classes and resources from the menu:

Run -> Reload Changed Classes

If you are debugging a war with Refresh resources on frame enabled, then the reload process is done automatically.