Missing .classpath file in Eclipse project

Question

I have recently returned to a project after not using it for a couple of weeks. The project was not created in Eclipse it was imported, and there is no '.classpath' file in the project workspace.

I am sure that previously I successfully added new .jar files by simply right clicking them and going to 'Add to build path', but thanks to an unrelated error I had to re-add the files to the build path, and now whenever I try to add a new .jar file I get the following error:

Error while adding a library

Reason:
Could not write file C:\Users\Charles\workspace\hive\.classpath

Or, if I try to add a file using Configure build path, I get the following error:

'Setting build path' has encountered a problem.

Could not write file:
C:\Users\Charles\workspace\hive\.classpath

I have earlier versions of this project prior to adding .jar files, and there is no .classpath file for any of them either, so I haven't accidentally deleted it at any point.

If anyone can help me out at all, I'd be ever so grateful (I desperately need to add these .jar files so I can do some actual work).

The thing that annoys me the most is I'm sure it worked before, but I have tried to do the same in earlier versions of the project and I am always getting the same error now.

Answer 1

I had the same problem. I had just setup a new PC, I transferred my projects to the new PC, clicked on the workspace directory, and changed the permission so that I (the 'me' on my new PC) owned all the files in all all sub-directories. However, even after doing this, eclipse couldn't write to the .classpath files. I verified that I could write to them using notepad, and that worked fine. I also verified that the O/S knew I was really the owner, but it didn't help. I also tried running as admin, but that didn't help either.

Then I found this link: http://blog.ryanrampersad.com/2010/03/03/setting-build-path-has-encountered-a-problem-in-eclipse/, which indicates that when you copy files to a windows7 machine, windows may set the 'hidden' attribute on the file, and when this happens, eclipse can't work with it. I did a find files from the workspace directory, looking for '.project' (and subsequently '.classpath'), and selected all the files, right-clicked, and un-checked the 'hidden' attribute. This fixed my problem.

Answer 2

The .classpath file in eclipse is a configuration file (in XML) which stores the project classpath properties. If it can't be written, perhaps it's an access problem. Right-click the file in windows explorer and check under the security tab to see if you have write permissions. You may have to run Eclipse as administrator.