Setting up IntelliJ IDEA with Java 1.8/1.7 and resolve "java: System Java Compiler was not found in classpath"

Question

Let's make the long story short. Here is what happened:

1. IntelliJ 12 CE downloaded and installed
2. Latest Java 1.7/1.8 downloaded and installed
3. JDK was setup to make and run the project

I faced the following strange error:

Error: java: System Java Compiler was not found in classpath

This was despite of the fact that I had Java 1.7/1.8 fully installed and had no problems working with it through the terminal.

Answer 1

The solution that fixed my problem was as follows:

In:

Project Settings > Compiler > Java Compiler

I changed the drop down Use compiler from Javac to Eclipse!

Non of the other solutions I found on the web was helpful. Hope this helps you my unknown fellow reader.

IMPORTANT: THIS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH MY JAVA_HOME AS IT WAS SET CORRECTLY.

Answer 2

You need to set environment variable JAVA_HOME. The IDE will check that variable on startup.

And enter the path to the home dir of installed JDK. Once it started it should point to the JDK used to run IDE. In this case the new compiler will be available among compilers already configured. You can always configure any new compiler using IDE compiler settings.