Smart Keys

Last modified: 02 August 2022

Settings/Preferences | Editor | General | Smart Keys

Use this page to enable or disable specific smart keys and to define which actions you want to be invoked automatically.

Item

Description

Home moves caret to first non-whitespace character

When this checkbox is selected, on pressing Home, the caret is positioned at the first non-whitespace character of the current line. Pressing Home subsequently moves the caret from the Smart Home position to the first column and back.

End on blank line moves caret to indent position

When this checkbox is selected, on pressing End in an empty line, the caret is positioned with the indent, which IntelliJ IDEA assumes to be reasonable in the current code point (indentation is based on the current Code Style Settings).

Insert pair brackets (), [], {}, <>

Select this checkbox to have IntelliJ IDEA automatically add a closing bracket for each typed opening bracket, respectively.

Insert pair quote

Select this checkbox to have IntelliJ IDEA automatically add a closing single or double quote for each typed opening single or double quote, respectively.

Reformat block on typing '}'

If this checkbox is selected, then, on typing the closing curly brace, the enclosed code block is reformatted automatically, if the formatting of this code block does not match the selected code style.

Use "CamelHumps" words

Select this checkbox to have IntelliJ IDEA discern separate words within CamelHump names. Words within a name should start with a capital letter or an underscore. This option impacts some editor actions, for example:

  • Caret Move Ctrl+Right/Ctrl+Left

  • Caret Move with Selection (Ctrl+Shift+Right/Ctrl+Shift+Left)

  • Select Word at Caret Ctrl+W

  • Delete to Word Start/End (Ctrl+Backspace and Ctrl+Delete respectively)

  • Double-clicking (if Honor "CamelHumps" word settings when selecting using double click is enabled).

IntelliJ IDEA also provides similar actions that work in a mode opposite to the one selected in the Use 'CamelHumps' words setting:

  • Move Caret to Previous Word in Different "CamelHumps" mode

  • Move Caret to Previous Word with Selection in Different "CamelHumps" mode

  • Move Caret to Next Word in Different "CamelHumps" mode

  • Move Caret to Next Word with Selection in Different "CamelHumps" mode

  • Delete to Word End in Different "CamelHumps" mode

  • Delete to Word Start in Different "CamelHumps" mode

For example, If Use 'CamelHumps' words is enabled, the action Move Caret to Next Word in Different "CamelHumps" mode moves the caret to the end of word regardless of uppercase characters in this word; if Use 'CamelHumps' words is disabled, then the caret moves to the next CamelHump within this word.

These actions have no default keyboard shortcuts, and are not included in the menus but you can invoke them from Go to Action Ctrl+Shift+A:

Alternative actions for CamelHump navigation

You can bind them with the shortcuts of your choice as described in the section Configure keyboard shortcuts.

Honor "CamelHumps" words settings when selecting on double click

Select this checkbox to have IntelliJ IDEA invoke the CamelHumps selection when words are selected by double-clicking.

This feature works only if the Use 'CamelHumps' words option is enabled.

Surround selection on typing quote or brace

If this checkbox is selected, the selected text on typing a quote, double-quote or brace, will be surrounded with these characters. If this checkbox is not selected, then the typed quotes, double-quotes or braces will replace the selection.

Add multiple carets on double Ctrl with arrow keys

If this checkbox is selected, then:

  • pressing Ctrl plus up/down arrow keys leads to creating multiple carets.

  • pressing Ctrl plus left/right arrow keys or Home/End leads to creating a selection.

For more information, see the Multicursor section.

Jump outside closing bracket/quote with Tab when typing

If this checkbox is selected, pressing Tab when typing inside brackets/quotes will move the caret outside the closing bracket/quote. If this checkbox is not selected, pressing Tab will insert the Tab character.

Note that this only works on initial typing: during subsequent editing, pressing Tab inside brackets/quotes will insert the Tab character.

Enter

Use this area to define the actions to be invoked by pressing Enter.

  • Smart indent: select this checkbox to have IntelliJ IDEA add a new line and position the caret at it, with the indent that IntelliJ IDEA assumes to be reasonable in the current point of code (indentation is based on the current Code Style settings).

    If the checkbox is cleared, upon pressing Enter in a blank line, IntelliJ IDEA adds a new line and positions the caret at the current non-space character column.

  • Insert pair '}': select this checkbox to have IntelliJ IDEA automatically position a closing brace } at the proper column when Enter is pressed in an empty line. In this case IntelliJ IDEA seeks backward for the nearest unclosed opening brace { and places the closing one at the corresponding indentation level.

  • Insert documentation comment stub: this checkbox defines the behavior on pressing Enter after the opening documentation comment. This functionality works only for JavaScript , Java, Groovy, and Swift.

    • If this checkbox is selected, IntelliJ IDEA generates a documentation comment stub.

      For the method comments, this stub contains the required tags (@param tags for each method parameter, @return, or @throws). Refer to Javadocs and JSDoc comments for details.

    • If this checkbox is not selected, only the closing part of the comment is generated.

    warning

    Note that this checkbox refers to JavaScript, Java, and other languages that have special beginning of documentation comments.

Unindent on Backspace

Use this list to define the actions to be invoked by pressing Backspace key. The available options are:

  • Disabled: pressing Backspace returns the caret by one position at a time.

  • To nearest indent position

  • To proper indent position

Reformat on paste

Use this list to specify how to place pasted code blocks. The available options are:

  • None: the pasted code is inserted at the caret location as plain text without any reformatting or indenting.

  • Indent block: the pasted code block is positioned at the proper indentation level, according to the current Code Style Settings, but its inner structure is not changed.

  • Indent each line: each line of the pasted code block is positioned at the proper indentation level, according to the current Code Style Settings.

  • Reformat block: the pasted code block is reformatted according to the current Code Style Settings.

tip

This feature is applicable to lines that contain the trailing line feed characters.

JavaDoc

Use this area to configure smart keys options for JavaDoc.

  • Automatically insert closing tag in JavaDoc: select this option if you want IntelliJ IDEA to add a closing tag for your code in the JavaDoc comments. In this case IntelliJ IDEA places the caret inside the tag. For example, if you type <b>, the closing tag </b> will be generated automatically.

Insert pair '%>' on Enter in JSP

Select this checkbox to have IntelliJ IDEA automatically position the opening angle bracket < at the proper column when entered in an empty line in JSP code. In this case IntelliJ IDEA seeks backward for the nearest unclosed angle bracket and places a closing one > at the corresponding indentation level.

Kotlin

Use this area to configure the smart keys options for Kotlin.

  • Convert pasted Java code to Kotlin: select this option to convert any Java code to Kotlin on paste. IntelliJ IDEA displays the Convert Code from Java dialog. If you don't want IntelliJ IDEA to show the dialog, select the Don't show Java to Kotlin conversion dialog on paste option.

HTML/CSS

Use this page to configure the editor behavior for HTML, XML, and CSS.

Item

Description

XML/HTML

In this area, define the actions to be invoked automatically when editing XML or HTML code.

  • Insert closing tag on tag completion: select this checkbox to have IntelliJ IDEA automatically insert a closing XML or HTML tag upon entering the corresponding opening one.

  • Insert required attributes on tag completion: select this checkbox to have IntelliJ IDEA display a template with all mandatory attributes of the typed tag.

  • Insert required subtags on tag completion: select this checkbox to have IntelliJ IDEA display a template with all mandatory subtags.

  • Start attribute on tag completion: select this checkbox to have IntelliJ IDEA display a template with the first mandatory attribute of the typed tag.

  • Add quotes for attribute value on typing '=' and attribute completion: select this checkbox to have IntelliJ IDEA automatically add quotes for the value of the attribute that you are currently typing.

  • Auto-close tag on typing '</': select this checkbox to automatically add a closing tag after entering </. Clear this checkbox to turn off such auto-completion.

  • Simultaneous <tag></tag> editing: When this checkbox is selected and you edit an opening tag the corresponding closing tag is automatically changed accordingly.

    If this checkbox is cleared, editing the opening tag does not affect the closing tag which remains unchanged. As a result, the opening and closing tags do not match and the entire construct is underlined as erroneous.

    The Simultaneous <tag></tag> editing checkbox controls the behaviour of IntelliJ IDEA in the following contexts:

    • HTML files

    • HTML injections within JavaScript code

    • HTML with Handlebars/Mustache templates

    • Handlebars/Mustache template files with the extension .hbs

    • XML, XHTML files

    • DTD files

    • JSX files

    • JSP files

    • HTML injections in PHP files

CSS

In this area, define the selection of CSS identifiers/classes:

  • Select whole CSS identifier on double-click: if this checkbox is selected, double-clicking a CSS identifier or class name selects the entire name up to the prefix. For example, double-clicking gray within <div class="text-gray-600"> select the whole class name text-gray -600:

    Select whole CSS identifier on double-click: ON

    If this checkbox is cleared, double-clicking a CSS identifier or class name selects a portion of the name up to of within the nearest hyphens:

    Select whole CSS identifier on double-click: OFF

JSON

Use this page to configure the editor behavior for JSON.

Item

Description

JSON

The settings in this area control automatic adding of commas, quotes, and whitespaces in JSON context in compliance with the JSON syntax.

Ultimate
JavaScript

Use this page to configure the editor behavior for JavaScript.

Item

Description

Start template string interpolation on typing '$'

Select this checkbox to insert expressions with normal strings after the $ sign. See Expression interpolation for details.

Escape text on paste in string literals

By default, IntelliJ IDEA automatically inserts backslash escape symbols (\) when you paste text into a JavaScript string. Clear the checkbox to suppress automatic text escaping.

Convert attributes when pasting HTML into JSX files

By default, when you copy a piece of HTML code with class attributes or on-event handlers and paste it into JSX, IntelliJ IDEA automatically replaces these attributes with React-specific ones (className, onClick, onChange, and so on.)

To copy HTML code to JSX "as is", clear the checkbox or use Paste Simple Ctrl+Alt+Shift+V.

Insert parentheses on completion

By default, this option is turned on and IntelliJ IDEA automatically inserts a pair of opening and closing parentheses when you complete a function/method.

https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2021.2/ws_smart_keys_insert_parentheses_on.png
Gif

Clear the checkbox to suppress inserting parentheses automatically.

note

If you use an opening parentheses ( instead of Enter) to apply the selected item from a completion list, parentheses will be inserted automatically no matter whether the option is turned on or off.

https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2021.2/ws_smart_keys_insert_parentheses_off.png
Gif

Ultimate
SQL

Use this page to configure the eiditor behavior for SQL.

Item

Description

Insert string concatenation on Enter

You may want to turn this option off, if the DBMS you are working with supports multiline string literals:

Say, there is the following fragment for PostgreSQL text value notes:

SET notes = 'Lightest element'

and the cursor is in front of the word element.

If the option is on, and you press Enter, the fragment will change to:

SET notes = 'Lightest ' ||
            'element'

Otherwise, the fragment will change to:

SET notes = 'Lightest
element'

Close code blocks on Enter

When you start a code block with an opening keyword (BEGIN, LOOP, BEGIN TRY, and others) and press Enter, the code block closes with the corresponding closing keywords (END, END LOOP, END TRY, and others).

https://resources.jetbrains.com/help/img/idea/2021.2/db_close_code_blocks_on_enter.png
Gif

Qualify object on code completion

The selected option defines how the name of an object is inserted in the editor when using the code completion suggestion box.

  • Always: the qualified object names are always used, for example <schema_name>.<object_name>.

  • On collisions: the qualified object name is used only if the short name is ambiguous, for example when there is the object with the same name in more than one schema.

  • Never: the unqualified object names are always used.

Yaml

Use this page to configure the editor behavior for Yaml.

Item

Description

Auto expand key sequences upon paste

With this option selected, IntelliJ IDEA properly formats key sequences when you paste them from the clipboard. For example, the key2.another_key sequence pasted from the clipboard will be displayed with the correct hierarchy.

Auto expand key sequences upon paste is on

Otherwise, if the option is cleared, key sequences are pasted from the clipboard "as is", hierarchy is not preserved, and consequently proper highlighting is not provided.

Auto expand key sequences upon paste is off

Scala

Use this page to configure the behavior of the editor in the Scala context.

Item

Description

Insert pair quotes for multiline string

With this option selected, IntelliJ IDEA inserts closing triple quotes when you try to add a multiline string. Scala triple quotes

Wrap single expression body with closing brace after '{'

With this option selected, IntelliJ IDEA wraps the body of an expression with braces.

Upgrade simple string into interpolated after ${

With this option selected, IntelliJ IDEA recognizes the interpolated string and adds a closing brace when you insert ${ inside a simple string. Scala interpolated string

Python

Use this page to configure the behavior of the editor in the Python context.

Item

Description

Smart indent pasted lines

With this option selected (by default), IntelliJ IDEA respects the PEP8 indent when you insert a code fragment.

Smart indent pasted lines

Insert backslash when pressing Enter inside the statement

With this option selected (by default), IntelliJ IDEA adds \ to keep integrity of the statement when you press Enter and split it.

Insert backslash when pressing Enter inside the statement

Insert 'self' when defining a method

With this option selected (by default), IntelliJ IDEA adds self to the method declaration.

Insert 'self' when defining a method

Insert type placeholders in the documentation comment stub.

With this option selected, IntelliJ IDEA creates a placeholder to enter the type in the documentation comments. The placeholder is added for all docstring formats but Plain.

Insert type placeholders in the documentation comment stub

Ultimate
PHP

Use this page to define the behavior of the editor in the PHP context.

Item

Description

Enable smart function parameters completion

When this checkbox is selected, you can use the “automatic” live template that provides completion lists for the parameters passed into functions, methods, or class constructors.

To invoke the magic live template, type the params keyword as the first parameter in the call of the function, method, or class:

Smart parameters completion.png

IntelliJ IDEA displays a live template where the parameters are automatically completed with the variable names defined in the function declaration. To move to the next parameter, press Enter or Tab. To move to the previous parameter, press Shift+Tab.

The completion list contains variables from a local scope in the next order: with the same type, with a similar name, defined nearby. You can always switch to the usual completion mode by pressing Ctrl+Space or just typing anything which is not in the list. Variables with similar names are inserted automatically.

Select variable name without '$' sign on double click

When this checkbox is selected, only the variable name that follows the $ sign is selected on double-click or pressing Ctrl+W. This is helpful if you often need to copy variable names without $: just double-click and copy the selection.

If you still need a variable name with $ selected, position the caret before the $ sign and double-click it or press Ctrl+W.

Remove PHP open/close tags while pasting in PHP context

If selected, IntelliJ IDEA automatically removes the opening and closing <?php ?> tags from the pasted Java code snippets.

Escape symbols on paste in string literals

If selected, IntelliJ IDEA automatically inserts backslash escape symbols (\) when you paste text into a PHP string literal. For example, 'copied text' becomes \'copied text\'.

Clear the checkbox to suppress automatic symbols escaping.

Replace unnecessary double quotes on paste

If selected, IntelliJ IDEA automatically replaces unnecessary double quotes with single quotes in pasted string literals. Such cases include the literals that do not contain string interpolation, escape sequences, or single quotes. For example, echo "message" becomes echo 'message', while echo "Error: $message" remains intact.

Auto-insert '<?php' tag after typing '<?'

If selected, IntelliJ IDEA automatically inserts the <?php opening tag when you type the <? short tag. Note that short tags are deprecated in PHP 7.4, and are planned for removal in PHP 8.0. See the RFC for details.

Auto-insert semicolon when it is typed inside a function call

If selected, IntelliJ IDEA automatically moves the semicolon symbol ; to the end of a function/method call when you type it after the last parameter inside the call. For example, foo($a, $b;) becomes foo($a, $b);

Show additional options when searching for method usages

If selected, when you search for usages of a method, IntelliJ IDEA will prompt you to choose whether you want to find usages of a base method or method's implementations.

Ultimate
Ruby

Use this page to define the behavior of the editor in the Ruby context.

Item

Description

Start ruby interpolation in strings on #

Enable this option to add curly braces automatically after typing # within a double-quoted string.

Continue comments on Enter

If enabled, IntelliJ IDEA will automatically insert # on the next line after pressing Enter.

See also

Procedures