Creating files from templates

Do one of the following:

• In the Project tool window Alt01, select the directory in which you want to create a new file, and then choose File | New from the main menu.

• Right-click the corresponding directory and select New from the context menu.

• Press AltInsert.

Select the desired file type. Generally, all the options except File and Directory correspond to using a file template.

An existing file template may be missing from the list if this is a custom template whose filename extension (template extension) does not match the registered patterns of any of the recognized file types. In such a case, you may want to register the corresponding pattern for an existing recognized file type or add a new file type and register the corresponding pattern for this new type. For more information, refer to File type associations.

In the dialog that opens, type the name of the file in the corresponding field. Note that you should not type the filename extension.

You can specify the whole directory structure prepending the new filename. If the nested directories do not yet exist, they will be created.

If required, specify the kind of the new template-based file, its extension, and other parameters.

For example, if you select to create a PHP class, you'll be able to create a class, interface, and so on, or, in other words, use one of the corresponding related file templates. For more information, refer to Creating PHP classes.

Specify other information as required. For example, you may be asked to define the values of custom variables if the corresponding file template contains such variables and their values are not currently set.

Click OK. The new file that corresponds to the selected file template will be created under the target location.

If the names of non-existent sub-directories were specified before the new filename, the whole structure will be created under the target directory :

Sometimes, you may want to change the auto-generated filename extension. To do that, use the Rename refactoring (Refactor | Rename).