Project tool window
The Project tool window lets you take a look at your project from various viewpoints and perform different tasks such as creating new items (directories, files, classes, and so on) , opening files in the editor, navigating to the necessary code fragments, and more.
By default, the Project tool window shows your current project root.
Most of the functions in this tool window are accessed as context menu commands in the content pane and via associated shortcuts.
Also, the view contains the Scratches and Consoles folder that lets you manage created scratch files and extension scripts.
Views
You can use Project tool window to view your project tree or a certain scope of files:
Project view. This view displays all the project items along with their dependencies (SDKs and libraries) .
Scope views (Project Files, Open Files, and so on). These views display the contents of the predefined and user-defined scopes.
The elements of the views are highlighted following the scope-color associations defined in the File Colors dialog and the scope-associated overlay icons.
You can also display each view in a separate tab: click 
and disable the Group Tabs option.
Preview files
There are two ways to preview files without opening each one in a separate tab:
Use the file preview popup: select a file in the Project tool window and press Space.
Enable the preview tab: click
and select .
Show file size and modification timestamp
You can view the size and modification timestamp for the files in the project tree.
In the Project tool window, click
and select .
Show tree indent guides
In the Project tool window , you can display vertical lines that mark indent levels and help you better understand the hierarchy of the components in your project.
Press Ctrl+Alt+S to open settings and then select .
Enable the Show indent guides option.
header context menu
The context menu that appears by right-clicking the header or clicking the Options button () provides settings for project views.
The following table lists and briefly explains the available commands and options.
Item | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
Behavior | ||
Enable Preview Tab | Enable the preview tab that allows you to view files in a single tab one by one without opening each file in a new tab. | |
Open Files with Single Click | Open an item in the editor by clicking it in the Project tool window once. Otherwise, you need to double-click items to open them. Note that you cannot disable this option if you enable the preview tab. | |
Open Directories with Single Click | Expand and collapse directories in the Project tool window by clicking them once. Otherwise, you need to double-click a directory to open it or use the | |
Always Select Opened File | If this option is on, CLion automatically locates documents that you open in the editor in the current view of this window. | |
Appearance | ||
Scratches and Consoles | Hide or display the Scratches and Consoles node. This node contains your scratch files and query consoles. | |
Customize Tree Views | Navigate to to configure options for tree views. | |
Sort By | ||
Name | Sort files alphabetically by their names. The option does not affect the order of folders, they are always sorted alphabetically. | |
Type | Sort files by their extensions. The option does not affect the order of folders, they are always sorted alphabetically. | |
Modification Time (Newest First/Oldest First) | Sort files by the time they were modified. To display this information, select from the main menu. The option does not affect the order of folders, they are always sorted alphabetically. | |
Folders Always on Top | If the option is on, folders are shown above the files. Otherwise, all items are sorted alphabetically, and files and folders appear intermixed. | |
Speed Search | Ctrl+F | Search for an item. Learn more from Speed Search in tool windows |
View Mode | This option lets you control general appearance and behavior of the tool window. For full information, refer to Viewing modes. | |
Move to | To associate the tool window with a different tool window bar, select this command, and then select the destination tool window bar (Top, Left, Bottom or Right). For full information, refer to the Move tool windows chapter. | |
Resize | To resize the tool window by moving one of its borders, select this command, and then select the necessary Stretch to option. Note that this command is not available for the floating mode. | |
Remove from Sidebar | This command hides the tool window, removes the associated tool window button from the tool window bar, and removes the tool window from the quick access menu ( To open the tool window again (and restore the associated features), use the main menu: or press Alt+1. | |
Hide | Shift+Escape | Hide the tool window. |
Help | This command opens the description of the Project tool window in the CLion online help. | |
icon next to the directory's name.
or 
).Content pane
The content pane shows the project items such as directories, files, and other elements.
Files marked with blue overlay badges 
are source files (for CMake projects, if a file icon does not have this overlay badge, it means that the file is not included in CMakeLists.txt).
Item | Description |
|---|---|
| A folder (directory). Different folder categories have different colors.
|
| External Libraries, a category for grouping third party software associated with the project. The node is only shown when the Project view is selected. |
| Your scratch files and consoles are grouped under this node. |
File status highlights
If VCS integration is enabled for the current project, CLion uses colors to denote VCS file status in the Project tool window.
You can configure VCS file status colors on the Version Control | File Status Colors page of settings Ctrl+Alt+S.
The table below lists default file status colors and their meanings in some of the color schemes.
Color | File Status | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Added | The file in the active changelist is scheduled for addition to the repository. |
| Added in not active changelist | The file in an inactive changelist is scheduled for addition to the repository. This file status is available if the Highlight files from non-active changelists option is enabled in . |
| Changelist conflict | The file in an inactive changelist has been modified in the active changelist. In this case, a new dialog will open, prompting you to resolve the changelist conflict. This file status is available if all options are enabled in . |
| Copied | If a file is a copy of another file, its metadata is tracked, and such a file is marked as copied. |
| Deleted | The file is scheduled for deletion from the repository. |
| Deleted from file system | The file has been deleted locally but hasn't been scheduled for deletion, and it still exists in the repository. |
| Have changed descendants | If a file is modified, the IDE will recursively highlight all directories containing that file. This status is available if the Highlight directories that contain modified files in the Project tree option is enabled in . |
| Have immediate changed children | If a file is modified, the IDE will highlight its parent directory. This status is available if the Highlight directories that contain modified files in the Project tree option is enabled in . |
| Hijacked | [Perforce, ClearCase, VSS] The file is modified without checkout. |
| Ignored | A file is intentionally untracked by VCS. |
| Merged | The file is merged by your VCS as a result of an update. |
| Merged with conflicts | During the last update, the file has been merged with conflicts. |
| Merged with property conflicts | During the last update, the IDE has detected differences between the properties of the local file and its server version. |
| Merged with text and property conflicts | Text and property conflicts happen when two or more developers modify the same lines of a file and the same file properties. |
| Modified | The file has changed since the last synchronization. |
| Modified in not active changelist | The file in an inactive changelist has been modified. This file status is available if the Highlight files from non-active changelists option is enabled in . |
| Obsolete | The file should no longer be in your working copy of the repository. |
| Renamed | Since the last update, the file has been renamed. |
| Switched | [SVN] The file is taken from a different branch than the whole project. |
| (Unknown) Unversioned | The file exists locally but is not in the repository and is not scheduled for addition. |
| Up to date | The file hasn't been changed. |
None (default color)Color | File Status | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Added | The file in the active changelist is scheduled for addition to the repository. |
| Added in not active changelist | The file in an inactive changelist is scheduled for addition to the repository. This file status is available if the Highlight files from non-active changelists option is enabled in . |
| Changelist conflict | The file in an inactive changelist has been modified in the active changelist. In this case, a new dialog will open, prompting you to resolve the changelist conflict. This file status is available if all options are enabled in . |
| Copied | If a file is a copy of another file, its metadata is tracked, and such a file is marked as copied. |
| Deleted | The file is scheduled for deletion from the repository. |
| Deleted from file system | The file has been deleted locally but hasn't been scheduled for deletion, and it still exists in the repository. |
| Have changed descendants | If a file is modified, the IDE will recursively highlight all directories containing that file. This status is available if the Highlight directories that contain modified files in the Project tree option is enabled in . |
| Have immediate changed children | If a file is modified, the IDE will highlight its parent directory. This status is available if the Highlight directories that contain modified files in the Project tree option is enabled in . |
| Hijacked | [Perforce, ClearCase, VSS] The file is modified without checkout. |
| Ignored | A file is intentionally untracked by VCS. |
| Merged | The file is merged by your VCS as a result of an update. |
| Merged with conflicts | During the last update, the file has been merged with conflicts. |
| Merged with property conflicts | During the last update, the IDE has detected differences between the properties of the local file and its server version. |
| Merged with text and property conflicts | Text and property conflicts happen when two or more developers modify the same lines of a file and the same file properties. |
| Modified | The file has changed since the last synchronization. |
| Modified in not active changelist | The file in an inactive changelist has been modified. This file status is available if the Highlight files from non-active changelists option is enabled in . |
| Obsolete | The file should no longer be in your working copy of the repository. |
| Renamed | Since the last update, the file has been renamed. |
| Switched | [SVN] The file is taken from a different branch than the whole project. |
| (Unknown) Unversioned | The file exists locally but is not in the repository and is not scheduled for addition. |
| Up to date | The file hasn't been changed. |
None (default color)
Color | File Status | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Added | The file in the active changelist is scheduled for addition to the repository. |
| Added in not active changelist | The file in an inactive changelist is scheduled for addition to the repository. This file status is available if the Highlight files from non-active changelists option is enabled in . |
| Changelist conflict | The file in an inactive changelist has been modified in the active changelist. In this case, a new dialog will open, prompting you to resolve the changelist conflict. This file status is available if all options are enabled in . |
| Copied | If a file is a copy of another file, its metadata is tracked, and such a file is marked as copied. |
| Deleted | The file is scheduled for deletion from the repository. |
| Deleted from file system | The file has been deleted locally but hasn't been scheduled for deletion, and it still exists in the repository. |
| Have changed descendants | If a file is modified, the IDE will recursively highlight all directories containing that file. This status is available if the Highlight directories that contain modified files in the Project tree option is enabled in . |
| Have immediate changed children | If a file is modified, the IDE will highlight its parent directory. This status is available if the Highlight directories that contain modified files in the Project tree option is enabled in . |
| Hijacked | [Perforce, ClearCase, VSS] The file is modified without checkout. |
| Ignored | A file is intentionally untracked by VCS. |
| Merged | The file is merged by your VCS as a result of an update. |
| Merged with conflicts | During the last update, the file has been merged with conflicts. |
| Merged with property conflicts | During the last update, the IDE has detected differences between the properties of the local file and its server version. |
| Merged with text and property conflicts | Text and property conflicts happen when two or more developers modify the same lines of a file and the same file properties. |
| Modified | The file has changed since the last synchronization. |
| Modified in not active changelist | The file in an inactive changelist has been modified. This file status is available if the Highlight files from non-active changelists option is enabled in . |
| Obsolete | The file should no longer be in your working copy of the repository. |
| Renamed | Since the last update, the file has been renamed. |
| Switched | [SVN] The file is taken from a different branch than the whole project. |
| (Unknown) Unversioned | The file exists locally but is not in the repository and is not scheduled for addition. |
| Up to date | The file hasn't been changed. |
File colors
Files that belong to different scopes (production files or test files, for example) can be highlighted in different colors in the Project tool window , search results, and editor tabs.
To each scope, you can assign its own color. For more information, refer to Associate scopes with colors.
