How do I get IntelliJ IDEA to display directories?

Question

I've been trying out IntelliJ IDEA for JavaScript editing, and I like it so far, but I'm having a small problem with a new project.

I can't seem to be able to get IDEA to display the directories in the project directory in the Project view. Even if I manually add a directory, it refuses to display it.

I think this probably has something to do with the fact that it tries to apply Java conventions, but when I imported an old Eclipse project, it showed all directories just fine.

Do I have to use Eclipse to create projects and import in IDEA to get the directories visible, or is there some other trick?

I am using IDEA version 8.1.3, and the code is just a plain bunch of HTML and JavaScript files, not in any kind of a Java environment.

Answer 1

It appears I need to manually create a Java module (File->New Module) inside the project to actually see the "proper" directory view. I do wonder why it didn't show up when I created it with the project.

Answer 2

Just me own 2c. I used "New" -> "Module from existing sources" to get IntelliJ to show folders and files from inside a Github Java project. Hope this helps someone.

Answer 3

Current more straightforward logic:

• remove the .idea/ folder
• select in Idea File -> New project.
• in left menu select Web Module, and then set up project folder
• you're done!

Answer 4

I had a test folder which wasn't displaying in IntelliJ. It turned out that it had no files in it, IntelliJ was only showing folders that had some files in them. When i manually added files in test folder via Explorer, it reflected back in IDE.

Answer 5

It happens sometime. You need to go to the configuration (Project Settings) and add the Source folder as content root and then possibly set source/resource etc. from the configuration tab. Apply all the changes and you should be done.

Answer 6

Simplest way to do this!

Reading some of the other answers, they require you to go into Project Structure -> Modules and check that the sources are not excluded.

But in my case - there are no modules defined in the project at all, so that didn't help.

To easily create a module for your project and therefore show the folder structure -

• Go to File menu -> New -> Project...
• Select Static Web. Note: it does not matter if your project is "web" or not!
• Hit next, then fill in the same Project Name: and Project location: as you have already.
• IntelliJ will say "File Already Exists" - "Would you like to overwrite it?" - answer Yes.

Bam! Your Project Pane with the Project view selected should now instantly show the folder structure of your project.

If you have a maven project, you will need to add the root pom.xml in the Maven Projects window.

And if you want to add java to your project later, you should probably configure a JDK also.