What I want to do: I want Eclipse to see the directories that are in the workspace folder, and treat them all as projects. The directories have previously been projects, and all the metadata, .project and similar files are there. What I did: 1) install new OS on new hard disk 2) restore Eclipse workspace directory from backup (as c:\java\user\workspace) 3) install EasyEclipse When I do this, Eclipse asks me for a workspace directory, and I point it at my workspace. However, the workspace that comes up is empty. I can't find any way to synchronize the workspace with the projects (directories) that are already there. If I try to create a new project of the same name, I can't, because "that name already exists." Help?

I moved my disk image over to where it's supposed to be (from temp drive where I made sure everything works to an actual RAID array), re-assigned drive letters, and then tried again, and now it works. I don't quite know why, but at least now it does work.

Vista 64, baby!

With a new installation you should have an empty, virgin workspace; at this point there is

File -> Import... -> General -> Existing Projects into Workspace

to resurrect all your old projects without tricks.

Personally, I never recycle Eclipse workspaces; a clean start is worth re-entering preferences.

Quote:Original post by tstrimp
Eclipse's project management is awkward to say the least. Why they couldn't have a simple, open existing project like VS I'll never understand.

Eclipse projects are rarely self-contained: for practical purposes the "project", compiled as a whole and used for search, cross-referencing and reporting purposes, is the whole workspace.
Eclipse projects are subdivisions and classifications, useful to disable pieces of the codebase (closed projects) and to customize options and dependencies (project properties and build path).
I'm used to large numbers (52 at the moment) of Eclipse projects corresponding to bona fide modules that are completely distinct from source control to compilation (with separate Ant or Maven scripts to separate jar files); deciding what pieces I want to use is nontrivial but useful.