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eclipsetomcatfilesystemwatcher

In Eclipse how to make local tomcat server republish WITHOUT Eclipse being in the foreground


I am developing a Java/JSP/Javascript web app using Eclipse Oxygen and its local Tomcat 8.5 server fairly with the standard config:

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This works excellently if I do all work in Eclipse: On each resource change everything is republished. Great!

However the JavaScript part I want to develop in another IDE (WebStorm) which uses the same source directory as Eclipse. When I save a file from the external IDE, Tomcat does pick up the resource change only if I bring Eclipse to the foreground. This is cumbersome.

How can I configure the Eclipse Tomcat Server to either:

  • republish periodically (regardless of resource changes)

or

  • republish on file system resource changes, not Eclipse resource changes.

Solution

  • You can do so by editing the workspace preferences:

    Navigate to Window -> Preferences -> General -> Workspace and activate the following checkboxes:

    • Refresh using native hooks or polling
    • Refresh on access

    This should (with a delay of some seconds) refresh, build and deploy resources when changed by a foreign application.