Using IntelliJ IDEA F2, Alt+Enter, and Shift+Alt+Enter Shortcuts to Refactor and Optimize Java Code

Elegant and maintainable code is a hallmark of a good programmer, and IntelliJ IDEA provides several small yet powerful shortcuts that help achieve this. This article introduces a set of simple IDEA shortcut combinations that make code inspection and refactoring fast and intuitive.

F2 Function Key

After writing code, pressing F2 (or Shift+F2 to go upward) moves the cursor directly to the next error or suggestion, displaying a quick‑fix hint. The author shows a deliberately “messy” Java class as an example.

public class AltEnterHelper {
    private final String[] strArray = new String[]{"I", "Love", "IntelliJ IDEA", "so", "much"};

    public void error() {
        HashMap
strings = new HashMap<>();
    }

    public void lambda() {
        //lambda can be replaced with method reference
        sort(strArray, String::compareToIgnoreCase);

        //Statement lambda can be replaced with expression lambda, and then expand lambda expression body to {...}
        Function
fa = (Function function) -> {
            return function.compose(function);
        };

        //Remove redundant types
        Function
fb = (Function function) -> function.compose(function);
    }
}

Placing the cursor anywhere in the editor and pressing F2 jumps to the highlighted issue, and a tooltip offers a quick‑fix shortcut.

F2 – Jump to error or optimization point

Alt+Enter – Choose an optimization option

Enter – Confirm the selected option

The process is illustrated with animated GIFs showing the cursor movement and the quick‑fix menu.

Further optimization can be performed using Shift+Alt+Enter , which instantly applies the selected suggestion. Two additional examples demonstrate this workflow.

Conclusion

The author enjoys these tiny features because they make code look elegant and save time for other activities. Although the shortcuts are simple, they can significantly improve productivity and code quality.