Force.com IDE

(Redirected from Apex Toolkit for Eclipse)

Develop, test, and deploy applications on the Force.com platform.

The Force.com IDE is a powerful client application for creating, modifying, testing and deploying Force.com applications. Based on the Eclipse platform, it provides a comfortable environment for programmers familiar with integrated development environments, allowing you to code, compile, test, and deploy all from within the IDE itself.

Check out the Installation section to get started immediately, or read An Introduction to the Force.com IDE.

Major Features

Apex Code The Force.com IDE is the only tool you need to write and manage Apex classes and triggers. It locates syntax errors and displays inline auto-complete tips for Apex built-in objects. The Apex Test Runner executes unit tests and integrates error messages, debug output, and code coverage reports. Learn more about Apex.

Visualforce Create and edit Visualforce pages, components, static resources, and controllers. Learn more about Visualforce.

Application Components Download and edit all metadata components available in the Metadata API. Create Eclipse projects containing definitions of your Force.com schema, tabs, applications, and more! Edit these components directly in the IDE and changes are saved back to your organization automatically.

Deployment Develop and test your project against a Sandbox or Developer Edition organization, then deploy the finished application into your production organization with the Deploy to Server wizard.

Online Project Mode Keep your local metadata files up to date with your Salesforce organization and easily detect and resolve conflicting changes.

Schema Explorer View your Salesforce organization's schema and construct and execute SOQL queries from within the Force.com IDE. Similar to the Apex Explorer, the Schema Explorer shows information about all standard and custom objects and fields.

Code Share Apply Force.com application lifecycle management best practices through integration with any Eclipse-enabled version control system. Teams can now collaborate on the development, testing and deployment of their PaaS applications. Learn more about Code Share.

Coming in Spring '10

The new Force.com IDE for Spring '10 will be released on April 19th. Here's a highlight of what's new:

Eclipse 3.5 Support lets you use the Force.com IDE plugin with the Galileo release of the Eclipse Platform.
Downloadable Installer will make it easier than ever to get started with Force.com development in Eclipse.
New Metadata Support for Winter '10 and Spring '10 adds Lookup Filters, List Views on Standard Objects, EntitlementTemplates and more. See the Metadata API Developer's Guide Preview for details.

What's New in Summer '09

The Summer '09 release of the Force.com IDE contains the following major new features:

Eclipse 3.4 Support lets you use the Force.com IDE plugin with the Ganymede release of the Eclipse Platform. Beginning with Summer '09, Eclipse 3.2.2 is no longer a supported platform.
New Metadata Support for Summer '09 adds Analytic Snapshots, as well as updates to the formats for Schema Objects, Apex, Visualforce, and more. See the Metadata API Developer's Guide for details.
Summer '09 Upgrade Wizard seamlessly upgrades any Force.com project created in the Spring '09 (v15) or Winter '09 (v14) IDE.

See the Summer '09 Release Notes for a full description.

Installation

Start developing applications today with the Force.com IDE. Sign up for a free Developer Edition account, then follow the Force.com IDE installation instructions below.

Note: The Force.com IDE is not supported on Eclipse 3.5.