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- Written by Nam Ha Minh
- Last Updated on 16 February 2020   |   Print Email
Today we would like to share with you a couple of tips on how to manage copyright license header for Java source files using NetBeans IDE. If the license is important to your project, let’s get it managed properly and painlessly.By default, NetBeans adds the following license text at the beginning of every Java file you created:
And of course you want to change this meaningless license header. In fact, NetBeans allows you to change this license header, as per the instruction right in the text of the default license. But the change takes effect only for new files created afterward. How about old files with old license text? In that case, you have to manually update license for the old files, unless you install and use a plugin called
License Changer which is dedicated to solve the license problem.Let’s look at how to change license header using NetBean’s default feature first.
1. Changing License Headers for Project
In NetBeans, right click on a project then select
Properties. Then select
License Headers in the
Project Properties dialog:
Here you can replace the default license with a pre-defined one or your own. If you intend to use an open source license for your project i.e. GPL, click on the drop-down list next to the option
Use global license to select one:
NetBeans provides templates common open source licenses for your convenience. You can use it out of the box, or edit one if needed. Click the
Edit global licenses button brings the
Template Manager dialog that allows you to edit a specific license:
Select a license template, and then click
Open in Editor. NetBeans will open a new editor just like the code editor. Once you have done editing, press
Ctrl + S to save the changes. From now on, NetBeans will append the selected license to every new Java file you create.
NOTE: A global license applies to all projects. In case you want to have your own copyright license which is specific to only one project, choose the option
Use project location in the
Project Properties dialog:
Then enter your own license text inside the text area, and click
OK to finish. From now on, every new Java class will be appended the customized license. For example:
But how about existing files which need to be updated as well? In this case, we recommend you install and use a great plugin call
License Changer.
2. Using License Changer Plugin
The most useful feature of this plugin is that it allows us to replace license headers for all existing files in the project with just few clicks in some simple wizards. Head over to the following link to download this plugin:
http://plugins.netbeans.org/plugin/17960/license-changerClick
Download button, you are prompted to download a file with the following name:
1395994281_org-netbeans-modules-licensechanger.nbmNow in Netbeans, go to
Tools > Plugins to open the
Plugins dialog. Select the
Downloaded tab:
Click
Add Plugins button and choose the
.nbm file you have downloaded previously. This causes NetBeans to load information about the plugin:
Click
Install to proceed to the next screen:
Click
Next to continue. The
License Agreement screen appears:
Accept and click
Install. You may get the following warning message:
Click
Continue to begin the installation. It should be installed very quickly. Finally NetBeans asks to restart the IDE:
Choose
Restart IDE Now and click
Finish.So far we have installed the
License Changer plugin. Now, let’s see how to use this plugin to update copyright license for existing source files.Right click on source folder or on a Java package, and select
Tools > Change License Header:
The
Change License Headers dialog appears:
This screen allows us to choose which types of files whose license headers need to be updated. By default Java files are selected, just click
Next to continue. The
Choose License Header screen appears:
In this step, choose a pre-defined license header in the drop-down list or click the
Browse button to select your own license file (in .txt format). Here we choose the
Lesser GPL 2.1 license. And then click
Next.The next screen allows us to review which folders to be updated:
You can uncheck folders that should be ignored, and click
Next. The last screen allows us to preview the changes:
This is a very cool feature. And finally click
Finish to apply changes to all the source files.
Other NetBeans Tutorials:
About the Author:
Nam Ha Minh is certified Java programmer (SCJP and SCWCD). He started programming with Java in the time of Java 1.4 and has been falling in love with Java since then. Make friend with him on
Facebook and watch
his Java videos you YouTube.