Hello everyone. In the 2022.3 version, IntelliJ IDEA has introduced a new UI for all of you to use. The new UI experience is clean and minimalist, and those who prefer this style should find it quite appealing. The new UI version is currently in BETA, but I believe the future changes won’t be too significant. So, let’s explore how to enable this new UI and get a sneak peek at the experience ahead of time.

The version of IntelliJ IDEA used for this operation is 2022.3.2 (Community Edition).

How to enable the new UI

Enabling the new UI is a straightforward process. Just follow the steps below

1.Select “File” from the main menu and then choose “Settings…” or use the shortcut “Ctrl+Alt+S” to open the Settings page.

2.In the Settings page, type “New UI” in the search bar. You will find the “New UI Beta” option under “Appearance & Behavior.” Click on it, and in the right-hand panel, you will see the “Enable new UI” checkbox. Check the box, and then click on “Apply” in the lower-right corner.

3.Now you will notice that the background color of the UI has turned darker. At this point, click on the “OK” button.

4.A small dialog box will now appear, informing you that to enable the new UI effect, you must restart IntelliJ IDEA. Simply click on the “Restart Now” button to restart immediately.

5.After the restart, you will see the brand new UI.

Quick Tour of the New UI

The new interface indeed brings a fresh look. Now, let’s quickly explore the new UI according to the numbers in the following image.

Main Menu

By clicking on this location, you can access the main menu bar, which was previously located at the top of the old UI. This design choice helps to create a cleaner development interface.

Quickly switch projects.

Now you can switch between development projects directly here.

Now you can switch branches quickly.

At this location, you can now quickly switch Git branches and perform some basic Git operations directly here.

Commit window.

Project structure.

Here you can quickly view the project’s code structure.

More infrequently used tool windows.

Here you can find some infrequently used tools collected here, and if needed, we can reopen them.

Console Command Window

Here, we can conveniently enter commands.

Current Project Issues popup window.

When there are issues detected in the project or code, they will be displayed here.

Project Git window.

Here you can quickly view an overview of the various branches of the project.

This provides a guide to the current file location.

This allows you to conveniently know the current file’s location.

Switching Execution Environment Configuration

Here, you can quickly switch or add execution environment configurations.

Run code in regular mode.

Run code directly in regular mode and preview the execution result.

Run code in debug mode to analyze and debug the execution process.

Run code in debug mode, which allows us to pause the execution at breakpoints and facilitate code debugging.

Add a new coding collaborator.

Here, you can add new collaborators for collaborative coding.

Quick search.

Here, you can quickly search for files, classes, tools, or various interface settings.

IntelliJ IDEA Configuration

Here, you can make adjustments to IntelliJ IDEA configuration, including project structure, settings, plugin management, themes, and shortcuts.

Notifications

Various development tool-related suggestions, events, and errors will be displayed here.

Toggle Read-only Mode.

After clicking the padlock icon to lock it, the read-only mode will be activated. In this mode, code editing actions will be disabled, allowing us to safely read the code.