Configure Chameleon to recognize outdated terminology

In this article you will learn how to configure outdated terminology in the Chameleon plugin for the IntelliJ Platform.

Prerequisites

You need:

A copy of a Chameleon distribution. Apply for a 30-day free trial in case you don’t currently have a distribution.
To install Chameleon

How to configure

In order to ease refactoring outdated terminology you should configure them in Chameleon. These are the steps to take:

Open the Preferences panel.
Navigate to the Tools > Legacy Terms section in the left column.
Add a Legacy Term (Shift ⇧ + N) by clicking on the 𝌆 button (right next to the - button).
After selecting a Legacy Term from the list, add a Replacement (⌘ + N) by clicking on the + button.
You can add multiple Replacement options to a Legacy Term. After selecting a Legacy Term from the list, add another replacement (⌘ + N) by clicking on the + button again.
You can add another Legacy Term (Shift ⇧ + N) by clicking on the 𝌆 button (right next to the - button).
Remove a Legacy Term and all Replacement options by selecting a Legacy Term from the list and then Removing it (⌘ + N) by clicking on the − button.

⚠️ When you remove a Legacy Term the list of Legacy Terms will still display the Term due to a bug (we are sorry 😭). Click Apply. Then close the Preferences panel and reopen it in order to see an accurate list.

Next steps

Now that Chameleon understands which outdated terminology you want to get rid of, it is time to start refactoring.

Refactor an outdated term

Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues with configuring outdated terminology, then the most pragmatic way to resolve them is to remove the .idea/legacy-term.xml configuration file in the root of your project. Now you should be able to reconfigure Chameleon.