How to import a Zipped project into Eclipse

Table of contents:

Extract .zip file
Import project
Check the build path

Extract .zip file

Once you downloaded the archive locally, extract the content in "My Documents" folder. Preserve the folder structure of archive.

The folder containing the ".project" extracted file will be referred as the project directory. For instance, the PhonebookLab.zip project, once extracted in "My Documents", will look like the following.

Unzipped Project

Import project

It is now possible to import the project into Eclipse.

From "File" menu, select "Import"
In the dialog window select "Existing Project into Workspace" and click "Next"
Click on "Browse..." and select the project directory; Eclipse will recognize the project name. Click on "Finish"
Now the project shows up in the list of available Eclipse projects.

Chech the build path

If the project is using external libraries (e.g., junit.jar), it may be the case that build path is not correct. This is due to libraries (jar files) that are in a different location on the local host, w.r.t. the path specified in Eclipse.

To solve the problem, follow theese steps:

Select the project
Right click, then select "Properties"
Select the Java Build Path node
"Libraries" tab will show jar files that are used in the project

In case of problems, missing libraries are showed. To solve the problem, remove the faulty library and add it again with correct path.

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Last modified: September, 30 2005