How to Add JARs to Project Build Paths in Eclipse (Java)

1. 1
   Expand the lib folder in Eclipse. Click the arrow to the left of the folder to expand it.
2. 2
   Select all the JARs you need. Hold ⇧ Shift and click the JARs in the expanded folder.
3. 3
   Right-click the JARs. This opens a pop-up menu to the right.
4. 4
   Navigate to Build Path . Placing the mouse cursor over "Build Path" displays a submenu to the left.
5. 5
   Select Add to Build Path . The JARs will disappear from lib and reappear in Referenced Libraries .
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1. 1
   Right-click the project name. This displays a pop-up menu to the right.
2. 2
   Navigate to Build Path . It's in the pop-up menu that displays when you right-click on the project name. This displays a sub-menu to the right.
3. 3
   Click Configure Build Path . The project properties window will appear showing your build path configurations.
4. 4
   Select the Libraries tab. It's at the top of the project properties window.
5. 5
   Click Add JARs . It's on the right side of the project properties window.
6. 6
   Select the JARs you want and click OK . The JARs will now appear in the list of libraries in the build path.
7. 7
   Click OK to close the properties window. The JARs will now be in Referenced Libraries instead of lib .
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1. 1
   Right-click the project name. This displays a pop-up menu to the right.

   • Note: It is much better to reference JARs that exist in your project or in other projects - this allows you to check in all of your dependencies to your version control system.
2. 2
   Navigate to Build Path . This displays a sub-menu to the right.
3. 3
   Click Configure Build Path . The project properties window will appear showing your build path configurations.
4. 4
   Click Add Variable . It's to the right of the project properties window.
5. 5
   Click Configure Variables . It's at the bottom of the New Variables window.
6. 6
   Click New . It's at the bottom of the preferences window.
7. 7
   Type a name for the new variable. For example, if these are JARs for Tomcat, perhaps you could call it "TOMCAT_JARS".
8. 8
   Browse to the directory that contains the JAR for the path. Click the Folder button and browse to the directory that contains the JAR path.

   • You can also Click File and select a specific jar file for the variable, if you prefer.
9. 9
   Click OK . This defines the variables.
10. 10
    Click OK . This closes the preferences dialog.
11. 11
    Select the variable from the list. Click the variable to select it.
12. 12
    Click Extend . It's the button to the right of the list of variables.
13. 13
    Select the JAR(s) that you want to add to the classpath. Click to select the JARs. Hold ⇧ Shift to select multiple JARs.
14. 14
    Click OK . This closes the extend dialog window.
15. 15
    Click OK . This closes the new classpath variable dialog.
16. 16
    Click OK . This closes the build path setup dialog.

    • If you share the project with someone else, they must also define the variable. They can define it under Window -> Preferences -> Java -> Build Path -> Classpath Variables .
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Adding External JARs (Alternative Method 1)

1. 1
   Right-click the project name. This displays a pop-up menu to the side.

   • Note: If you use this method, the external JAR will need to be in the same location on the hard drive for anyone who uses this project. This can make sharing a common project more difficult.
2. 2
   Navigate to Build Path . This displays a sub-menu to the right.
3. 3
   Click Add External Archives . It's in the Build Path sub-menu.
   
   
4. 4
   Select the JARs you want and click Open . The JARs will now appear in Referenced Libraries .
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1. 1
   Right-click the project name. This displays a pop-up menu to the right.

   • Note: If you use this method, the external JAR will need to be in the same location on the hard drive for anyone who uses this project. This can make sharing a common project more difficult.
2. 2
   Navigate to Build Path . It's in the pop-up menu that appears when you right-click the project name.
3. 3
   Click Configure Build Path . The project properties window will appear showing your build path configurations.
4. 4
   Select the Libraries tab. It's at the top of the project properties window.
5. 5
   Click Add External JARs . It's on the right side of the project properties window.
6. 6
   Select the JARs you want and click Open . The JARs will now appear in the list of libraries in the build path.
7. 7
   Click OK to close the properties window. The JARs will now be in Referenced Libraries .
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