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It seems to me these two views are virtually identical, especially since Galileo. Is this true, or am I missing out on some features of one or the other?

Epaga
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7 Answers7

84

According to the Eclipse help, the Project Explorer

provides a hierarchical view of the artifacts in the Workbench, which is customized by the specific configuration of your Workbench.

With only the Java Developer Tools (JDT) installed, Project Explorer nearly looks and behaves same for Java Projects as the Package Explorer (including refactoring and other source code operations in the Context Menu). But Project Explorer is usable for other languages and project types as well.

Additional plugins contributes "extra information" to the Project Explorer view making it much more "sophisticated".

For example: if you have Dynamic Web Project and web tools installed, Project Explorer shows you additional tree nodes like Deployment Descriptor & JavaScript Resources. You can see (and configure) all available contributions in Project Explorer / Customize View... / Content. If you use SpringSource Tool Suite 2.1.0, have additional nodes for web projects, spring beans and web services.

Atul KS
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Csaba_H
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    "the Package Explorer shows you additional tree nodes" - did you mean "the Project Explorer shows you additional tree nodes"? – Petr Gladkikh Dec 28 '09 at 09:01
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    Also, the Project Explorer doesn't open a project on double click - the Package Explorer does. – Kirill Rakhman Oct 17 '11 at 17:35
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    One thing the Project Explorer is missing (that really bugs me) is "Other Projects" when working with Working Sets so you can "lose" projects pretty easily. You can track/vote for this issue at https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=266030. – studgeek Sep 18 '12 at 00:03
  • Another issues is that some plug-ins add functionality to only one of the project/package explorer views. For example the PexTools which gives you context menu opening of an explorer window for directory of a file, works only in package explorer – thedrs Aug 07 '15 at 17:51
  • @KirillRakhman Now `Project Explorer` opens projects with double click. Tested on version 2019-03. – Marco Sulla Jul 16 '19 at 13:54
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I believe the Project Explorer is meant as the successor for the Navigator, and is (for the most part) language-agnostic.

The Package Explorer is specifically for Java projects, that's why it has stuff like refactoring in its context menus. The Package Explorer also shows Java classes and packages (as the name implies), while the Project Explorer shows folders and .java files.

sleske
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  • Interestingly 'Navigator' supports horizontal scrolling whereas 'Package Explorer' does not - please upvote: https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=201984 – Daniel Sokolowski Sep 15 '14 at 14:39
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Some differences I see (in Juno) on a Java project:

  • In Project Explorer, context menu > New gives common Java artifacts, like Class, Interface, Enum, package... In Package Explorer, I see various kind of Projects, Web service, Folder, File, etc.
  • In Package Explorer, I can drag'n'drop a class file between two packages, it will automatically do the refactoring (move and change package, and imports in other classes). Project Explorer just won't allow me to do a drag'n'drop.
  • And as said, Project Explorer shows more information, eg. a Deployment Description, JavaScript resources, Deployed Resources, etc. whereas the Package Explorer is Java-centric.

That's why I keep the two tabs side-by-side. :-)

PhiLho
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One thing I just noticed is that, at least when developing Java Android apps, Projects will not show up in the Package Explorer if their project.properties file is borked or non-existent.

I had only been using the Package Explorer and had the Project Explorer hidden, and I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out why my imported project wouldn't show up. My console was saying the project had no .properties file but it was not visible for me to right click -> fix properties. Then I opened the Project explorer and it was there as it should be.

McGarnagle
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mmseng
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My Project Explorer hides folders that belong to a source code management system while the Package Explorer shows e.g. the .git folder. Also, the Package Explorer offers more options that work with the source code, e.g. the refactoring stuff.

Bombe
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One reason for preferring the Package Explorer is it is the only explorer that appears in the list when you select "Show In" on a file that is being edited or has been found in the Search view.

Steve Chambers
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  • Project Explorer - This is an instance of the CommonNavigator that is provided by the org.eclipse.ui.navigator.resources plugin. It provides a view of the workspace and has a large number of NCEs(Navigator Content Extensions ) contributed for resources, Java, C, Web Tools, Data Tools, PHP, etc. Source
  • Project Explorer additional nodes for web projects, enterprise projects, spring beans and web services.
  • Package Explorer - Provided by the Java Development Tools (JDT) UI project, this provides a view of Java classes for the workspace.
Premraj
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