Why can't I type an asterisk in Eclipse?

Question

I just upgraded Eclipse from Juno to Kepler, and suddenly I can no longer type asterisks. I have to open up a text editor, type the asterisk there, then copy-paste it into Eclipse. I can type an asterisk in Eclipse when I am using Find/Replace, but I am unable to when I am editing a python or Java file.

check this link https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=411723 — meda, Aug 06 '13 at 19:25
That bug seems to indicate they had a multi-keystroke command shift+8+i. You might look at the key bindings. — Lee Meador, Aug 06 '13 at 19:29

score 10 · Answer 1 · edited Feb 25 '15 at 13:59

10

As shown in the image, the shortcut key shift+8 was assigned for the import command. You have to change this assignment by specifying a new one or removing it using the unbind command button.

Do the same for all the commands, click apply and then restart Eclipse.

Eclipse shortcut settings screenshot

edited Feb 25 '15 at 13:59

Bowdzone

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answered Feb 25 '15 at 13:34

HourGlass

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Not needed to restart eclipse (at least 2020-06) – asch Sep 01 '20 at 10:48

score 6 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 02 '13 at 23:13

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If you'd rather not hand-edit your workbench.xmi, you can also reassign the bindings by going to Eclipse > Preferences... > General > Keys. The two culprits in this case are "Import" and "Add to Working Set". (Scan the list of search results for the ones with ⇧8 in them, then reassign or unassign them entirely.)

answered Dec 02 '13 at 23:13

Arkaaito

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For some reason I had to restart Eclipse to get this working. – Raffi Khatchadourian Jun 25 '15 at 16:16

score 4 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 26 '13 at 11:02

4

Close eclipse. grep your workspace for SHIFT+8; it should return matches in workbench.xmi:

workspace/.metadata/.plugins > grep -R "SHIFT+8" *
org.eclipse.e4.workbench/workbench.xmi:    <bindings xmi:id="_aLHQwCaAEeOBOe4lOFe2qQ" keySequence="SHIFT+8 W" command="_eZ-6uoZrEeKW-cnY0IziBw">
org.eclipse.e4.workbench/workbench.xmi:    <bindings xmi:id="_aLH30CaAEeOBOe4lOFe2qQ" keySequence="SHIFT+8 I" command="_eZucD4ZrEeKW-cnY0IziBw">

Edit the workbench.xmi file and remove the binding elements. Restart eclipse and it should be fixed.

answered Sep 26 '13 at 11:02

dougal2

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I made this, but after I typo SHIFT+* this settings mysteriously recovered :( Any idea how to remove them permanently? – Babu Apr 16 '15 at 15:31
If I removed the key bindings, I am able to type * for a few days, until the error reoccurs. Any idea of what triggers this error? What is causing my computer to automatically generate this key binding in the first place? – Tot Zam Jun 02 '15 at 06:28

score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 24 '19 at 15:47

I had this same issue with Eclipse Photon, and fixed it by uninstalling the Eclipse SDK Test plugin. The fix was originally reported in this eclipse bug report.

Go to Help -> About Eclipse IDE -> Installation Details
Search for Eclipse * Test
Select the Eclipse SDK Tests
Uninstall
Restart Eclipse

score 1 · Answer 5 · answered Aug 06 '13 at 19:21

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Found a related post on Eclipse forums: http://www.eclipse.org/forums/index.php/m/1072966/?srch=asterisk#msg_1072966

answered Aug 06 '13 at 19:21

Dasmowenator

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Why can't I type an asterisk in Eclipse?

5 Answers5