# Open Resource

This dialog allows you to browse the workbench for a file to open in an editor

- Select an item to open: In this field, type the first few characters of the name of the file you want to select.

  The following pattern kinds are supported:

  Wildcards:
  - "*" for any string and "?" for any character
  - terminating "<" or " " (space) to prevent the automatic prefix matching, e.g. "M*file<" to match `Makefile` and `MockFile` but not `MakeTheFiles`
  Camel case:
  - "CS" for file names containing "C" and "S" as upper-case letters in camel-case notation, e.g. `CreateStuff.java`
  - "CreSNo" for file names containing "Cre", "S", and "No" as parts in camel-case notation, e.g. `CreateStuffNow.jsp`
  - terminating "<" or " " (space) to fix the number of camel-case parts, e.g. "CreS<" matches "CreateStuff.java", but not "CreateStuffNow.jsp" nor "Createstuff.txt".
  Folder prefixes:

  Both pattern kinds also support folder prefixes. If the pattern contains a /, the part before the last / is used to match a path in the workspace, e.g. "org.eclipse.ui/plugin.xml".
  Or a bit more complex: "*/ui</pack*.html" matches e.g. files called "package.html" in a folder named "ui" (but not in folders like "uitools" or "*/ui/internal").

  Relative paths:

  For example, "./Mak" matches all files starting with "Mak" in the folder of the active editor or selection, while "../Mak" matches such files in the parent folder.

- Matching items: This list displays matches for the pattern you type in the Select an item to open field.
  - Recently opened files show up in a history section at the top of the list.
  - If the pattern matches many files with the same name, the files that are closer to the currently edited or selected resource are shown on top of the matching items list.

The Open button opens the file with the default editor for the chosen file. A different editor can be selected in the context menu on a file or in the drop-down button besides the Open button.

The behavior of the Open Resource dialog can be further customized using the dialog menu:

Open Resource Options
Option | Description | Default
--- | --- | ---
Show Status Line | When selected, the Open Resource dialog shows an additional bar at the bottom of the dialog which displays the full path of the selected file. | Show status line
Show Derived Resources | When selected, the Open Resource dialog also shows derived resources. | Do not show derived resources
Working Set actions | The search scope can be restricted by selecting one or more working sets or the global Window Working Set. | Show all files in the workspace.

Opening Resources

Working sets
Navigate actions