# Options Window: Java: Ant

Use to configure Ant settings that effect the behavior of Ant in the IDE.

Element | Description
--- | ---
Ant Home | Specifies the installation directory of the Ant executable used by the IDE. You can change Ant versions by typing the full path to a new Ant installation directory in this property or clicking Change to browse to the location. You can only switch between versions 1.5.3 and higher of Ant. The Ant installation directory must contain a `lib/` subdirectory which contains the `ant.jar` binary. For example, for the standard Ant 1.5.4 release, the Ant installation directory is `ant/lib/apache-ant-1.5.4`. If you enter a directory that does not match this structure, the IDE gives you an error. You can also specify the following options:
Save All Modified Files | If selected, saves all unsaved files in the IDE before running Ant. It is recommended to leave this property selected because modifications to files in the IDE are not recognized by Ant unless they are first saved to disk.
Reuse Output Tabs | If selected, writes Ant output to a single Output window tab, deleting the output from the previous process. If not selected, opens a new tab for each Ant process.
Always Show Output | If selected, the IDE always fronts the Output window for all Ant processes. If not selected, the IDE fronts the Output window tab only when the Ant output requires user input or contains a hyperlink. Output that contains hyperlinks usually denotes an error or warning. This option is deselected by default.
Verbosity Level | Sets the amount of compilation output. You can set the verbosity lower to suppress informational messages or higher to get more detailed information.
Classpath | Contains binaries and libraries that are added to Ant's classpath. Click Manage Classpath to open the Classpath Editor.
Properties | Configures custom properties to pass to an Ant script each time you call Ant. Click Manage Properties to edit the properties in the property editor. This property is similar to the Ant command-line option, `-Dkey=value`. The following default properties are available: `${build.compiler.emacs}`. If you are compiling using Jikes (build.compiler=jikes), setting this property to true enables Emacs-compatible error messages. It is recommended that you leave this property set to true even if you are not using Jikes, since the IDE prefers Emacs-compatible error messages.

Related Topics

Developing Applications with NetBeans IDE,

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