PhpStorm not refactoring classes correctly?

Question

In all Java IDEs I have used, refactoring/renaming was a breeze because IntelliJ would scan the projects files and rename everything for me.

I am currently using a project where there are hundreds of references to a class spread around hundreds of files. I would like to refactor it so my Compound class is renamed to CompoundTag .

So instead of new Compound() , the IDE (PhpStorm) should change it to new CompoundTag() .

So, first I right clicked the file, went to Refactor -> Rename :

Next, I renamed it and made sure to check these options:

Finally, after clicking refactor.. nothing happens. The file name gets changed but nothing else in the project gets refactored. PhpStorm does not even change the class name.

How can I fix this to get PhpStorm to properly refactor my files?

Answer 1

You have invoked Refactor | Rename Refactor | Rename on a file.

What you did is you have renamed a file .. and possibly all references to a file. But in PHP world class name does not necessarily must be the same as file name .. and you may find quite a lot of older projects (especially those those with long history) where you may even see more than one class in a single file. WordPress is one of the popular examples. Surely, these days it's not a common practice (thanks to PSRs) but still...

It works for Java (in IntelliJ) because:

• it's more common there (has been around for a really long time);
• such renaming (rename file = rename class) is implemented in full.

For PHP this path (rename file = rename class) is simply not yet implemented.

---

What you need to do for PHP ... is to invoke Refactor | Rename Refactor | Rename on actual CLASS and not a file .

Refactoring actions are context dependant in IDEA-based IDEs .. so the same action will do different things depending if you invoked it on a file (eg in Project View panel) or on a some element under caret (in the Editor).

Such class refactoring can do more than just this class rename:

• it can rename file
• it can rename child classes and their files

Some links:

• https://www.jetbrains.com/help/phpstorm/2017.1/rename-refactorings.html
• https://confluence.jetbrains.com/display/PhpStorm/PHP+Code+Refactorings+in+PhpStorm

PS Similar story with just moving files and changing namespaces -- invoke Refactor | Move Refactor | Move on a class/namespace and not on a file.