IDEA Visual Form Editor Unresponsive? JCEF Configuration Solution

When using VJSP's visual form editor in IntelliJ IDEA, if you encounter unresponsive pages, it's usually due to compatibility issues between JetBrains' built-in JCEF (Java Chromium Embedded Framework) in "out-of-process mode" and certain system environments. Disabling JCEF's out-of-process mode can effectively resolve this issue.

Operation Steps

1. Close IntelliJ IDEA

Ensure IDEA is completely exited (check background processes), otherwise configurations might be overwritten.

2. Locate Configuration File `ide.general.xml`

Find the corresponding path based on your operating system (replace <username> with your actual system username, <toolname> with IDEA or other JetBrains tool name, <version> with software version, e.g., IntelliJIdea2023.2):

Operating System	File Path
Windows	`C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\JetBrains\<toolname><version>\options\ide.general.xml`
macOS	`~/Library/Application Support/JetBrains/<toolname><version>/options/ide.general.xml`

After closing IDEA, open the ide.general.xml file with a text editor (like Notepad, VS Code), and find the <component name="Registry"> node in the file.

Scenario 1: Existing JCEF Configuration

If similar content exists:

xml

<entry key="ide.browser.jcef.enabled" value="true"  />

Modify to:

xml

<entry key="ide.browser.jcef.out-of-process.enabled" value="false" source="SYSTEM" />

Scenario 2: No JCEF Configuration

Add anywhere within the <component name="Registry"> tag:

xml

<entry key="ide.browser.jcef.out-of-process.enabled" value="false" source="SYSTEM" />

✅ Final Configuration Example

xml

<component name="Registry">
    <entry key="moved.to.new.ui" value="true" source="SYSTEM" />
    <entry key="ide.experimental.ui" value="true" source="SYSTEM" />
    <entry key="jvm.dfa.analysis.ui.security.analysis.window.was.shown" value="true" source="SYSTEM" />
    <entry key="ide.browser.jcef.debug.port" value="9222" source="USER" />
    <!-- Other existing configurations... -->
    <!-- Added/Modified configuration item -->
    <entry key="ide.browser.jcef.out-of-process.enabled" value="false" source="SYSTEM" />
</component>

4. Restart IDEA and Verify

Save the file
Restart IntelliJ IDEA
Open a VJSP form file
Right-click → "VJSP Edit Mode", confirm the designer loads and interacts normally

IDEA Visual Form Editor Unresponsive? JCEF Configuration Solution ​

Operation Steps ​

1. Close IntelliJ IDEA ​

2. Locate Configuration File ide.general.xml ​

3. Configure JCEF Related Parameters ​

Scenario 1: Existing JCEF Configuration ​

Scenario 2: No JCEF Configuration ​

4. Restart IDEA and Verify ​