You can configure Maven settings at the IDE level and at the project level. At the IDE level you can configure Maven installation and repository details and define global Maven goals. At the project level you can create configurations to activate Maven profiles and bind IDE actions to Maven goals for a project.
You configure Maven settings that effect the behavior of Maven in the IDE in the Options window. In the Options window you can specify your local Maven installation, the location of the local Maven repository and settings for updating the repository.
By using the project's Properties window you can configure Maven settings for an individual project. You can create named configurations and then bind IDE actions to Maven goals and assign the binding to a configuration.
Using Project Configurations
The Configurations category enables you to enable and disable the configurations option for your project and create new named configurations. When enabled, you can easily create and activate any configurations that you create. You can create configurations that can activate specific Maven profiles. You can also use a configuration to map IDE actions to Maven goals.
Using a named configuration enables you to do the following:
You can switch to a configuration by right-clicking the project node in the Projects window and choosing Set Configuration. If your project is set as the main project in the IDE you can also switch configurations using the drop-down list in the toolbar.
Binding IDE Actions to Maven Goals
You can use the Actions category in the Properties window to customize IDE actions by binding the action to Maven goals. The Actions pane lists the IDE's default project actions that can be mapped to Maven goals. You can assign the mapping to a project configuration if you activated configurations for the project.
After you select an IDE action you can modify the Maven goals and properties of the action by typing in the textfield. Actions are displayed in bold if the default values for the action have been modified. The following textfields display the goals and properties associated with the selected action.
Creating Custom Actions
You can create custom actions for a project by clicking Add Custom in the Actions category of the Properties window. After you create the new action you can specify the goals or properties for the new action. You can invoke the new action by right-clicking the project node in the Projects window and then choosing the action under Custom in the popup menu.
You can also create global custom goals for Maven projects by clicking Edit Global Custom Goal Definitions in the Maven tab in the Options window. The global goal is then listed in the popup menu under Custom when you right-click a Maven project in the Projects window.