The Force.com IDE

The Force.com IDE is a development tool provided by Salesforce.com, which is used to write Apex Classes, Apex Triggers, and Visualforce pages. You can download and edit the metadata components and explore the schema of your Force.com project.

Installing the Force.com IDE

Before installing the Force.com IDE, you need the following aspects to be available and installed on your machine:

• Java SE Runtime Environment (v1.6 or higher)
• Eclipse IDE for Java Developers (Juno 4.2 or Kepler 4.3)

To install the Force.com IDE, follow these steps:

1. Open Eclipse for Java Developers.
2. Click on the Install New Software option in the Help tab, as shown in the following screenshot:
   
3. On the next window, click on the New button. In the dialog box, enter Force.com IDE Name in the Name field, specify Location as http://media.developerforce.com/force-ide/eclipse42, and click on OK.
   
4. Select the checkbox in front of Force.com IDE.
   
5. Click on Next.
6. On the Install Details dialog box, click on Next.
7. In the Review Licenses...