# Startup and Shutdown

The General > Startup and Shutdown preference page allows you to configure the start up behaviour.

## General

Option | Description | Default
--- | --- | ---
Refresh workspace on startup | If this option is turned on then the workbench will synchronize its contents with the file system on startup. | Off
Show Problems view decorations on startup | If this option is turned on then the Problems view icon will show an errors/warnings overlay after startup, independently if the Problems view is on top of the view stack or not. | Off
Confirm exit when closing last window | If this option is turned on then the workbench will ask if you wish to exit when closing the last window if. | On

## Windows Defender Exclusion Check

On Mirosoft Windows 10 or later the Microsoft Defender can significantly slow-down the startup and overall performance of Eclipse-based applications. These application can now detect if Microsoft Defender is active, inform you about that and if wanted can exclude itself from future Microsoft Defender scans.

If Microsoft Defender is active, on first startup of a new installation, a dialog is shown. Depending on your choice the exclusion is performed for the running installation or the Microsoft Defender configuration is left untouched. In both cases the choice is persisted and it is not asked again for this installation. If you choose to cancel the dialog (by clicking "Cancel" or "Escape") the dialog is shown again on the next startup.

In the "Windows Defender Exclusion Check" section of this preference page you get more detailed information about the Microsoft Defender handling, you can choose to disable the startup-check for all installations, run the exclusion check or to see the powershell script used to exclude the current installation. Clicking "Run exclusion check" opens the startup dialog regardless of all persisted preferences. Clicking the "Show Powershell script" button, unfolds the code of that script for review.

### Note

Be aware that in general adding excludion could affect your computer's security level and therefore needs administrator privileges. The exclusion from Microsoft Defender scaning is done on process level. This means that Microsoft Defender won't real-time scan any file opened by the excluded process. This way the performance improvement applies to all files touched by the process and not only the jars forming the application. At the same time it allows scheduled or on demand scans to still check all files.

In general if you do not trust the installed application, plug-ins or content in the workspace, it is not recommended to apply any exclusion.

## Plug-Ins Activated on Startup

The "plug-ins activated on startup" section allows the selection of plug-ins to be automatically activated during workbench startup. Normally plug-ins are not activated until they are needed. However some plug-ins may specify that they wish to be activated during startup. This list allows the selection of which of these plug-ins will actually be activated during startup.