How do I start a .launch file from Eclipse IDE

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I take some minutes to find a solution for the problem :

Add a new file association for .launch files

1. General -> Editors -> File Association ... add a new file type with the suffix *.launch assign the XML Editor to the new file type
2. General -> Appearance -> Content Types ... roll off entry for TEXT in the menu go to XML and add *.launch

Now a .launch file will be opened by the XML Editor, if you have installed it.

In a second step you have to define a new external tool launch.

1. Run -> External Tools -> External Tools Configurations
2. choose PROGRAM and add a new lauch configuration by clicking the left button
3. write a name like “Launch_ROS” to NAME
4. integrate the path of roslaunch into LOCATION (usually something like ../ros/ros_comm/tools/roslaunch/bin/roslaunch)
5. add as ARGUMENTS your ROS package name and .launch file name (for a more general use you can take ${project_name} ${resource_name}, but in this case your focus has to be on your launch file while starting !!!)
6. then you can start the ROS application by Run -> External Tools -> Launch ROS

Anyone feels free to improve the chain !

Best wishes from Germany

Poseidonius