How to increase Netbeans IDE heapsize

It's always good to keep a copy of netbeans.conf file before starting this process.

1. From the etc directory in the NetBeans IDE installation directory, copy the netbeans.conf file into your NetBeans IDE user directory, for example: $HOME/ .netbeans/caps/etc directory.

   Note - You may need to create the etc directory in the NetBeans IDE user directory.

2. In your NetBeans IDE user directory, edit the —J-Xmx command line Java startup switch in the netbeans.conf file, for example:

   # command line switches
   netbeans_default_options=" -J-Xms32m -J-Xmx128m -J-XX:PermSize=32m
   -J-XX:MaxPermSize=96m -J-Xverify:none -J-Dapple.laf.useScreenMenuBar=true"

3. Restart NetBeans IDE.

source: http://developers.sun.com