I'm wondering if it is possible to configure IntelliJ Idea to immediately show compile errors on the class files in the project tree. Currently I need to manually trigger the recompilation to see error marks on my classes if the class cannot be compiled.
As of IntelliJ 12 there's an option to automatically build your project upon source changes. In "Settings" --> Build, Execution, Deployment --> "Compiler" check the checkbox "Build project automatically". This will immediately show any compile errors in the project tree.