How can I make auto completion in netbeans include both variables as well as methods?

I tried to get the desired feature by adding the alphabet to the completion selectors. It worked somewhat, you can always try it.

Goto:

Tools -> Options -> Editor -> Code Completion

Select

Language: [Java]

Check:

[X] Auto Popup on Typing Any Java Identifier Part

Completion Selectors for Java:

[.,;:([+-=abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVXYZ]

Good Luck!

This looks like it was a commonly requested feature for NetBeans, added back in 2009. The setting appears to be Tools -> Options -> Editor -> Code Completion -> Auto Popup Completion Window in those builds (discussion; see also).

The feature you're asking about from Visual Studio is IntelliSense, by the way. If you're looking for a terrific, IntelliSense-drive IDE for Java, you might want to consider IntelliJ.

In NetBeans preferences, choose the code completion; then chose Java instead of all languages; and then choose all the options. You will get it. Goodluck.