Creating a Distribution Using Project Export

The process of building and exporting projects is discussed in detail in Creating IDL Projects. This section provides a brief overview.

Before Building Your Project

Verify the procedure name in your main SAVE file. The main SAVE file to be executed when IDL starts must have a procedure named main or a procedure with the same name as the .sav file minus the extension. The main SAVE file is the file that is restored and run when you start your IDL application.

Make sure that any .pro files that you want to be included in your main SAVE file have been added to your project.

Add Required Files to Your Project

You may wish to include files that are not part of the default IDL distribution with your application. If you add these files to your project, they will be included in your exported distribution. If you do not include these files before exporting the project, you can manually add the files by copying them to the exported distribution:

If your application uses the IDL DataMiner or the Network License Server for Windows, add the necessary files to the manifest using the instructions in Modifying the Manifest File.

If your application requires any other IDL files that are not part of the default IDL distribution, such as high-resolution maps, add them to your project or modify the manifest file. Note that only IDL files can be added to the manifest.

If your application requires any data files that are not in the IDL distribution, including ASCII, binary, or image files, add them to your project.

Build Your Project

You must build a project before it can be exported. For more information on the following steps, see Building a Project:

Start the IDLDE and select File

Open Project. Navigate to and select your project (.prj) file and click Open.

Select Project

Options. Specify project options as described in Setting the Options for a Project. Select the desired project type depending on the type of license you have purchased and the type of application:

Source File (.pro) — if you are creating a Callable IDL application that makes direct calls to an IDL .pro file using the IDL_Execute() or IDL_ExecuteStr() functions, select this option.

Save File (.sav) — if you are creating a native IDL application, or a Callable IDL application that uses a SAVE file, select this option.

Licensed Save File (.sav) — if you are creating a native IDL application with an embedded license, select this option. Note that this option not available if you do not have an IDL Developer's Kit license. If you have purchased an IDL Developer's Kit license, and you are creating a Callable IDL application that uses a SAVE file, it does not matter whether you choose this option or the Save File option because the licensing information is embedded in the application code rather than the SAVE file for these types of applications.

Click OK.

Select Project

Build from the IDLDE menu.

Export Your Project

The procedure you will use to export your project depends on the platform on which you are using IDL. See Exporting a Runtime Distribution for details.