Customizing IDL
Various settings for the IDL Development Environment can be customized using the Preferences dialog. To open the Preferences dialog, select Preferences from the IDL Development Environment File menu.
Note
On UNIX platforms, including Macintosh OS X, some settings can also be customized by editing IDL's resource files. For further information about editing resource files on UNIX and Macintosh OS X, see Customizing IDL on Motif Systems. |
The Preferences dialog contains tabbed sections that allow you to customize your interaction with the IDLDE. The tabs and their uses are described below.
Note
The terminology used on the Preferences dialogs differs between Microsoft Windows and Motif systems. In this documentation, if the wording is significantly different between the two platforms, the wording used in the Windows dialogs is listed first, followed by the wording used in the Motif dialogs. |
Table 4-1: Preference Dialog Tabs
Table 4-1: Preference Dialog Tabs
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Tab
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Description
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This tab allows you to specify how the IDLDE session begins and ends, to control the number of lines in the recall buffer and the Output Log, and to designate how the files should be opened and read.
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This tab allows you to specify the location and size of the main IDLDE window on the screen. You can also designate which components of the IDLDE will be visible.
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This tab allows you to set the layout of windows that contain IDL graphics, and to specify the backing store, the size of the TrueType font cache, and the object graphic rendering preference.
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This tab allows you to customize the IDL's built-in editor and also offers several compiling options.
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This tab allows you to specify the locations of the working directory and a startup file.
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This tab allows you to specify different fonts, styles, and sizes for the Editor, Command Line and Output Log.
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This tab allows you to specify the IDL Files Search Path and path cache settings.
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Platform Differences
Microsoft Windows and UNIX platforms (including Macintosh OS X) implement the Preferences dialog using different dialog application buttons. The following table lists the buttons, the platforms on which they are found in the Preferences dialog, and the action performed when the button is used.
Table 4-2: Preferences Dialog Button Descriptions
Table 4-2: Preferences Dialog Button Descriptions
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Platform
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Button
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Result
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Windows, UNIX
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OK
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Changes are saved and applied to the current session, and the Preferences dialog is dismissed.
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Cancel
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Any changes that were not applied are ignored, and the Preferences dialog is dismissed.
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Apply
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Changes are applied to the current session, but not saved. (On UNIX, changes to items marked on the dialog with an asterisk take effect in the next session. To make the changes for the current session, use OK.) The Preferences dialog remains visible.
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Help
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Displays IDL online help.
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Windows only
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Reset
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Restores the preferences on the dialog to the preference values from the start of the current IDL session.
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IDL Online Help (March 06, 2007)
