General Preferences

The General tab of the Preferences dialog has three sections: Program, Log and Command Window, and Files.

Program Section

You can specify how IDL handles starting up and exiting. Click on the following check boxes to apply or disable the options:

Show Splash Screen — Select this option to show the IDL splash screen on startup. This selection takes effect the next time an IDL session is started.

This control sets the value of the IDL_WDE_SPLASHSCREEN preference (Windows) and the IDL_MDE_SPLASHSCREEN preference (UNIX). For more information, see IDL Preferences.

Confirm Exit — Select this option to display a warning dialog when you exit IDL.

This control sets the value of the IDL_WDE_EXIT_CONFIRM preference (Windows) and the IDL_MDE_EXIT_CONFIRM preference (UNIX). For more information, see IDL Preferences.

Log and Command Window Section

The number of lines saved in the recall buffer for the Command Line has an impact on the performance of IDL. The amount of memory required for greater numbers of saved lines in the buffer affects the speed at which IDL runs. Click in the field next to each description and enter your adjusted value to change the settings.

Number of lines to display in the log / Lines to Save — This field controls the maximum number of lines retained by the Output Log window. The default is 1000 lines.

This control sets the value of the IDL_WDE_LOG_LINES preference (Windows) and the IDL_MDE_LOG_LINES preference (UNIX). For more information, see IDL Preferences.

Number of log lines to delete at limit / Delete on Limit — This field controls the number of lines that will be deleted from the Output Log window when the maximum number of lines is reached. The earliest lines in the log are deleted. The default is 100 for Microsoft Windows systems and 250 for UNIX systems.

This control sets the value of the IDL_WDE_LOG_TRIM preference (Windows) and the IDL_MDE_LOG_TRIM preference (UNIX). For more information, see IDL Preferences.

Number of lines saved in the recall buffer — This field controls the maximum number of lines saved in the recall buffer. (See Recalling Commands for information on using the recall buffer.) The default is 20 lines.

This control sets the value of the IDL_RBUF_SIZE preference. For more information, see IDL Preferences.

Save Recall Buffer Between Sessions — Select this option to have the recall buffer persist between IDL sessions.

This control sets the value of the IDL_RBUF_PERSIST preference. For more information, see IDL Preferences.

Files Section

You can change the way in which IDL handles opening files. Select or clear the following check boxes to apply or disable the options:

Change Directory on Open — Select this option to cause IDL to change the current working directory when you open a file. The new current working directory will be the directory that contains the opened file.

This control sets the value of the IDL_WDE_EDIT_CWD preference (Windows) and the IDL_MDE_EDIT_CWD preference (UNIX). For more information, see IDL Preferences.

Open Files Read Only — Select this option to open files so that they can be viewed, but not changed.

This control sets the value of the IDL_WDE_EDIT_READONLY preference (Windows) and the IDL_MDE_EDIT_READONLY preference (UNIX). For more information, see IDL Preferences.