IDL Editor Tips and Tricks

Although any text editor can be used to create an IDL program file, the IDL Editor included in the IDL Workbench contains features that simplify writing IDL code. For example, if you indent a line using the Tab key, the following lines will be indented as well.

If you click the right mouse button while positioned over an editor, a context menu appears, displaying frequently used commands. The context menu changes to display common debugging commands if IDL is running a program. When you create programs in the IDL Editor, you also have access to the following features:

If a program error or breakpoint is encountered, the IDL Workbench displays the relevant file, opening it if necessary. The line at which the breakpoint or error occurred is marked. See Debugging Tools for more on the IDL Workbench debugging features.

If you have a file open in the IDL Editor and you modify the file using another editor (on any platform), IDL will warn you that the file in the Editor has changed, and give you a chance to reload the file.

For a more in-depth look at the IDL Editor, see Using the IDL Editor.