Running IDL or ENVI on UNIX

You can start IDL, ENVI, or any of the following executables by entering one of the following commands.

Note
For versions of UNIX that provide both 32- and 64-bit architectures, IDL and ENVI run in 64-bit mode by default. You can run the commands in 32-bit mode by entering a -32 flag after the command (e.g., idl -32). If these commands do not produce the expected results, you may need to set environment aliases. See Setting Up the Environment.

Table 6-1: Startup Commands 

Command
Description 
envi_rt

Starts ENVI. 

envi

Starts ENVI + IDL. 

envihelp

Starts ENVI Help. 

envizoom

Starts ENVI Zoom. 

envizoom_help

Starts ENVI Zoom Help. 

idl

Starts IDL in command line access mode. 

idlde

Starts IDL Workbench. 

idl -vm

Starts IDL Virtual Machine. 

idl -rt

Starts the runtime version of IDL. 

ittlicense

Starts the License Wizard. 

idldemo

Starts the IDL Demo Applications. You can also type demo at the IDL prompt after you have started IDL. 

idlhelp

Starts the IDL online help.

For information on other startup options, see Command Line Options for IDL Startup in Using IDL.

Running the IDL Virtual Machine on UNIX

To run a *.sav file in the IDL Virtual Machine:

  1. Enter idl -vm=<path><filename>.sav at the system command prompt, where <path> is the path to the *.sav file, and <filename> is the name of the *.sav file. The IDL Virtual Machine window displays.
  2. Click anywhere on the IDL Virtual Machine window to close the window and run the *.sav file.

To launch the IDL Virtual Machine and select a *.sav file to open:

  1. Enter idl -vm at the system command prompt. The IDL Virtual Machine window is displayed.
  2. Click anywhere on the IDL Virtual Machine window to display a file selection menu.
  3. Open a *.sav file from the file selection menu.

Running IDL Runtime Applications on UNIX

To run a *.sav file in the runtime version of IDL:

  1. Enter idl -rt=<path><filename>.sav at the system command prompt, where <path> is the path to the *.sav file, and <filename> is the name of the *.sav file.
  2. The application contained in the *.sav file is run in the runtime version of IDL.

    3. Note
    When a *.sav file is run with the idl -rt command on a machine without an IDL license, it will run in the IDL Virtual Machine.