IDL SETUP REQUIREMENT

by Ben-chin Cha ( Updated May 2001)


IDL SETUP ON UNIX
IDL SETUP
EPICS Setup Requirement
Setup for IDL Channel Access
   	For IDL 5.1 & 5.2
   	For IDL 5.3 or Later
IDL 6.0 SETUP ON WIN2000
IDL SETUP ON W95
IDL TIFF FILE SETUP ON W95
	Setup Requirement for W95 TIFF File

Normally the IDL package is installed in the /usr/local/rsi directory by the UNIX system administrator. Or a proper system link is set by the system administrator for different installation. In order to access the IDL release 5.3, the following should be set/sourced in by Cshell.

     source /usr/local/rsi/idl_5.3/bin/idl_setup

Normally the system administrator already set up IDL such that when a user enters 'idl' command on the UNIX system, the appropriate release version is invoked automatically.

A user only need to do above when a special release different from the official release is to be accessed.

EPICS Setup Requirement

All EPICS scan data visualization related IDL programs are installed in the /usr/local/epics/extensions/bin/$HOST_ARCH directory for EPICS R3.13, installed in the /usr/local/epics/extensions/idllib directory for EPICS R3.14.

For proper operation of these programs, a user first has to make sure that the IDL 5.1 or later is used. In order to access IDL programs installed in the local epics/extensions/bin, a user has to make sure that the following environment variables are set before invoking IDL :

  For EPICS 3.13:
     setenv EPICS_EXTENSIONS  /usr/local/epics/extensions 
     setenv HOST_ARCH solaris          
     setenv IDL_STARTUP $EPICS_EXTENSIONS/bin/$HOST_ARCH/viewer_startup.pro 
     set path=(/usr/local/epics/extensions/bin/$HOST_ARCH $path)

  For EPICS 3.14:
     setenv EPICS_EXTENSIONS  /usr/local/epics/extensions 
     setenv EPICS_HOST_ARCH solaris-sparc
     setenv IDL_STARTUP $EPICS_EXTENSIONS/idllib/viewer_startup.pro    
     set path=(/usr/local/epics/extensions/bin/$EPICS_HOST_ARCH $path)

Following table shows the HOST_ARCH setting for Linux operating system.

	$HOST_ARCH   	    EPICS 
	-------------------------
	solaris		    R3.13
	Linux		    R3.13

	$EPICS_HOST_ARCH    EPICS 
	-------------------------
	solaris-sparc	    R3.14
	linux-x86	    R3.14

Setup for IDL Channel Access

The ezcaIDL library provides a set of channel access functions which interface with the IDL package which is callable directly by the routines defined in the ezcaIDL.pro. In case a user want to explicitly call the channel access functions defined in the ezcaIDL library, the following additional setting is required.

For IDL 5.1 or 5.2

If the IDL Channel Access commands are desired then the following setup must be done first before running IDL:

 
     source /usr/local/epics/extensions/bin/$HOST_ARCH/setup_ezcaIDL

For IDL 5.3 or Later

Make sure that the /usr/local/epics/extensions/lib/$HOST_ARCH is defined in his/her LD_LIBRARY_PATH environmental variable. It also requires that all the channel access sharable libraries are built with EPICS 3.13.1 and newer release. If the IDL Channel Access commands are desired then the following setup must be done first before running IDL:

 
   For EPICS 3.13:
     source /usr/local/epics/extensions/bin/$HOST_ARCH/ezcaidl_setup

   For EPICS 3.14:
     source /usr/local/epics/extensions/bin/$EPICS_HOST_ARCH/ezcaidl_setup

IDL 6.0 SETUP ON WIN2000

A user has to use the IDLDE->File->Preferences... dialog to set up the IDL startup and path parameters. In following example, it is assumed that the IDL 6.0 is installed under C:\RSI\IDL60 directory, and the IDL catcher3.1 program package is installed under C:\IDL\catcher3.1 directory.

IDLDE Settings

Startup Setting
IDL Main Directory:  C:\RSI\IDL60
Working Directory:   C:\IDL\catcher3.1
Startup File:        C:\IDL\catcher3.1\viewer_startup.win
		     or
		     C:\IDL\catcher3.1\ezcaidl_startup.win

The viewer_startup.win gives the example to automatically start up scanSee subprogram. The ezcaidl_startup.win gives the example to automatically start up subprogram DC which used CA calls from the ezcaIDL.dll library. A user can modify these files to automatically start up catcher_v1 or dcviewer subprogram.

Expanded Path Setting
C:\IDL\catcher3.1
< IDL_DEFALUT >

Environment Variable Setting

The CA dll lib must also be installed under C:\IDL\catcher3.1 directory. A user should use the My Computer->Properties->Advanced->Environment Variables...->System variables to add a new system environment variable EZCA_IDL_SHARE like below:

EZCA_IDL_SHARE	ezcaIDL.dll

If CA functions from the ezcaIDL.dll are desired this setting is required, e.g the packaged scan programs catcher_v1 and DC.

IDL SETUP ON W95

A user has to use the IDLDE->File->Preferences... dialog to set up the IDL startup and path parameters. In following example, it is assumed that the IDL 6.0 is installed under C:\RSI directory, and assumed that the IDL program package is installed under C:\IDL\viewer directory, and the input data is installed under the work directory C:\IDL\viewer\data.

Startup Setting
IDL Main Directory:  C:\RSI\IDL60
Working Directory:   C:\IDL\viewer\data
Startup File:        C:\IDL\viewer\viewer_startup.win

Expanded Path Setting
C:\IDL\viewer
C:\RSI\IDL60\lib
C:\RSI\IDL60\examples

The sub-directories below the data directory must be manually created first to gaurantee the smooth operation of the viewer package. The sub-directories used by the viewer package including ASCII, TIFF, ROI, XDR, and CALIB.

IDL TIFF FILE SETUP ON W95

Starting from release catcher.R3.1 and scanSee.R3.3 the following setting is no longer required. The TIFF/PICT/PNG will work for Pseudo and True color devices.

Setup Requirement for W95 TIFF File

In order to get the TIFF file saved under W95 process the same color table as show in the original IDL drawing, the W95 window display must be set to use 256 colors instead of True color.

The W95 display must be properly set first before running IDL on W95. To set the display by use the W95 Start menu


	Start->Settings->Control Panel

   Select the "Display Icon" to invoke the Display Properties dialog 
   Select the  "Settings" Tablet, 
   Set the "Color palette" to 256 Color
   Press the "Apply" button,  and confirm it
   Close the Display Properties dialog