How to transfer your IDL Command History file to another computer or user

Background:

By default, IDL will store your recently-entered commands into a special buffer memory/file called the IDL Command History. These commands can be viewed, edited, and re-entered by the user for convenience. In the IDL Workbench, the Command History view to the right of the Console displays the command history, organized by day. By default, this file will store your most recent 500 lines entered into the IDL Console. You can configure the amount of lines stored in the Preferences under IDL > Command History > History Size (lines). You can also control the number of lines stored with the IDL_RBUF_SIZE preference. 

You can read more general information about using and configuring the Command History HERE. 

Question:

Can I transfer my IDL Command History to another computer or user?

Answer:

Yes! The most recent IDL Command History is stored in a file that lives in your user specific .idl directory, as shown below. 

Windows: C:\Users\YourUsername\.idl\idl\rbuf\history
Mac OS: /Users/YourUsername/.idl/idl/rbuf/history
Linux: /home/yourusername/.idl/idl/rbuf/history

You can move that history file between computers, users and even across operating systems. Just drop it in the correct location in the other .idl folder.

NOTE: Your active session history is stored in an inaccessible buffer state while the IDL session is running. This buffer will get written out to the history file only when the IDL Workbench is gracefully closed. If the Workbench crashes or otherwise is shutdown non-gracefully, the Command History from that session will be lost.

 

 

Created by BC-NA on 12/14/22, Reviewed by XXXX