This entire process takes less than ten minutes if all goes normally.

A typical good system to run the IDV has 2+ GB RAM and 2+ GHz processor speed. Half those values and the performance will be slow. Many new computers have plenty of speed, but some need extra RAM.

There are three steps:

1. Install and Run the Unidata IDV

First you install Unidata's IDV, which is the core code for all versions of the IDV. To get the Unidata IDV first register with Unidata. This is free and useful. Unidata provides free IDV user support for registered IDV users. Unidata is part of UCAR the top atmospheric research facility in the U.S. Use Unidata user registration.

Go to the web site for the Unidata IDV Installers.

Download and run or "open" the "IDV Installer" file for your system (Windows, Mac, Linux or Solaris) and execute the installer. You will finish with the Unidata IDV running.

(Helpful hints about using the installers:
On Windows accept the option to create a desktop icon.
On Linux, when the installer suggests putting the links in /usr/bin, choose instead your home directory to avoid system privilege problems, and when the installer says "The application may be launched by executing the installed start scripts" that means in the directory you installed to, you run the IDV with "./runIDV" or "./IDV" or simply type "IDV" in your home directory or wherever you put the links.)

2. Install the GEON IDV "plugin"

If you are installing a new version of the IDV (2.4 or higher) and you installed an earlier version of the IDV some time before on the same computer, you do not need to do this step. You will inherit your previous GEON IDV setup, and see the GEON IDV logo, shown above, the first time you start the IDV from the new installer.

When you have the Unidata IDV running, in the window with the map display, make the main menu choice "Tools -> Plugin Manager." Plugins are additional code that add more features to the IDV. The Plugin Manager control window pops up. In the category "Customized IDVs" where it says "GEON IDV," click on "install."

Next, exit the IDV completely (main menu choice File->Exit), and start it again. This time the GEON IDV runs, and every time you start the IDV thereafter. Make sure when you run the GEON IDV you see the "GEON IDV" logo image, shown at the top of this page, in the start up window. If you only see the smaller "IDV" logo, the GEON IDV plugin is not installed.

3. Increase Memory Available for the IDV:

Linux and Windows Memory Available

The standard code to run the IDV allocates 512 MB of memory. More than 512 MB is needed for most uses of the IDV in geophysics; more than 1000 MB is best. The IDV (Java) can use up to 1500 MB in most desktops.

If your computer has more than 512 MB of RAM - which it really needs to run the IDV well -- do the folowing. Find the IDV start script file. Its filename is runIDV.bat on Windows, runIDV on Linux and Solaris. On Windows it may be in C:\Program Files\IDV_2.4\. That file will have a text line something like (but not exactly)

/usr/local/bin/java/j2sdk1.4/bin/java -Xmx512m -jar idv.jar
or
jre\bin\java -Xmx512m -Didv.enableStereo=false -jar idv.jar %*

This is the command line that actually starts the IDV on your system. The important part is the number 512.

The " -Xmx512m" tells the IDV to use, at most, 512 megabytes of memory in RAM. In every place you see -Xmx512m, change the "512" to a larger value such as 1200. Now the IDV can access more memory, that many megabytes of memory. You can use up to 1500 if you have more than that availabe.

Mac Memory Available

The standard code to run the IDV allocates 512 MB of memory. More than 512 MB is needed for most uses of the IDV in geophysics; more than 1000 MB is best. The IDV (Java) can use up to 1500 MB in most desktops.

Here is the way to increase the memory limit on the Mac.

The IDV installed on the Mac OS X comes with the maximum memory preset for 512 mb. In order to increase the memory to say 1024 mb, you need to edit the Info.plist file in the IDV application contents. To do this first go into the IDV folder in the Applications folder and holding the Control button on the keyboard and click on "IDV". For a 3-button mouse just right click. This will give the Contents of the file in a new window. Then click on Contents folder. You can edit the Info.plist file by dragging it into a text editor or into a terminal window (type vi first). After the line VMOptions is the memory setting "-Xmx512m". Change this to -Xmx1024m and save the file. You can now launch the IDV by double clicking on the IDV application. You should see 1024 MB as the allocated memory at the bottom of the IDV window.

Alternatively for unix types: in a terminal window type vi /Applications/IDV_2.1/IDV.app/Contents/Info.plist where IDV_2.1 is the version (directory) of your IDV install.

Do not use the maximum amount of memory on your machine as some is needed for the operating system itself. For a system with 2 Gb of physical memory, you can probably allocate 1.5 Gb to the IDV. If you have less than 1 Gb of RAM, you should start the IDV with about 1/2 of the total memory (512 MB). (Unidata)

At present, you really cannot go much beyond 1.5 GB dedicated to the IDV, even if you have more physical memory in the computer. The "32 bit limit" is still in the JRE [Java] ....some day (soon?) they'll go beyond this. (Tom Whittaker)

4. Learn to use the GEON IDV

The IDV is a powerful, 3D, display system with a large number of features. It is generalized to display many kinds of data, not customized to show any particular kind of data in a particular kind of display in one step. Learning how it works will save a lot of time trying things.

To learn to use the GEON IDV, see the UNAVCO help resources:
GEON IDV Tutorial
How to use the GEON IDV and More How To-s
Samples of all geophysics displays.

The IDV's home is at Unidata, which is associated with NCAR the largest atmospheric research institution in the United States. The Unidata IDV web site has the Unidata IDV Users Guide and FAQ-s online, and Unidata has offered on-site IDV training in Boulder (schedule). The Unidata IDV training text is online, as well as training webcasts from Unidata.