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                                  IMD

                        Version 4.1.1, August 2000
				   
                              David L. Windt

                          windt@astro.columbia.edu
                <http://cletus.phys.columbia.edu/windt/idl>

                 Copyright (c) 1997-2000, David L. Windt
                            All rights reserved

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This file contains instructions for downloading, unpacking and
installing IMD.

Contents of this file:

1. System requirements
2. Downloading IMD
3. Unpacking IMD
4. Installing IMD
5. Starting IMD
6. Getting help
7. Using IMD as a XOP extension

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1. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

IMD is written in the IDL language, and will run on any platform
supported by IDL. Little or no IDL expertise is required to use IMD.

You will need a valid, licensed copy of IDL to run IMD. IDL version
5.1 or higher is required. IDL is available from Research Systems,
Inc, <http://www.rsinc.com>

      NOTE: IMD will not run with the Student Version of IDL.

      NOTE: It is possible to run IMD as an 'extension' to the XOP program,
      which is available for Unix and Windows platforms, free of charge to
      research institutes and non-profit organizations. Information on XOP
      can be found at
      <http://www.esrf.fr/computing/scientific/xop/>.
      Please see section 7 of this document for further instructions.

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2. DOWNLOADING IMD

There is only one IMD distribution, and it should run on any platform
supported by IDL.  For your convenience, however, I have created
several different download files, making it easier for you to unpack
IMD on your particular platform. (The contents of the three download
files are virtually identical, however.)  Choose whichever one you
like.

Download files:

	Unix: imd.tar.Z

	Windows: imd.zip

	MacOS: imd.hqx

(Note that you may need to explicitly configure your browser to save
the download file directly to disk.)

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3. UNPACKING IMD

To unpack the file you downloaded, follow the instructions below for
your specific platform. When you have finished unpacking the
distribution, you will find two directories: "imd" and "windt".  The
total distribution requires approximately 38 MB of disk space,
including approximately 15 MB for the IMD optical constants and atomic
scattering factors databases, ~3 MB for the hypertext documentation,
and ~12 MB for the examples files.  (The examples files are optional
and can be deleted if necessary; consult Appendix B.1 of the IMD
documentation for additional help on conserving disk space.)

	Unix 

	o Unpack the imd.tar.Z file, using the Unix uncompress and tar
	commands:

		$ uncompress -c imd.tar.Z | tar -xvf - 

	Windows

	o Use the (32-bit) WinZip shareware program to unpack the
	imd.zip file.

	MacOS

	o Use the Stuffit Expander freeware program to unpack the
	imd.hqx file.

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4. INSTALLING IMD


The IMD distribution is contained entirely in the directory (or
folder, if you prefer) called imd. Within this directory are the IMD
programs, and the subdirectories containing optical constants, atomic
scattering factors, documentation, and examples.

The main IMD program is distributed as an IDL SAVE file, and all the
required IDL procedures and functions are already loaded, so you will
not need to include any other directories in your IDL path.  However,
included along with the imd directory is the directory called windt,
which contains a variety of IDL programs for general use, many of
which are used by IMD. (But again, these files are not needed by IMD
as they are already compiled into the IMD SAVE file.) When you unpack
the file you downloaded from the web, you will find both the imd and
windt directories.

The imd directory should nominally be installed in a directory that
you must create called user_contrib, inside the main IDL
directory. That is, you should end up with a directory called
..../idl/user_contrib/imd (using Unix "notation".) You can also
install the windt directory in the user_contrib directory if you
choose.  In any case make sure that the imd directory is included in
your IDL path; for help with setting your IDL path please consult the
IDL documentation.  

In case you weren't paying attention when reading the last paragraph,
let me repeat the most important part:

***MAKE SURE THAT THE imd DIRECTORY IS INCLUDED IN YOUR IDL PATH***

Consult Appendix B.1 of the IMD documentation if you need to install
IMD someplace else, and for instructions on other IMD customization
options.

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5. STARTING IMD

Before you attempt to start IMD, make sure that the imd directory is
included in your IDL Path.  Consult the IDL manuals for instructions
on how to do this.

To start IMD, at the IDL prompt type:

IDL> .run imdstart

This will load IMD and launch the main IMD program. If you exit IMD
and wish to run it again during the same IDL session, at the IDL
prompt type:

IMD> imd

Note: You can define NORUN=1 before executing '.run imdstart', to
inhibit automatic execution of the imd procedure.

Note: On Unix platforms, the IDL_DEVICE environment variable must be
set to 'X'.

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6. GETTING HELP

A complete hypertext manual explaining how to use IMD is included with
the IMD distribution.  Users are *strongly* encouraged to have a look at
this material in order to fully appreciate the many unique capabilities
of IMD.  Point your browser to the file .../imd/docs.dir/index.html. 

In addition, there are several IMD files in the examples.dir directory
that illustrate some of the features of IMD, so you might want to have
a look there.

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7. USING IMD AS A XOP EXTENSION

(If you will use IMD with a licensed copy of IDL, you can skip the
following instructions.)

A. To install IMD as a XOP extension, perform the following three
steps:
	
i. Download and install the XOP program, as described at the XOP
website: <http://www.esrf.fr/computing/scientific/xop/>.

ii. Download and unpack the IMD distribution, following the
instructions given above in section 2 and 3. Install the imd directory
in the XOP extensions directory. When you complete this step, you
should end up with a directory called .../xop/extensions/imd.

iii. Copy and rename the appropriate imd4xop.sav_V file - where V=51
for the version of XOP built from IDL version 5.1, V=52 for the
version of XOP built from IDL version 5.2, and V=53 for the version of
XOP built from IDL version 5.3 - from the imd directory to the XOP
extensions directory. When you complete this step, you should end up
with a file called .../xop/extensions/imd4xop.sav. That is:

	for XOP / IDL V5.1: 

	copy .../extensions/imd/extras.dir/imd4xop.sav_51
	to .../extensions/imd4xop.sav

	for XOP / IDL V5.2: 

	copy .../extensions/imd/extras.dir/imd4xop.sav_52
	to .../extensions/imd4xop.sav

	for XOP / IDL V5.3: 

	copy .../extensions/imd/extras.dir/imd4xop.sav_53
	to .../extensions/imd4xop.sav

Consult Appendix B.1 of the IMD documentation for instructions on
other IMD customization options.

B. Starting IMD as a XOP extension:

There are two (platform-specific) ways to run IMD as a XOP extension:

For Unix platforms:

	At the unix system prompt, type:

	xop imd4xop

        -or-

	From the main XOP window:

	a. Select Tools -> IDL Macro
	
	b. Clear the window and type imd4xop
	
	c. Select File -> Quit and accept changes

For Windows platforms:

	Assuming your XOP installation directory is c:\"Program Files"\XOP2.0, 
	double-click on the file:

	c:\"Program Files"\XOP2.0\extensions\imd\extras.dir\imd4xop.bat

	Note: If your XOP installation is different from c:\"Program Files"\XOP2.0, 
	you will need to edit the imd4xop.bat file accordingly.

	-or-

	From the main XOP window:

	a. Select Tools -> IDL Macro
	
	b. Clear the window and type imd4xop
	
	c. Select File -> Quit and accept changes

NOTE: If you have trouble installing IMD as a XOP extension, *PLEASE
CONTACT THE XOP DEVELOPERS DIRECTLY.*

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