4.2 Command Line Options

This section describes the command line options understood by amira. In general, on Unix systems amira is started via the start script located in the subdirectory bin. Usually, this script will be linked to /usr/local/bin/amira or something similar. Alternatively, the user may define an alias amira pointing to bin/start.

On Windows systems amira is usually started via the start menu or via a desktop icon. Nevertheless, the amira executable may also be invoked directly by calling bin/arch-Win32-Optimize/amira.exe. In this case, the same command line options as on a Unix system are understood.

The syntax of amira is as follows:

amira [options] [files ...]

Data files specified in the command line will be loaded automatically. In addition to data files, script files can also be specified. These scripts will be executed when the program starts.

The following options are supported:

-help
Prints a short summary of command line options.

-version
Prints the version string of amira.

-no_stencils
Tells amira not to ask for a stencil buffer in its 3D graphics windows. This option can be set to exploit hardware acceleration on some low-end PC graphics boards.

-no_overlays
Tells amira not to use overlay planes in its 3D graphics windows. Use this option if you experience problems when redirecting amira on a remote display.

-no_gui
Starts up amira without opening any windows. This option is useful for executing a script in batch mode.

-logfile filename
Causes any messages printed in the console window also to be written into the specified log file. Useful especially in conjunction with the -no_gui option.
-depth_size number
This option is only supported on Linux systems. It specifies the preferred depth of the depth buffer. The default on Linux systems is 16 bits.
-style={windows | motif | cde} This option sets the display style of amira's Qt user interface.
-debug This options applies to the developer version only. It causes local packages to be executed in debug version. By default, optimized code will be used.
-cmd command [-host hostname] [-port port]
Send Tcl command to a running amira application. Optionally the host name and the port number can be specified. You must type app -listen in the console window of amira before commands can be received.