Environment > Distributing IDL Applications > Callable IDL Applications > Starting a Callable IDL Application

# Starting a Callable IDL Application

You must provide your end users with instructions describing how to start your application. You may choose to provide users with the name and location of your application executable along with a launch command to execute, or (if you are using an installer for your application) with shell scripts, shortcuts, or Start menu items. The specific instructions you provide will depend on your end user’s platform.

## Windows

To start a Callable IDL application if you have exported an IDL runtime distribution using the MAKE_RT procedure, change directories to the `application\IDL_DIR\bin\bin.platform` directory (where `application` is the name of the directory that contains your exported distribution, `IDL_DIR` is the IDL directory inside your application directory, and `platform` is either `x86` or `x86_64`, depending on the verison of IDL your application relies on) and double-click on the executable file you created.

Alternately, you can use the Windows launch script.

The executable file must reside in the `bin\bin.platform` subdirectory of your exported application distribution. For your users’ convenience, you may want to create a Windows shortcut to the executable file in another location.

## UNIX

To start a Callable IDL application if you have exported an IDL runtime distribution using the MAKE_RT procedure, change directories to the `application/IDL_DIR/bin` directory (where `application` is the name of the directory that contains your exported distribution and `IDL_DIR` is the IDL directory inside your `application` directory) and execute the renamed `idl` script file.