• Edit the default IRAF environment definitions to provide reasonable defaults for your site.
• Make entries in the device descriptor tables for the devices in use at your site.
• Code and install new device interfaces.
• Enable and configure IRAF networking, e.g., to permit remote image display, tape drive, or file access.
• Perform various optimizations, e.g., stripping the system to reduce disk usage.
• Extend the system by installing layered software products.
• Configure a custom LOCAL package so that locally developed software may be installed in the system.

This document provides sufficient background information and instructions to guide the IRAF site manager in performing such customizations. Additional help is available via the IRAF HOTLINE (520 318-8160), or by sending mail to iraf@noao.edu (internet) or 5355::iraf (SPAN). Contributions of interfaces developed for new devices, or any other software of general interest, are always welcome.

The IRAF software is organized in a way which attempts to isolate, so far as possible, the files or directories which must be modified to tailor the system for the local site. Most or all changes should affect only files in the local, dev, and hlib (unix/hlib) directories. Layered software products, including locally added software, reside outside of the IRAF core system directory tree and are maintained independently of the core system.

A summary of all modifications made to the IRAF system for a given IRAF release is given in the Revisions Summary distributed with the system. Additional information will be found in the system notes files (notes.v29, notes.v210, etc.) in the iraf/local and iraf/doc directories. This is the primary source of technical documentation for each release and should be consulted if questions arise regarding any of the system level features added in a new release of the core system.