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Windows menu actions for Common

Below is an overview of all actions that can be accessed from this menu.

UI Action NameAction NameDescription
Load desktop…LoadDesktopThis commands show all available desktops (stored in the database or in the registry). More…
Save desktop…SaveDesktopThis command saves the current desktop configuration to a desktop. More…
Delete desktop…DeleteDesktopThis command deletes a desktop containing a desktop configuration.
Reset desktopResetDesktopThis command resets all windows (IDA main window and database windows) by loading the original IDA disassembly desktop or debugger desktop(if the debugger is active).
Reset hidden messages…ResetHiddenMessagesReset hidden messages
Windows listWindowsListDisplay list of the currently open windows
Next windowNextWindowSwitch to the next window
Previous windowPrevWindowSwitch to the previous window
Close windowCloseWindowClose the current window
Focus command lineFocusCLI2Focus command line
Output windowOutputWindowDisplay the output window if hidden. More…
FunctionsWindowActivate1Functions
IDA View-AWindowActivate2IDA View-A
Pseudocode-AWindowActivate3Pseudocode-A
Hex View-1WindowActivate4Hex View-1
Local TypesWindowActivate5Local Types
ImportsWindowActivate6Imports
ExportsWindowActivate7Exports
Switch to window #8WindowActivate8Switch to window #8
Switch to window #9WindowActivate9Switch to window #9

Load desktop…

This commands show all available desktops (stored in the database or in the registry). Pressing Enter loads the desktop configuration from the selected desktop. Pressing Del> deletes the selected desktop.

Save desktop…

This command saves the current desktop configuration to a desktop. If you enter a name, IDA saves the current configuration to a named desktop in the database or registry. If you select ‘Default’, IDA saves the current configuration to the Default or Default debugger desktop (if the debugger is active) in the registry.

Output window

Display the output window if hidden. The Output window appears at the bottom of IDA’s interface by default and serves two key purposes:

  • Displays various IDA messages and notifications.
  • Provides a command line interface (CLI) for executing IDC or IDAPython commands.

Output window

If closed, you can reopen it via Windows -> Output window.

Context Menu Options

Right-click in the Output window to access these options:

  • Select All: Selects all content in the window
  • Find/Find next: Searches for a specific string
  • Clear: Removes all previous messages from the window
  • Copy to CLI: Places selected text into CLI field
  • Save to file: Exports window content to a .log file
  • Show timestamps: Displays time information with each message
  • Font…: Customizes the text appearance (font, style, size)

You can duplicate all messages appearing in this window to a file. To do this, you have to define an environment variable before starting IDA:

set IDALOG=logfile

Command Line Providers

Currently, the following command line providers exist:

  • IDC
  • Python
  • Bochs debugger
  • WinDbg debugger
  • GDB debugger

Command-line

When these plugins are active, they will process the entered commands. The current command language can be changed by clicking the button to the left of the input field. The current language can be set as default by choosing “Default CLI” from the context menu of the command line.

The command-line input field can be activated by pressing ., while Esc switches back to the previous window.