Can I restore a DS9 session?

A DS9 session can be saved using the File → Backup option, which will let you select where to save the backup file and directory (the default is ds9.bck and ds9.bck.dir). These can be loaded back with either the File → Restore menu item, or by starting DS9 with the -restore option; for example

unix% ds9 -restore ds9.bck

[New] New in CIAO 4.18 is the "auto backup" feature of DS9, which causes DS9 to save the state of your DS9 visualization every 5 minutes to the file and directory ds9.auto and ds9.auto.dir in your home directory. Support for auto recovery can be turned on or off, and the time between the saves changed, in the General section of the DS9 Preferences.

[The preferences window from DS9 showing the elements in the "General" section. Highlighted are the two preferences related to the auto-backup feature: whether it is turned on and the time between saves.]

[Print media version: The preferences window from DS9 showing the elements in the "General" section. Highlighted are the two preferences related to the auto-backup feature: whether it is turned on and the time between saves.]

Note

The auto-recovery directory is removed when DS9 exits without an error.