If you have logged into a remote computer from a workstation, it is possible to redefine the machine that will display X-window output. The default for IDL is to make X-windows for plots and image displays. Two things have to be done before you can redirect the X-windows output: first the output device needs to be defined to be the local node, and second the security for the local node needs to be modified to give permission for the remote node to create the window.