AVS runs on the DEC workstations in the SciVis lab. The command to start AVS is simply avs .
Users can customize their environment using the .avsrc startup file.
The Application Visualization System allows users to construct their own visualizations of scientific data. The basic components of AVS are modules, which can be connected to form flow networks. Many different modules are provided to perform filtering of input data, mapping filtered data into geometry primitives or 2D images, and rendering the geometries or images on the screen. Construction of a visualization typically proceeds by connecting relevant modules together in a direct-manipulation network editor. Once the data is rendered, the rendering modules alllow the user to browse the graphical representations.