Help not working in ENVI 4.6.1

[inforest]

We have been working with 4.6.1 Version of ENVI (using for installation the downloadable file from the ITTVis Site) and it apperas that the help file is not working. Clicking Help from the relevant menu appears not to do anything at all. We are using the 64bit version, however we cannot tell if this a OS issue. We will keep you posted for this matter.

[inforest]

This issue has been addressed -> 1

 

The ENVI and IDL Help systems that come with both 64-bit and 32-bit ENVI 4.6.1, ENVI 4.6 and IDL 7.0.6, are dependent upon 32-bit Java on the host machine. If a compatible version of Java is not installed, or Java is not installed at all, then the ENVI and IDL help will fail with an error or will not launch at all.

This Tech Tip discusses steps to get ENVI Help and IDL Help for ENVI 4.6.1, ENVI 4.6 or IDL 7.0.6 for Windows to work when it will not launch.

    * Configuring ENVI 4.6.1/ENVI 4.6 Help
    * Configuring IDL 7.0.6 Help
    * Troubleshooting


Discussion:


A. CONFIGURING ENVI 4.6.1/ENVI 4.6HELP

If attempting to start ENVI 4.6.1/4.6 Help on Windows fails with an error or you receive no response try the following steps. Note that administrative privileges may be required to complete these steps.

   1. Download and install the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 5.0 update 11.

      Note: If your system already has JRE version 5.0 update 11 (or later), proceed to configuring ENVI Help initialization file to use the installed Java version.

      Note: 64-bit Windows may only have a 64-bit JRE installed, but not a 32-bit JRE. The IDL workbench, IDL Help and ENVI Help always require a 32-bit JRE. If you encounter the error "JVM terminated. Exit code=-1", it may be caused by the missing 32-bit JRE. In that case, it will be necessary to install a 32-bit JRE on the system and then configure the help system as described below.


      A compatible version of the JRE is a free download available directly from Sun Microsystems at:

            http://java.sun.com/products/archive/j2se/5.0_11/index.html

   2. Modify the ENVI Help initialization file to use the JRE installed on your system.
      You will need to modify the ENVI Help initialization file located in the envi46/help/eclipse subdirectory of your ENVI 4.6.1 or ENVI 4.6 installation. To do this, edit (using a plain text editor, like Notepad) the envihelp.ini file located at, for example:

            C:\Program Files\ITT\IDL708\products\envi46\help\eclipse\envihelp.ini ( ENVI 4.6.1 )
            -or-
            C:\Program Files\ITT\IDL706\products\envi46\help\eclipse\envihelp.ini ( ENVI 4.6 )

      and add the following two lines at the beginning of the envihelp.ini file:

            -vm
            C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_11\bin

      where the second line should show the path to the actual directory that contains the file javaw.exe on your system.

      After modification, the resulting contents of the "envihelp.ini" file might would look like this:

            -vm
            C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_11\bin
            -nosplash
            -application
            com.rsi.idldt.helpApplication
            -data
            @user.home/.idl/itt/envihelp-46

[inforest]

This issue has been addressed ->2

B. CONFIGURING IDL HELP FOR IDL 7.0.6, ENVI 4.6 and ENVI 4.6.1

If you attempt to start the IDL Help on Windows and it fails, or you receive no response, take the following steps. Note that administrative privileges may be required to complete these steps.

   1. Download and install the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 5.0 update 11.

      NOTE: If your system already has version 5.0 update 11 (or later) of the JRE, proceed to the next step to configure your IDL Help initialization file to use the installed Java version.

      Note: 64-bit Windows may only have a 64-bit JRE installed, but not a 32-bit JRE. The IDL workbench, IDL Help and ENVI Help always require a 32-bit JRE. If you encounter the error "JVM terminated. Exit code=-1", it may be caused by the missing 32-bit JRE. In that case, it will be necessary to install a 32-bit JRE on the system and then configure the help system as described below.

      A compatible version of the JRE is a free download available directly from Sun Microsystems at:

            http://java.sun.com/products/archive/j2se/5.0_11/index.html

   2. Modify the IDL Help initialization file to use the JRE installed on your system.

      You will need to modify the IDL Help initialization file (idlhelp.ini) located in the idlde directory of your IDL 7.0.6 installation.

      To do this, edit (using a plain text editor, like Notepad) the idlhelp.ini file at the location, for example:

            C:\Program Files\ITT\IDL706\idlde\idlhelp.ini ( for IDL 7.0.6 or ENVI 4.6 )
            -or-
            C:\Program Files\ITT\IDL708\idlde\idlhelp.ini ( for ENVI 4.6.1 )

      In the file, insert the following two lines new lines to the beginning of the file:

            -vm
            C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_11\bin

      where the second line above should show the path to the actual directory that contains the file javaw.exe on your system.

      After modification, the contents of the idlhelp.ini file might appear as follows:

            -vm
            C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_11\bin
            -nosplash
            -application
            com.rsi.idldt.helpApplication
            -data
            @user.home/.idl/itt/idlhelp-706

      Note that some editors may show the existing text concatenated on a single line interspaced with unknown symbols. In this case, leave the existing text as is and insert the 2 new lines to the beginning of the idlhelp.ini file, for example:

      alt idlhelp.ini file

After installing the JRE and configuring the envihelp.ini file, the IDL Help system should work as expected.

[inforest]

This issue has been addressed -> 3

C. TROUBLESHOOTING

If you have installed JRE and then configured the "envihelp.ini" and/or "idlhelp.ini" file per the instructions above, but ENVI 4.6.1, ENVI 4.6 Help or IDL 7.0.6 Help still does not launch, the following information might be relevant:

   1. Some versions of JRE, such as JRE versions 1.6.0_11 and 1.6.0_12, may not be fully compatible with the ENVI 4.6.1, ENVI 4.6 and IDL 7.0.6 Help systems on Windows.

      If an incompatible version of JRE is suspected, install JRE version 1.5.0_11 as described in the steps above and then reconfigure the envihelp.ini and/or idlhelp.ini file with the location of this specific version of the JRE.

   2. 64-bit Windows may only have a 64-bit JRE installed, but not a 32-bit JRE. The IDL workbench, IDL Help and ENVI Help always require a 32-bit JRE. If you encounter the error:

            JVM terminated. Exit code=-1

      the problem may be caused by the missing 32-bit JRE. In that case, it will be necessary to install a 32-bit JRE on the system and then configure the help system from the Java web site mentioned above.

After installing the JRE and configuring the idlhelp.ini file, the IDL Help system should work as expected.

[aldim]

OK... thanks...

I actually run ENVI in XP x64. In fact I  do not have the specified version of Java runtime, but version 12.
Furthermore 32 bit java is installed in Program files (x86). So I added these two lines in order to have ENVI help available:

-vm
C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre1.5.0_12\bin

After that the ENVI help appeared to work fine.

Kind Regards
Alex