(Internal) ENVI 4.7 does not recognize valid TIFF files

Some users may experience errors when opening valid TIFF files in ENVI 4.7. The issue is most prevalent on machines running an international version of Windows, such as Spanish, Portuguese, or Japanese but can also sometimes occur when using the English version. This Help Article discusses how to configure ENVI 4.7 to avoid these errors.

When opening TIFF format files using ENVI 4.7, a user may experience one of the following issues:

When using File ->Open Image file, a Header Info dialog appears requesting that the user enter file information describing the TIFF file.

When using File ->Open External ->Generic->GeoTIFF, ENVI provides a warning message that the file is not a valid TIFF file.

These errors are caused by an internal bug when reading a TIFF file from a directory that contains diacritical marks (an accent mark added to a letter).

The current work around is to move the TIFF file to a new directory that does not contain diacritical marks, or remove the diacritical marks from the directory name. In addition, it may be necessary to change the ENVI directory preferences to include only directories that do not contain diacritical marks. The preferences can be changed from the ENVI 4.7 main menu under File ->Preferences->Default Directories. Be sure to check the Data, Temp, Output, Save_Add (if used) and Alternate Header directory names.

This should resolve any remaining TIFF file read problems in ENVI 4.7. If it does not, please contact Exelis Visual Information Solutions Technical Support at support@exelisvis.com.