(Internal) Help systems for Windows ENVI 4.6.1, ENVI 4.6 , or IDL 7.0.6 will not launch (Java dependency issue)

Anonym Thursday, January 29, 2009

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 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.

Note: We recommend that 32-bit JRE 1.5.0_11 be used with the ENVI 4.6/4.6.1 and IDL 7.0.6 Help systems, since this JRE version has been tested and is known to be compatible. It has been reported that there are other versions of JRE are not compatible. For example, we have received reports that most versions of JRE 1.6.0_* won't work with the ENVI 4.6/4.6.1 and IDL 7.0.6 Help systems. If you run into problems when using a JRE version other than 1.5.0_11, we recommend that you follow the instructions below to download and installl JRE 1.5.0_11 to use with the ENVI 4.6/4.6.1 and IDL 7.0.6 Help systems.

This Help Article 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

Related Tech Tip Articles:

4468: IDL 7.0.6 and ENVI+IDL 4.6/4.6.1 Workbench will not launch (Java dependency issue)

4441: Help systems for Windows ENVI 4.6.1, ENVI 4.6 , or IDL 7.0.6 will not launch (Java dependency issue)

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.

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

Note: If your system already has a compatible JRE version such as verion 5.0 update 11 (JRE 1.5.0_11), proceed to configuring ENVI Help initialization file to use the installed Java version.

IMPORTANT: We recommend that 32-bit JRE 1.5.0_11 be used with the ENVI 4.6/4.6.1 and IDL 7.0.6 Help systems, since this JRE version has been tested and is known to be compatible. It has been reported that there are other versions of JRE are not compatible. For example, we have received reports that most versions of JRE 1.6.0_* won't work with the ENVI 4.6/4.6.1 and IDL 7.0.6 Help systems. If you run into problems when using a JRE version other than 1.5.0_11, we recommend that you follow the instructions below to download and installl JRE 1.5.0_11 to use with the ENVI 4.6/4.6.1 and IDL 7.0.6 Help systems.

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

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

After installing the JRE and configuring the envihelp.ini file, the ENVI 4.6.1/4.6 Help system should work as expected.

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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.

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

Note: If your system already has a compatible JRE version such as verion 5.0 update 11 (JRE 1.5.0_11), proceed to configuring ENVI Help initialization file to use the installed Java version.

IMPORTANT: We recommend that 32-bit JRE 1.5.0_11 be used with the ENVI 4.6/4.6.1 and IDL 7.0.6 Help systems, since this JRE version has been tested and is known to be compatible. It has been reported that there are other versions of JRE are not compatible. For example, we have received reports that most versions of JRE 1.6.0_* won't work with the ENVI 4.6/4.6.1 and IDL 7.0.6 Help systems. If you run into problems when using a JRE version other than 1.5.0_11, we recommend that you follow the instructions below to download and installl JRE 1.5.0_11 to use with the ENVI 4.6/4.6.1 and IDL 7.0.6 Help systems.

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

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

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

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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:

Some versions of JRE, such as JRE 1.6.0_*, may not work with the ENVI 4.6.1, ENVI 4.6 and IDL 7.0.6 Help systems.

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.
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:
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.

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