Using IDL and ENVI on Mac OS X Requires X11/XQuartz

PROBLEM:

Running IDL and ENVI on Mac OS X requires the installation of X11/XQuartz on the system. X11/XQuartz does not come pre-installed on Mac OS X and requires a separate download and installation of this product.

Here are some example symptoms of using IDL on a Mac OS X system without X11/XQuartz:

* The IDL Workbench can be started but the Workbench interface is not fully initialized and is unresponsive.

* If running an IDL Command Line session from an Apple Terminal (as opposed to an X11 Terminal), any attempt to call functionality that has graphical display system dependencies will fail.

Note that the XQuartz application icon can be found under the /Applications/Utilities folder on Mac OS X.  Be sure that you have an updated version of XQuartz that is compatible with your version of Mac OS X.

SOLUTION:

To obtain and install XQuartz:

1.) Go to the website:

    xquartz.macosforge.org

2.) Download the XQuartz installer for your version of Mac OS X.

3.) Unpack and run the XQuartz installer as a user with Admin privileges.  If needed, additional information about installing XQuartz can be found through the XQuartz project web site.

4.) Log out and then log back (or reboot) in to complete the XQuartz product installation.

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Related Help Articles:

"IDL Workbench on Mac OS X Dependency On Java 6"
http://harrisgeospatial.com/Support/SelfHelpTools/HelpArticles/HelpArticles-Detail/TabId/2718/ArtMID/10220/ArticleID/16070/IDL-Workbench-on-Mac-OS-X-Dependency-On-Java-6.aspx

"XQuartz/X11 failing to launch automatically when running ENVI or IDL"
http://harrisgeospatial.com/Support/SelfHelpTools/HelpArticles/HelpArticles-Detail/TabId/2718/ArtMID/10220/ArticleID/15775/XQuartzX11-failing-to-launch-automatically-when-running-ENVI-or-IDL.aspx

 

Reviewed for external by JU (4-Aug-2015), KK