ENVI 5: How do I open the classic ENVI interface in ENVI 5?

In ENVI 5, the two user interfaces available in ENVI 4.7 and 4.8 have been consolidated into one view, making it easier to start ENVI, navigate through the menus and options, and begin analyzing data.  The single window paradigm in the new interface allows for layering multiple images to be stacked on one another in each of the views.

Despite these advantages, though, some users may wish to work in the original, classic ENVI interface.  This interface is still available, but may be harder to find than in previous versions of ENVI.

There are a couple of different ways to start the classic ENVI interface for ENVI 5 on Windows, Unix/Linux, and Mac operating systems.  Here are instructions for the most commonly used:

Windows

1. From the Start menu, choose All Programs > ENVI 5.0 > Tools > ENVI Classic (or ENVI Classic + IDL).

2. If you have an ENVI + IDL license, start IDL (for example, by choosing All Programs > ENVI 5.0 > IDL), then at the IDL command line, type:

     envi

Unix/Linux

1. At the command line in a terminal window, type:

     envi -classic

2. If you have an ENVI + IDL license, start IDL (for example, by opening a terminal window, then typing idl), then at the IDL command line, type:

     envi

Mac

1.  Select Applications > Exelis > ENVI 5.0 > ENVI > ENVIClassic (or ENVIClassic+IDL).

2.  At the command line in a terminal window, type:

     envi -classic

3. If you have an ENVI + IDL license, start IDL (for example, by opening a terminal window, then typing idl), then at the IDL command line, type:

     envi

Note : It is not recommended on any platform to run classic ENVI from the same session of IDL that is running the new ENVI interface.  ENVI 5 was not designed to be used in this way, and running both interfaces from the same session of IDL is likely to be unstable.

Reviewed 10/15/14 by PS