ENVI and ArcGIS Frequently Asked Questions

With the growing availability and demand for geospatial information, the ability to work between ENVI and ArcGIS is an increasingly important part of many processing workflows.  These are a few of the most frequent questions that arise when working between the two programs.

 

Q:  ArcGIS tools aren’t showing up in ENVI—why not? 

A:  If tools such as Send Image to ArcMap, Print, or Save to ArcGIS Geodatabase are unavailable, check to make sure that you are using 32-bit ENVI.

ENVI must be in 32-bit mode to communicate with ArcGIS.  If you are using a 32-bit operating system, then the 32-bit version of ENVI will be the only version available.  However, the default installation on 64-bit systems is 64-bit ENVI.  In this case, 32-bit ENVI can be found in the ENVI menu group, under the 32 bit folder (for ENVI 5.0 and 5.1) or the ENVI for ArcGIS folder (for ENVI 5.2 and later).

 

Q:  ENVI Tools aren’t showing up in ArcMap—how do I install them?

A:  If ENVI is installed after ArcMap, these tools should be installed automatically.  However, if they are not then you’ll need to right click in the ArcToolbox area of ArcMap and select Add Toolbox.  Then navigate to the following location and select ENVI Tools.tbx

ENVI 5.4: C:\Program Files\Harris\ENVI54\gptools\arctoolbox\toolboxes

ENVI 5.0-5.3:  C:\Program Files\Exelis\ENVI5x\gptools\arctoolbox\toolboxes

ENVI 4.8:  C:\Program Files\ITT\IDL\IDL80\products\envicommon\envigptools\arctoolbox\toolboxes

Q:  How can I move images directly between ENVI and ArcMap?

A:  Images can be moved from ArcMap to ENVI by dragging the image from the ArcMap Table of Contents to the ENVI 5.x view pane.  Moving from ENVI to ArcMap, you could either right click on the image in the Layer Manager and select Send Image to ArcMap (which sends the entire image) or click on File > Chip View To > ArcMap (which sends the view extent of the current 3 band display).  The Send to ArcMap process does create an intermediate TIFF file, however.  To avoid this, save your file from ENVI with either a .dat or .img extension which can be opened directly in ArcMap.

 

Q:  Which versions of ENVI and ArcMap are compatible?

A:  ENVI 4.8 is compatible with ArcMap 9.3 and 10.0.

      ENVI 5.0 is compatible with ArcMap 10.0.

      ENVI 5.1 is compatible with ArcMap 10.0, 10.1, and 10.2.

      ENVI 5.2 is compatible with ArcMap 10.0, 10.1, and 10.2.

      ENVI 5.3 is compatible with ArcMap 10.0, 10.1, 10.2, and 10.3.

      ENVI 5.4 is compatible with ArcMap 10.2 and 10.3

 

Q:  Can I open an image from an ArcGIS Geodatabase?

A:  Yes.  First, connect to the geodatabase using the Remote Connection Manager found under File on the main ENVI menu (in 4.8, under Window).  Once the connection is established, use File > Open Remote Dataset (in 4.8, File > Open Remote File) to open the image.

 

Q:  Can I access images that I’ve published on ESRI Image Services?

A:  Yes, as of ENVI 5.0 Service Pack 1.  These images can be accessed via the Remote Connection Manager and File >>Open Remote Dataset.

 

Q:  How do I compose a map from ENVI?

A:  Under File, select Print or Chip View To > Print.  This will open a new dialogue window in which you can compose your map. However, this does require ArcGIS to be installed.  If ArcGIS is not installed then the print option will not be available.

Note: As of ENVI 5.4, legends, scale bars, color bars and grid lines annotations have been added to the display tools in ENVI for map composition.  These items can be 'burned in' the image by exporting the image or dispaly using File->Export View to.

Reviewed 12/5/2016 by MM.