IDL 8.4.1 Release Notes

Supported Platforms

Platform	Hardware	Operating System	Supported Versions
Windows	Intel/AMD 32-bit	Windows	XP SP2, Vista, 7, 8
Windows	Intel/AMD 64-bit	Windows	XP, Vista, 7, 8
Macintosh	Intel 64-bit	OS X	10.8, 10.9
UNIX	Intel/AMD 64-bit	Linux	Kernel 2.6.32, glibc 2.12
	SPARC 64-bit	Solaris	10
	Intel/AMD 64-bit	Solaris	10

An X-Windows manager is required for Macintosh. The software products were tested using XQuartz 2.7.4.

New Routines and Features

For information on new routines and features, see "What's New" in the IDL Help.

Backward-Compatibility Issues

Warning: Live Tools will be removed after IDL 8.4.1
IDL 8.4.1 will be the last IDL version to include the obsolete Live Tools routines. These routines have been obsolete since IDL 6.2. If you have code that uses the Live routines, you should take steps to migrate your code before the next release of IDL.

Code SAVE Created with IDL 8.3 Cannot be Restored in Previous Versions of IDL
In IDL 8.3 the IDL Save file revision level was increased from 11 to 12 because of the new colon operator (see the "What's New in IDL 8.3" Help topic). Save files that contain IDL code and that are created with IDL 8.3 and later versions cannot be restored in previous versions of IDL. If you want to distribute a code SAVE file to other users who may only have IDL 8.0, IDL 8.1, or IDL 8.2, you should create your SAVE file using one of these earlier IDL versions.

Note: This change does not affect older Code SAVE files or SAVE files that contain data.

IDL Workspace Migration
IDL does not automatically update the IDL workspace between releases. After upgrading to a new IDL version, you have the following options:

Create a new workspace to use with the new IDLversion. You will need to reset any IDL Workbench preferences you mayhave set in the old version.
Continue using the old workspace without modification. New views may not be available.
Use the Window > ShowView > Othermenu option to update the workspace to specify the views you want to display.

IDL Core Preference Migration
IDL does not automatically migrate IDL core preferences between releases. After upgrading IDL to a new version, you should reset any IDL core preferences you want to use with the new IDL version by using the Preferences dialog or the PREF_SET routine.

Additional Documentation is Provided In Acrobat (PDF) Documents
The online help contains all the routines and functions in the IDL language. Documentation that does not exist in the online help is provided in fully searchable PDF format as part of the IDL installation, located in <install_dir>\help\pdf.

Known Problems

All Platforms

	IDLffVideoWrite Cannot Create Animated GIFs Because of vendor issues in the ffmpeg library, IDLffVideoWrite cannot create animated GIF files. Use the WRITE_GIF routine instead.
	Installation error on Windows platforms: "Key not valid for use in specified state" Some customers have reported this error during the installation process. It is caused by a Microsoft update (KB2918614), which affects the Windows installer service. Workaround: uninstall this Microsoft update. For more information, see the Microsoft Community website.
IDL-42545	WIDGET_TREE Drop Event Can Cause IDL to Crash if an Error Exists in the DRAG_NOTIFY Callback Routine If there is an error (such as an undefined variable) in the custom DRAG_NOTIFY callback routine, IDL may freeze or crash since the error halts execution in the child routine and IDL cannot return to the calling function. Workaround: Handle potential problems in the callback routine by including CATCH statements in your code. See the documentation topic "Responding to Drag Notifications (Callbacks)" for more information.
IDL-55393	Breakpoints in Files Opened via Links, Shortcuts, or Alternate Paths To improve performance, IDL always compiles the first version of a file it finds in its path. If you open a file in the editor and set a breakpoint, then compile from a version of the same file with a different path, IDLwill not assume that the two files are the same. As a result, IDL will not stop at the breakpoint set in the second file. Alternate paths to the same file can be constructed via UNIX links, Windows shortcuts, mapped drives, or UNC paths. Workaround: Make sure that the full path to the file in which you set the breakpoint is the same as the full path to the compiled file. If you use the IDL Workbench, compiling using the Workbench menus or toolbars will ensure that the same path is used for compilation and debugging.
IDL-49236	Deleting a Project or a Directory Within a Project While the Project Is Open Causes Exceptions when the Workbench Exits When a project file or a directory within a project is deleted from outside the Workbench (for example, from Windows Project Explorer) while the project is open, a warning message may be issued while the Workbench is still running. An exception may occur on exiting the Workbench.
IDL-51318 IDL-51322	Formatter Preferences for Keywords and Class Names are Ignored by the Source→Format Command The keyword and class name formatting preferences set on the IDL Formatter preference page are not applied when the code is highlighted and the Source > Format command is selected.
IDL-58532	Default UTF-8 Encoding is Corrupting .pro Files with Non-English Characters Non-English characters are converted to symbols when imported into the IDLWorkbench. Importing a .profile containing non-English characters in IDL permanently corrupts the file with bad characters. Workaround: Before opening a file or before saving an open file, change the file encoding to ISO-8859-1 for Spanish or German, or to Shift-JIS for Japanese. To change the encoding for an individual file, open the file in an IDL editor, then select File> Properties. In the Resources dialog box, change the Text file encoding preference. To change the default encoding preference for IDL, select Window > Preferences. In the Preferences dialog box, choose General > Workspace. Change the Text file encoding preference.
IDL-57214 IDL-58285 IDL-58839	IDL Crashes on Macintosh and UNIX When Performing Graphics Operations Where GL Drivers are Present Possible workaround: Rename the gl_driver.so file (located in bin\bin.<platform>) to gl_driver.ba.
IDL-60473	Accessing Preferences while IDL is Busy May Hang Workbench Trying to change Preferences while IDL is busy (for example, when a lengthy command is being executed) may cause the Workbench to hang.
IDL-61842	IDL on Windows 7 May Have Unpredictable Behavior When Using Graphics The cause may be graphics cards that are unsupported in Windows 7. Please see a list of supported graphics cards on the Microsoft.com website. You may want to upgrade your graphic driver or switch the IDL Graphics preference to use software rendering.
IDL-63902 IDL-52705	Using the IDL_Java Bridge Causes the Workbench to Ignore the Current Directory in CLASSPATH Workaround: Copy the .class file to any other directory explicitly listed in CLASSPATH.

Macintosh Platforms

IDL-60599	On Macintosh OS, Only One Workbench Instance Can Run at a Time Even if the preference "Prompt for workspace on startup" is set and multiple workspaces are available, only one instance will run. Workaround: Run the Workbench from the initscript located in the idlde.darwin.x86_64.app/Contents/MacOSdirectory of your IDL installation.
IDL-64149	Widget Interface Loses Focus When Selection is Made in a Drop-down List Workaround: In X11 Preferences, enable "Click-through Inactive Windows"
IDL-67319 IDL-67320	Graphics Rendering Causes Memory and Device Errors XQuartz version 2.7.2 causes these error messages when creating IDLGraphics. When IDL is installed, the Macintosh operating system may direct you to install the most recent version of XQuartz. Workaround: Use the latest version of XQuartz.
IDL-68845	Launching the IDL Workbench on Macintosh May Prompt Installation of Java v1.6 If you launch the IDL Workbench on Macintosh without first having Java v1.6 installed, the Macintosh OS may prompt you to install it first.This will happen even though IDL includes Java v1.7. For moreinformation on this issue, please see: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11919004/eclipse-4-2-mac-os-x-10-8-ml-and-java-6 Workaround: Install the Macintosh version of Java 1.6 when prompted. The Workbench will continue to use Java v1.7 as it was installed with IDL. Another workaround is to add a softlink as sudo from Frameworks 1.6 ->1.7, as described in the link above.

Windows Platforms

IDL-27165	Using DIALOG_PICKFILE with the MULTIPLE Keyword Limits the Maximum n Files or Maximum n Bytes for a File Array When attempting to open multiple files using DIALOG_PICKFILE, the operating system has a maximum buffer of 32767 bytes.
IDL-47445	Export Bridge Instantiation Object Creation Failure with Embedded License Attempting to create an export object with an embedded license fails when no printer is set up. Workaround: Install and set up a printer before running IDL.
IDL-48454	WIDGET_TIMER Can Cause Applications To Freeze Until An Event Is Sent To The Application WIDGET_TIMERevents fail after 10 events. This problem happens in the following cases: Timer events are chained together by setting the next timer within the handling of the current timer and before the "work" section of the event handler is performed. The next timer goes off during the current timer event processing (for example, during a lengthy calculation). Workaround: Chain timer events by setting the next timer after any computations are completed. For smoother performance, set the next timer based on how long the computations execute, which accounts for variances in machine speed. For example, to fire the timer once every second, set the next timer to 1.0 - (time to perform computation)
IDL-49641	Updating Edited Variable Values is Slow While IDL is Busy or Blocking If you edit a variable value using the IDL Workbench Variables view while IDL is busy (for example, when a lengthy command is being executed, or when a widget application is blocking), it may appear that the variable is not being updated. The new variable value is displayed when IDL is no longer busy. (Related to ID 49604.)
IDL-66357	Installing into a Directory Named with Multibyte Characters May Cause the IDL Workbench to Not Launch If you are installing IDL into a directory that contains multibyte characters, path names in the idlde.ini file may be truncated. Workaround for32-bit systems: In the <install_dir>\IDLxx\bin\bin.x86\idlde.inifile, edit the following lines: Line 2 should read: <install_dir>\IDLxx\bin\bin.x86\jre\bin Line 14 should read:Dosgi.sharedConfiguration.area=<install_dir>\IDLxx\bin\bin.x86\configuration Workaround for64-bit systems: In the <install_dir>\IDLxx\bin\bin.x86_64\idlde.inifile, edit the following lines: Line 2 should read: <install_dir>\IDLxx\bin\bin.x86_64\jre\bin Line 14 should read:Dosgi.sharedConfiguration.area=<install_dir>\IDLxx\bin\bin.x86_64\configuration
IDL-66363	Executable for a C++ Project that Uses COM_idl_connect.tlb Needs to be in\bin directory to Run If you create a C++ project that uses COM_idl_connect.tlb,the .exe must be installed in <install_dir>\bin\bin.x86or <install_dir>\bin\bin.x86_64 to run. Alternatively, you can add the install path to the PATH environment variable.
IDL-69220	Javabridge not configured properly when running 32-bit IDL from a 64-bit installation The software installer builds a Java bridge configuration file specific to 32-bit or 64bit platforms. For a 64-bit installation, the Java bridge is configured for 64-bit Java. When running 32-bit IDL from a 64-bit installation, the Java configuration file does not work and IDL issues an error message that it cannot initialize the Java bridge.
ENVI-70387	Customers using multi-byte character sets on Windows 7 platforms may not see the InstallShield Wizard graphics when installing the software. Workaround: set the TMP environment variable to a writeable path such as C:\TMP, then re-install the software.

UNIX Platforms

IDL-14221 IDL-30564	DIALOG_PRINTERSETUP Causes IDL to Hang When Called from a Modal Widget This is a known problem with no known workarounds except to use DIALOG_PRINTERSETUP with a non-modal widget.
IDL-41964	IDLDoes Not Run in Security Enhanced Linux Some recent versions of Linux implement mandatory access control in the Linux kernel using the Linux Security Modules framework. IDL will not run in such an environment without a modification to the security context for the IDL binaries. Workaround: Either disable SELinux or modify the default security context for IDL. See Help Article 3092 for details.
IDL-43301	Upper Left Corner of Tree Widget is Never a Valid Drop Zone When the ability to drag and drop tree widget nodes has been enabled, the UNIX tree widget does not recognize the upper left corner of the widget as a valid drop zone. This area typically extends over the icons of the first two nodes (but not the labels). This is a vendor issue. You can drop items onto the first two nodes by moving the cursor over the labels instead of the icons.
IDL-55427	IDLDataminer Requires latestlibstdc++ Third-party libraries used by the IDL Dataminer module require a library that may not be available by default on some newer Linux systems.Attempting to run the IDL Dataminer may cause IDL to issue an error similar to the following: % DLM_LOAD: Error loading sharable executable. Symbol:IDL_Load, File =/rsi/qa/unix/idl71/bin/bin.linux.x86_64/idl_dataminer.so libstdc++.so.5:cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory You will need to install the appropriate libstdc++compatible library for your platform.
IDL-55537	IDLnetURLObjects with ENCODE Property Fails on Linux 32-Bit Using IDLnetURLwith the ENCODE property set to a value other than 0 fails on 32-bitLinux systems.
IDL-57381	Missing 64-bit Library IDL requires a 64-bit version of libXp. Red Hat-based Linux distributions such as RHEL and Fedora may not install this library by default. On Red Hat you can obtain this library using the following command: yum install libXp.x86_64
IDL-58106	DIALOG_PRINTERSETUP Crashes on Linux 64-bit running in the Workbench Calling DIALOG_PRINTERSETUP from the Workbench causes 64-bit IDL to crash. Workaround: To set up a printer, launch IDL in command line mode and run DIALOG_PRINTERSETUP. Once you have set up a printer, the information is cached in your home directory. Then printed IDL programs will go to the appropriate printer regardless of whether you are running the Workbench or command line IDL.
IDL-58460	IDL Graphics Cause Crash in Ubuntu Versions of UNIX Recent versions of Ubuntu and other Debian-based Linux distributions may not ship with the libstdc++.so.6 library, which is required by Xerces. You will need to download this library and install it in the /bin/bin.linux.x86directory of your IDL installation. (On 64-bit installations, this directory is /bin/bin.linux.x86_64.)
IDL-59497	IDL Graphics Fail with Software Rendering on Linux IDL graphics in the Workbench in software rendering mode may fail on Linux machines if the display is local and Xinerama is not enabled. Workaround: Configure Xinerama on the system or run from the IDL command line.
IDL-68960 IDL-68965	Java-IDLBridge with Drawable Windows May Not Render Properly with Software Rendering You may run into problems when using the Java-IDL Bridge with drawable windows and software rendering. The window may not display anything. This affects the example code in the IDL documentation (IDLWindowExample.java and IDLgrWindowExample.java). Workaround: If nothing appears in the drawable window, change to hardware rendering by setting your drawable object's RENDERER property to zero (i.e.,RENDERER=0).
IDL-69332	Selecting the Help Preference Can Crash the IDL Workbench on Some Linux Systems Selecting Window > Preferences> Help on some Linux systems may cause the IDL workbench to crash. Workaround: Open the idlde.ini file and find the -vmargsline. Add the following new line after the -vmargs line: -Dorg.eclipse.swt.browser.DefaultType=mozilla

Problems Fixed in this Version

IDL-69187	Attempting to use GRIB_GET_VALUES() with GRIB2 files crashes IDL for Linux GRIB_GET_VALUES should now work properly on all supported platforms.
IDL-69210	IDL crashes when calling IDLnetURL::GetFtpDirList on certain FTP servers IDLnetURL::GetFtpDirList should now work properly on all FTP servers.
IDL-69220	Java bridge not configured properly when running 32-bit IDL from a 64-bit installation The software installer builds a Java bridge configuration file specific to 32-bit or 64-bit platforms. For a 64-bit installation, the Java bridge is configured for 64-bit Java. When running 32-bit IDL from a 64-bit installation, the Java configuration file does not work and IDL issues an error message that it cannot initialize the Java bridge.
IDL-69244	DENDRO_PLOT: Axis ranges are slightly off The axes ranges for DENDRO_PLOT have been fixed.
IDL-69280	FFTCENTER keyword shifts X,Y, and Z even when DIMENSION keyword is used Previously, for FFT, if you used both the CENTER and DIMENSION keyword, then IDLwould shift the center of all dimensions, including those which were not undergoing the FFT. Now, when both CENTER and DIMENSION are used, FFT only shifts the center of the dimension given by DIMENSION.
IDL-69316	Windows: After calling Dialog_Pickfile, IDL's I18N locale can be different On certain Windows systems, when shell extensions such as Tortoise or iCloud are installed and set to a different locale, then calling DIALOG_PICKFILE would change IDL's locale. IDL now automatically sets the locale back to its default value before returning from DIALOG_PICKFILE.

ENVI LiDAR 5.2.1 Release Notes Exelis VIS and Window XP support