You can save the views and layers of an ENVI session to a file that can be later reopened. The layer types that can be included in a saved session are:

  • Raster
  • NITF files (raster segments only)
  • Multi-raster files
  • Vector in .shp and .evf format
  • ROI in .roi and .xml format
  • Annotation
  • Grid
  • HDF5

When you save the views and layers, the following will also be saved:

  • Any files open in ENVI
  • The layout of the view
  • The layers loaded into the views
  • A snail trail image
  • Any placemarks
  • Any properties (center coordinates, zoom factor, raster stretch, color table, and so forth)
  • Any open portals

To save views and layers:

  1. Select File > ENVI Session > Save from the menu bar.
  2. Navigate to a directory where you have write permission.
  3. Save the session using the default filename envi_session.json, or enter a new name in the File name field.

  4. Click Save. ENVI saves the file to .json format. An example of a .json file follows:

    {
    "file_type": "ENVI Session File",
    "version": "5.4",
    "layout": "1,1",
    "view00": {
    "name": "View",
    "layer000": {
    "name": "qb_boulder_msi",
    "hide": 0,
    "transparency": 0,
    "data": {
    "url": "C:\\Program Files\\C:\Program Files\INSTALL_DIR\\ENVIxx\\data\\qb_boulder_msi",
    "factory": "URLRaster",
    "auxiliary_url": ["C:\\Program Files\\INSTALL_DIR\\ENVIxx\\data\\qb_boulder_msi.hdr", "C:\\Program Files\\INSTALL_DIR\\ENVIxx\\data\\qb_boulder_msi.enp"]
    },
    "bands": "2,1,0",
    "quick_stretch": "optimized linear",
    "brightness": 50,
    "zoom_percent": 100.00000,
    "sharpen": 10.000000
    },
    "center": "-105.21439,39.997888",
    "rotation": "0.00000000",
    "show_overview": "0",
    "show_snail_trail": "1",
    "coordinate_system": "PROJCS[\"UTM_Zone_13N\",GEOGCS[\"GCS_WGS_1984\",DATUM[\"D_WGS_1984\",SPHEROID[\"WGS_1984\",6378137.0,298.257223563]],PRIMEM[\"Greenwich\",0.0],UNIT[\"Degree\",0.0174532925199433]],PROJECTION[\"Transverse_Mercator\"],PARAMETER[\"False_Easting\",500000.0],PARAMETER[\"False_Northing\",0.0],PARAMETER[\"Central_Meridian\",-105.0],PARAMETER[\"Scale_Factor\",0.9996],PARAMETER[\"Latitude_Of_Origin\",0.0],UNIT[\"Meter\",1.0]]"
    },
    "dataset0000": {
    "url": "C:\\Program Files\\INSTALL_DIR\\ENVIxx\\data\\qb_boulder_msi",
    "factory": "URLRaster",
    "auxiliary_url": ["C:\\Program Files\\INSTALL_DIR\\ENVIxx\\data\\qb_boulder_msi.hdr", "C:\\Program Files\\INSTALL_DIR\\ENVIxx\\data\\qb_boulder_msi.enp"]
    }
    }

    Select the .json file when you want to restore saved views and layers. You can also view and edit this file in a text editor.

To restore saved views and layers:

  1. Select File > ENVI Session > Restore from the menu bar.
  2. Navigate to a .json file created from a previously saved session.
  3. Click Open.