IDL 7.0.4 Release Notes

IDL 7.0.4 is a Macintosh-only release that allows IDL to run as a 64-bit application on Intel-based Macintoshes running OS X version 10.5 or later. The IDL 7.0.4 installation includes the IDL 7.0.3 updates to the IDL Workbench and IDL's Scientific Data Formats support.


Note
Visit www.ittvis.com/IDL for additional information and late-breaking release notes.

The information found in these release notes is separated into the following sections:

ID numbers are included where applicable to allow ITT Visual Information Solutions to respond to inquiries more easily.

New Features in IDL 7.0

For information on new features in this release, see the What's New in IDL 7.0 manual. What's New is included in the IDL online help system under the heading "About IDL".

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Backward-Compatibility Issues in IDL 7.0

All Platforms

ID
Description
44008
Export Bridges: IDL Error State and Successful Method Return
If your client creates an instance of a COM/Java Export Bridge wrapper object, and calls an object method whose code throws an error, the wrapped method will return an error unless the referenced code resets the internal IDL error state.
In this circumstance, it is best if the wrapped code catches its own error, handles it, and resets the IDL error state. You can reset the IDL error state in the error handling catch block by calling the MESSAGE procedure:
MESSAGE, /RESET
This procedure call sets the !ERROR_STATE system variable back to the "success" state.
49528
!PATH Seems to Change on its own
By default, the IDL Workbench manages the value of !PATH so that files in your project directories are found. The consequences of this automatic management may be unexpected, especially if you also modify the value of !PATH manually. See "IDL Path Management" in the IDL online help system for a detailed explanation.
n/a
PREF_MIGRATE Routine Not Called Automatically
Beginning with IDL 7.0, PREF_MIGRATE is no longer called automatically the first time IDL is run. You can still use PREF_MIGRATE to manually migrate IDL system preferences. IDL Workbench preferences are managed separately, by the workbench itself. For more on the difference between system and workbench preferences, see "IDL System Preferences" in the IDL Reference Guide.
n/a
New Process for Debugging Shared Library Code
Beginning with IDL 7.0, when the IDL Workbench is running there are two processes to which you can connect your debugger: the IDL Workbench (idlde) and the IDL out-of-process server (idl_opserver). The idl_opserver is the IDL process that runs the IDL interpreter and loads shared libraries (DLMs). To debug your shared library code, you need to attach your debugger (gdb, Visual Studio, etc.) to the idl_opserver process. On Windows, using Visual Studio, you can select Attach to Process and choose the idl_opserver.exe process. On Unix, using gdb or dbx, you can use the ps command to retrieve the ID of the idl_opserver process, and then attach your debugger to that process ID.
If you are not using the IDL Workbench, continue to connect to the idl process.

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Windows Platforms

ID
Description
n/a
Location of the IDL Workbench Executable (idlde.exe) has changed in IDL 7.0
The location of the idlde.exe file has changed. In IDL 6.4 the default location was: C:\Program Files\ITT\IDL64\bin\bin.x86\idlde.exe
In IDL 7.0 the default location is: C:\Program Files\ITT\IDL70\idlde\idlde.exe                                                                        

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UNIX Platforms

ID
Description
n/a
IDL Installation Can Fail on Linux 64-bit Systems That Do Not Contain 32-Bit Compatibility Libraries
IDL may not install correctly on a pure 64-bit Linux system. If installation fails, install your platform's 32-bit compatibility libraries.
48917
49373
Breakpoints in Files Opened via UNIX Links
To improve performance, IDL always compiles the first version of a file it finds in its path. If you open a file that has been linked using the UNIX ln command in the editor and set a breakpoint, then compile from a version of the same file with a different path, IDL will not assume that the two files are the same. As a result, IDL will not stop at the breakpoint set in the linked file.
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.
49251
IDL Workbench Does Not Automatically Run in Background
In IDL 7.0, when the IDL Workbench (idlde) is run from a terminal window, the window is not available for other commands while the Workbench is running.
Workaround: To run the IDL Workbench in the background, add an ampersand (&) to the terminal command:
idlde &

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Problems Corrected in IDL 7.0.4

IDL 7.0.4 incorporates all of the fixes included in IDL 7.0.3, and allows IDL to run in 64-bit mode on Intel-based Macintoshes. In addition, the following problems were corrected:

ID
Description
49844
Creation of Semaphores Fails under Mac OS X 10.5
In IDL 7.0, creation of semaphores (using the SEM_CREATE routine) failed under Macintosh OS X 10.5 (Leopard) if semaphore names were longer than 24 characters. This restriction has been lifted in IDL 7.0.4.
51198
51412
CURSOR/RDPIX Procedures not Working Correctly on OS X
Due to a problem in Macintosh OS X version 10.5 (Leopard), in IDL 7.0, the CURSOR and RDPIX procedures did not function correctly on machines running that version of the operating system. This problem has been corrected in IDL 7.0.4.

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Problems Corrected in IDL 7.0.3

IDL 7.0.3 is an update to the IDL Workbench, adding several new features and fixing a number of problems with the initial (IDL 7.0) release.

Because IDL 7.0.3 is an IDL Workbench-only update, fixes apply to all platforms unless otherwise noted.

ID
Description
n/a
IDL Workbench: Code Parser Speed Improvement
IDL 7.0.3 includes a patch to the IDL Workbench that speeds up the initial parsing of IDL code in IDL's path. This update was previously released via the IDL Workbench update mechanism.
48331
49528
49685
49860
51634
51635
51636
51648
51722
Problems with Automatic Path Management in the IDL Workbench
The IDL Workbench 7.0.3 update modifies the way the IDL Workbench manages IDL's search path for managed projects. The key changes are:
  • The IDL Workbench no longer changes the value of the IDL_PATH preference.
  • The IDL Workbench no longer overwrites the value of the !PATH system variable. If you change the value of the !PATH system variable, the IDL Workbench will add entries for managed projects at the end of the path specification as described below, but it will not remove any entries.
  • If a workbench project has the Update IDL path when project is opened or closed preference set, the project is considered to be a managed project. For managed projects:

    • If the managed project is open, the IDL Workbench will ensure that the project directory is included in the list of directories specified by the !PATH system variable. If the directory is not present in !PATH, it will be added at the end of the path specification.

    If the managed project is closed, the IDL Workbench will remove the project directory from the list of directories specified by the !PATH system variable unless the project directory is also specified by the IDL_PATH preference.

For details, see in IDL Path Management in the IDL online help.
49897
Some items on the File → New menu are missing in the Debug perspective
Several menu items are missing from the File → New menu when the IDL Workbench is in the Debug perspective. This has been corrected in IDL 7.0.3, but you must select Window → Reset Perspective once after updating to 7.0.3 to view the menu change.
49898
Executing an example from the IDL help system fails if using Safari
IDL 7.0 allows the user to execute blocks of code from within the help system. On Macintosh systems using the Safari browser to display help content, code blocks containing more than a single line would not execute correctly. This has been corrected in IDL 7.0.1.
49779
Undefined variables or other runtime errors do not trigger the Debug perspective switch
Attempting to run an IDL program that contains an undefined variable generates the correct error in the Console view, but does not trigger the "perspective switch" dialog. This has been corrected in IDL 7.0.3.
50199
Unable to correctly paste text into the command line with text already present
If you paste text onto the end of text that already exists in the command line, IDL ignores the original text. This has been corrected in IDL 7.0.3. Additionally, you can now drag text to the command line and specify the insertion point of the new text.
50209
50210
50212
When building a main project that includes references to external projects, the final .sav file does not include the compiled routines from the external projects
In several situations, building a project with external project references would result in a .sav file that did not contain the routines from the referenced projects.
This problem has been corrected in IDL 7.0.3. Specifically, the project build process has been changed so that referenced projects are built first, and the compiled code is written to intermediate .sav files. The main project restores the referenced project .sav files before it compiles its own code, so that the main project .sav file contains code from both the main project and from the referenced project .sav files.
50258
During a project build, too little status information is sent to the Console view
In IDL 7.0.3, more status updates are sent to the Console view during the project build process.
50820
Keyboard input to an Editor view is disabled after a copy of the view is made with the Window → New Editor command
If an Editor view is open and active, and you select Window → New Editor, a copy of the Editor view is created. If you close the new Editor view, focus returns to the previous Editor view. However, keyboard input to this view is disabled. This has been corrected in IDL 7.0.3.
50981
Some non-English invocations of the IDL Workbench do not recognize the command history recall buffer file
French and Japanese invocations of the IDL Workbench cannot read the ~/.idl/itt/rbuf/history file. This has been corrected in IDL 7.0.3.

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Problems Corrected in IDL 7.0

Windows Platforms

ID
Description
46881
License Wizard Does Not Run on Solaris with Java Desktop
In IDL 6.4, Solaris Java Desktop did not correctly run the License Wizard after IDL installation. This problem has been corrected.
47474
IDL crashes when attempting graphics operations on some Linux distributions
On some linux systems, IDL 6.4 crashed when a attempting graphics operations on certain Linux distributions when direct rendering is enabled. This may include rendering the IDL splash screen when starting IDL. The problem was due to a conflict with DRI drivers and has been corrected.

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Macintosh Platforms

ID
Description
42012
Errors When Running the ITTLicense Application
In IDL 6.4, sometimes the ITTLicense application failed to start the license server automatically at boot time. This is a permissions problem. Now IDL issues a warning message if the user does not have permission to write to the installation directory when attempting to install the license manager.
47331
Missing Manifest Files
In IDL 6.4, a line was inadvertently left out of the manifest_rt.txt file. This problem has been corrected.

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Known Problems in IDL 7.0

All Platforms

ID
Description
n/a
File Permission Errors During Upgrade Installation
If you are upgrading an existing IDL installation, you may observe error messages when installing IDL if you run the upgrade installation program as a user with different file system permissions than the user who initially installed IDL. For example, on a UNIX system you might see errors that look like: 
tar: ./license/readme.txt: Cannot open file: File exists
These errors occur when the user installing the upgrade does not have permission to replace the existing file. The errors can be safely ignored, because the original and updated files are identical.
40768
Firewall Can Catch Socket Communication between IDL and the Help System
IDL and its help systems (both the current help viewer and the older IDL Assistant help viewer) communicate via sockets, and some firewalls might question this communication. IDL is not trying to access the Internet; the communication is strictly between IDL and its locally installed help systems. If prompted to allow or deny the communication, you should allow it; otherwise, you will not be able to see or use IDL's online help. You might need to configure your firewall software to allow the communication.
42545
WIDGET_TREE Drop Event Can Cause IDL to Crash if an Error Exists in the DRAG_NOTIFY Callback Routine
A tree widget can be configured to support drag and drop functionality. This functionality includes a callback to either the default callback routine, which provides information about where a node can be dropped, or a callback to a custom callback routine that is specified using the DRAG_NOTIFY keyword. In either case, the parent WIDGET_TREE function calls the child callback routine and the IDL processing focus switches to the callback routine. If there is an error (such as an undefined variable) in the custom callback routine, IDL may freeze or crash since the error halts execution in the child routine and IDL is unable to return to the calling function.
Workaround: Handle potential problems in the callback routine by including CATCH statements in the code you are developing. See the documentation topic "Responding to Drag Notifications (Callbacks)" for more information.
43054
Java Export Bridge: Hardware Rendering Not Supported By All Video Cards
When running IDL applications through the Java Export Bridge, some video cards on some systems experience problems that prevent them from rendering graphics properly. As a result, the Java Export Bridge creates applications that use IDL's built-in (software) renderer by default. Even systems that use hardware rendering successfully when running IDL itself can experience the problem when running the Java Export Bridge.
Workaround: If you know that the target system for your application will display graphics properly using hardware rendering, you can explicitly set the renderer in the Init method for your application. Since a graphical application must inherit (directly or indirectly) from the IDLgrWindow class, you can set the RENDERER property equal to 0 to force the use of hardware (OpenGL) rendering if it is available. Note that the RENDERER property is not exported by the Export Bridge Assistant; the value must be hard-coded in your IDL object code.
43116
Text Annotations Added During Macro Creation Are Incorrectly Placed or Missing
The iTools let you create a macro that records the operations that occur within a visualization window. If you add a text annotation during macro recording and close the annotation operation by clicking on the view instead of pressing the Enter key, an additional translation event is added to the macro. This causes the text annotation to be incorrectly placed when you run the macro.
Workaround: Always close the creation of a text annotation by pressing the Enter key (instead of by clicking on the view) when recording a macro in an iTool window.
43599
A 32-bit Application Cannot be Built On 64-Bit Linux
It is not possible to use 32-bit libraries on a 64-bit Linux machine to build a 32-bit Callable IDL application.
Workaround: Build a 32-bit application on a 32-bit machine. Then you can execute that application on a 64-bit system that contains 32-bit compatibility libraries.
43733
Connectivity Bridges: Dialog Windows May Appear Behind the Main Application Interface
Dialog windows that are launched from a child IDL_IDLBridge process, or other background process such as an Export Connectivity Bridge wrapper object may appear behind the current application interface and be completely hidden. The background process has no way to force a dialog to appear in the foreground.
43808
Export Bridges: IDL Error Codes May Change Between Releases
Both the COM and Java Export Bridges allow you to catch and respond to errors generated by IDL. Errors are returned from IDL in the form of error codes, corresponding to the value of the !ERROR_STATE.CODE system variable field.
The code used to designate a specific IDL error condition can change from one release of IDL to another. As a result, COM or Java code you write that reacts to a specific error code value may behave differently with different IDL releases.
43850
Java Export Bridge: Error if Non-Drawable Object Instantiated First
If you create a Java application that incorporates both drawable and non-drawable IDL wrapper objects, instantiating the non-drawable object before the drawable object will cause a runtime error that looks something like: 
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.UnsatisfiedLinkError: Native Library 
path_to_your_AWT_library already loaded in another classloader  
 
Workaround: Create an instance of a drawable wrapper object first. This will initialize the Java export bridge correctly, allowing both drawable and non-drawable wrapper objects to execute properly.
48165
Deleting Linked Folders Does Not Update !path or IDL_PATH
When a linked folder is deleted from a project, the folder is not removed from the !path system variable and the IDL_PATH system preference.
Workaround: Remove these items manually from your path settings.
48550
The STATUS Keyword for EXIT Does Not Work in IDL 7.0 Workbench
The EXIT procedure quits the IDL Workbench and exits back to the operating system. IDL does not correctly return the exit status set by the STATUS keyword.
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 (for example, from Windows Project Explorer), while the project is open may result in a warning message while the Workbench is still running, and an exception on exiting the Workbench.

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Windows Platforms

ID
Description
40851
WIDGET_DRAW WHEEL_EVENTS Can Arrive Out of Sequence of Other Draw-Widget Events
The draw widget delivers scroll-wheel events to the IDL event queue when it gets the wheel event from Windows. The draw widget cannot know whether events are arriving late from Windows. This is not an IDL problem.
If you want to take advantage of the scroll-wheel functionality, you might want to ensure that you have a robust scroll-wheel-enabled mouse driver. Check your mouse's documentation for more information.
42359
Incompatibility Between IDL and Microsoft Intelli-Mouse with Fingerprint Reader
If you are using the Microsoft Intelli-Mouse with Fingerprint Reader on the system that runs IDL, IDL may close unexpectedly in some cases.
Workaround: Shut down the Digital Personal Password manager software that comes with the Microsoft Intelli-Mouse.
46816
Installation Program Failures: Error 1719
On some systems, the IDL installation program may exit with the following error: 
Error 1719.Windows Installer service could not be accessed.  Contact your 
support personnel to verify that it is properly registered and enabled.  
 
Workaround:
Restart the IDL installer. If installation still fails, reboot the computer and restart the installer.
Background:
This error occurs when the Microsoft installer engine is older than the version required by the IDL installation package. In this situation, the IDL installer updates the installer engine. In some cases, the installation procedure may be able to proceed; in others a restart of the installer or of the operating system may be required.
47445
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.
48454
WIDGET_TIMER Can Cause Applications To Freeze Until An Event Is Sent To The Application
WIDGET_TIMER events 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 take to 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), or to 0.0 if the value is negative.
49389
Windows and Dialogs opened by IDL Can Display Behind the Workbench
If the last window opened by IDL displays behind the Workbench, then all subsequent windows and dialogs will open behind the Workbench. If a window is brought into the foreground and dismissed, the next window or dialog that is opened appears in front of the Workbench.
49522
CVS Cheat Sheets Show Up In IDL Workbench Cheat Sheet List
Selecting Cheat Sheets from the Workbench *Help* menu shows a "Team/CVS" category containing two CVS-related cheat sheets. CVS functionality is not included in the IDL Workbench by default, and these cheat sheets will not function properly. If you later install the CVS plug-ins, these cheat sheets will function normally.
49604
Workbench Fails to Stop on Breakpoints When IDL is Busy (Blocking)
When a program containing breakpoints is run while IDL is busy (when a lengthy command is being executed, or when a widget application is blocking, for example), IDL does not stop at the set breakpoints. When IDL is no longer busy, running the program with breakpoints successfully stops at the set breakpoints. (Related to ID 49641.)
49641
Updating Edited Variable Values While IDL is Busy or Blocking is Slow
If you edit a variable value using the IDL Workbench Variables view while IDL is busy (when a lengthy command is being executed, or when a widget application is blocking, for example), 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.)
51466
Copying and renaming the first project in the Project Explorer crashes IDL
On 64-bit Windows systems with only one project in the Project Explorer view, copying the project, then pasting the copied project in to the Project Explorer, and then renaming the pasted project causes IDL to crash. The changes to the Project Explorer are lost.
Workaround: If you have only one project in the Project Explorer, create a new project rather than copying the existing project, then copy the files from the first project into the new project.

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UNIX Platforms

ID
Description
30564
DIALOG_PRINTERSETUP Causes IDL to Hang When Called from Modal Widget
This is a known problem with no known workarounds except to use DIALOG_PRINTERSETUP with a non-model widget.
41964
IDL Does 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 make a modification to the default security context for IDL. See Tech Tip 3092 for details.
42609
WIDGET_BUTTON Bitmaps Not Found in Resource Directory
Using the VALUE keyword of WIDGET_BUTTON lets you specify the name of a bitmap image file to be used as the button label. On UNIX, this bitmap file is not being located in the IDL_DIR/resource/bitmaps directory and causes a "Can't open bitmap file" error. This occurs when only the name of the file (and not a complete path) is given. On Windows, a bitmap file identified by name only is correctly located.
Workaround: Always specify the complete path to the bitmap file. For example, to use the arrow.bmp file, you could use FILEPATH as follows: 
   bmpath = FILEPATH('arrow.bmp', SUBDIRECTORY=['resource', 'bitmaps'])  
   b = WIDGET_BUTTON( tlb, VALUE=bmpath, /BITMAP)
42641
Error May Occur After First Launch of IDL Assistant with Root Privileges
If you receive the following error after the first use of the IDL Assistant (the online-help viewer), "QSetting::sync: filename is null/empty," the problem is most likely due to file permissions.
Workaround: Change the ownership on the .qt and .assistant folders and files in your home directory: 
   chown -R <user> .qt  
   chown -R <user> .assistant  
 
where <user> is your user name.
43301
Upper Left Corner of Tree Widget is Never 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 mouse cursor over the labels instead of the icons.
46672
Using WAIT with IDLffMJPEG2000 on Solaris 10 causes IDL to freeze
On Solaris 10 systems, using a WAIT statement in code that calls IDLffMJPEG2000 object methods may cause IDL to freeze.
Workaround:
Use a widget timer to generate WIDGET_TIMER events in place of WAIT to control the flow of execution. For an example using a widget timer to control the frame rate of displayed frames, see IDL_DIR/examples/doc/objects/mj2_timer_doc.pro, where IDL_DIR is the location of your IDL installation. For additional information, see "Controlling Playback Rate" in the "Animations" chapter of the Using IDL manual.
47348
Unable To Create Exported IDL object in Virtual Machine Mode on Solaris When LANG Environment Variable is Set to C
The IDL Virtual Machine does not start when called from a java program or the command line because the splash screen cannot be displayed when the LANG environment variable is set to C.
Workaround: Unset the LANG environment variable before using Java to run your exported IDL code. Note that other programs (including IDL) may rely on the value of the ~LANG~ environment variable, so removing it permanently from your environment may have unwanted side effects.
49527
IDL Interpreter Suspends on OBJ_NEW('idlgrwindow') Until IDLgrWindow is Partially Visible (Redhat Enterprise 4)
When OBJ_NEW('idlgrwindow') is run from the Workbench, if a new window displays beneath the Workbench window, then the command line is desensitized until the Workbench is moved or minimized to make the IDLgrWindow at least partially visible.
49610
Closing the Workbench While It Is Iconified Causes It To Lock Up (Solaris)
When at least one IDL process is running and the Workbench is iconified (minimized) and then closed from the icon, the Workbench hangs until all process are manually killed.
Workaround: Use the IDL Workbench menu or the IDL EXIT command to shut down the IDL Workbench.
49848
The DICOM Storage Service Does Not Start from the IDL Workbench
Attempts to start the DICOM Network Storage service by entering 
DICOMEX_NET, /SYSTEM
in the IDL Workbench Command Line view fail.
Workaround: Start the DICOM Network Storage service from the IDL command-line version.

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Macintosh Platforms

ID
Description
41410
Click-Through Focus Problem on Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)
In some instances, focus can remain stuck on a window, despite subsequent window commands. For example, if you type these consecutive commands at the IDL command line: 
PLOT, FINDGEN(99)  
ZOOM
the plot window does not get focus after the ZOOM command. The command locks up IDL because any attempt to click on the plot window, in order to tell ZOOM where to zoom, is thwarted because the window manager is swallowing the focus click.
Workaround: Change the X11 start-up parameters. Do the following:
1. Open an X11 terminal window.
2. Enter the following at the shell prompt: 
   defaults write com.apple.x11 wm_click_through -bool true
3. Quit X11.
The new default will not take effect until after you restart X11, but it will persist from that point (i.e., you will not have to make the change again).
41916
Errors When Starting the DICOM Service
If you install the DICOM Network Services module, the installer allows you to specify that the DICOM service be started automatically at boot time. If you encounter an error that looks like: 
   dicomexstorscp_install error  
   There was an error encountered running  
   idl_7.0/bin/dicomexstorscp_install.
then your Administrator group may not have permission to modify items in the appropriate StartupItems directory.
Workaround:
1. Log in as root.
2. Open a terminal window.
3. Enter the following commands: 
   cd ~  
   touch .profile
4. Change to the directory where ITT Visual Information Solutions products are installed (by default, /Applications/itt): 
   cd /Applications/itt
5. Enter the following command: 
   ./idl70/bin/dicomexstorscp_install
47334
Java Bridge: Macintosh uses a different version of Java demo_world example
A java incompatibility on Macintosh causes the demo_world example to work incorrectly. The program (located in ITT_DIR\IDL70\resource\bridges\import\java\examples\) should allow a user to click and drag to change the focus of the globe, but does not work on Macintosh.
47668
Drag and drop .pro file from Navigator to Editor does not open the file
In some cases, dragging a file with the .pro extension from the Navigator to the IDL Workbench Editor is unsuccessful.
Workaround: Open .pro files from within the IDL Workbench. If installed in Applications, double-clicking on a file it will open it in the Workbench.
48280
CDF Routines Read Data Incorrectly on Intel-based Macintosh
The version of the CDF library included with IDL 7.0 does not correctly adjust for the little-endian byte ordering used by Intel-based Macintoshes.
In some cases, this may result in IDL on an Intel-based Macintosh reading the data in a CDF file incorrectly.
Workaround: The CDF libraries are maintained by CDF users at the Goddard Space Flight Center. A patched library is available from Goddard at http://cdf.gsfc.nasa.gov/html/cdf_patch_for_idl6x_new.html
Note that this patch works for IDL 7.0 as well as for IDL 6.4.
49844
Creation of Semaphores Fails under Mac OS X 10.5
Creation of semaphores (using the SEM_CREATE routine) fails under Macintosh OS X 10.5 (Leopard).
Under Macintosh OS X, semaphore names must be 24 characters or fewer. When IDL creates a semaphore, it appends the name supplied in the call to SEM_CREATE to the path to the temporary directory. Under Macintosh OS X 10.5, the temporary directory is not /tmp, but a directory with a name like /var/folders/zz/zzzivhrRnAuee+++-Q++++L+/-Tmp-.
Workaround: Temporarily modify the value of the IDL_TMPDIR preference to be '/tmp'. Your code would look something like this: 
old_tmp_dir = PREF_GET('IDL_TMPDIR')  
PREF_SET, 'IDL_TMPDIR', '/tmp', /COMMIT  
...  
code that uses semaphores  
...  
PREF_SET, 'IDL_TMPDIR', old_tmp_dir, /COMMIT
Note that you will need to surround all code dealing with semaphores with these statements.
NOTE: This problem is fixed in IDL 7.0.4.
49848
The DICOM Storage Service Does Not Start from the IDL Workbench
Attempts to start the DICOM Network Storage service by entering 
DICOMEX_NET, /SYSTEM  
 
or 
IDLffDicomExCfg::StorageScpService("Start")  
 
in a program run from within the IDL Workbench or in the IDL Workbench Command Line view fail.
Workaround: Start the DICOM Network Storage service from the IDL command-line version or the DICOMNetworkServices applescript.
49849
Starting the DICOM Storage Service Displays Numerous Error Messages
Starting the DICOM Network Storage service displays numerous error messages in the IDL terminal window. The errors look like: 
The process has forked and you cannot use this CoreFoundation functionality 
safely. You MUST exec().  
Break on 
__THE_PROCESS_HAS_FORKED_AND_YOU_CANNOT_USE_THIS_COREFOUNDATION_FUNCTIONALITY
___ YOU_MUST_EXEC__() to debug.P
Workaround: You can safely disregard these error messages.

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Known Problems in IDL 7.0.3

All Platforms

ID
Description
51318
51320
51322
Formatter preferences for keywords, system variables, and structure and class names are ignored by the Source → Format command
The keyword, system variable, and structure 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.

Macintosh Platforms

ID
Description
51478
The Ctrl-Space method of accessing Content Assist does not work on the IDLDoc preferences page on Macintosh platforms
For Macintosh platforms, when editing in the Routine Comments and File Comments tabs on the IDLdoc preferences page, typing Ctrl-Space does not activate Content Assist. This appears to be an Eclipse bug for Macintosh platforms, and Eclipse bug 229696 has been filed.
You can still access Content Assist by clicking Insert Variable, or right-clicking inside the editor and selecting Insert Variable from the context menu.

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Known Problems in IDL 7.0.4

All Platforms

ID
Description
n/a
Third-party IDL Workbench Plug-ins are not Present After Upgrade
IDL 7.0.4 is installed in a location separate from any previous IDL installation. As a result, if you have installed third-party IDL Workbench plug-ins in your existing IDL installation, they will not be available after the IDL 7.0.4 upgrade is installed. You will need to reinstall the third-party plug-ins to use them with IDL 7.0.4.
Additionally, if you install IDL 7.0.4 and then start the IDL Workbench using the same workspace used with the older IDL version, you may see an error stating that the workbench layout could not be restored. This error reflects the fact that the third-party plug-ins are no longer available to the IDL Workbench. The error will appear only the first time you start the IDL Workbench, and only if you are using the same workspace as used with the previous IDL version.
n/a
Preferences are not Automatically Migrated from Previous IDL Version
If you are upgrading IDL from a previous version, IDL system preferences you may have set in the previous version are not automatically migrated to the new version. The PREF_MIGRATE routine provides a graphical user interface that allows you to move preferences from a previous IDL version to the current version. To use the preference migration facility, simply enter 
PREF_MIGRATE
at the IDL command prompt.
IDL Workbench preferences you may have set using a previous version of IDL will be used by the new version if you are using the same IDL workspace. (When you create a new workspace, the IDL Workbench always loads the default workbench preferences.)
See "About IDL System Preferences" in the IDL Help system for additional information.

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Documentation Errata in IDL 7.0

ID
Description
n/a
Macintosh OSX version support
The IDL 7.0 version support information lists Macintosh OS X version 10.5 as a supported platform. A problem in Apple's X11 implementation in version 10.5 means that IDL 7.0 and later require OS X 10.5.1 or later. (IDL also runs on OS X version 10.4.x as described in the version support information. This problem has been corrected in IDL 7.0.4.

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  IDL 7.0.4 (September 10, 2008)