Yazd University
Question
Asked 14 March 2023
How to resolve "Unable to read file as the specified filetype: LANDSAT_GEOTIFF_META"?
Please I am having difficulty opening Landsat images in ENVI 5.1 using File>open as>Landsat> Geotiff with Metadata. It keeps flagging the following error message "Unable to read file as the specified filetype: LANDSAT_GEOTIFF_META"
Has anyone encountered this issue and how was it resolved?
Most recent answer
YOUR SOLUTION FAILD,...
KHATIR"
Popular answers (1)
Challion Integrated Services
To solve this problem, kindly open the MTL. txt file with Notepad in you PC, at the first row, replace the "Landsat" with "L1_" save the file and try importing it again, it will work this time.
NB: don't forget to put underscore "_"after typing "L1"
Enjoy your multispectral image afterwards.
I hope this solves your problem.
6 Recommendations
All Answers (24)
Ministry of Health Malaysia
There could be various reasons why you are having difficulty opening Landsat images in ENVI 5.1 using the "File>open as>Landsat> Geotiff with Metadata" option, and the error message you are receiving is not very specific. Here are a few possible solutions that may help:
- Check the file format: Make sure that the Landsat file you are trying to open is in the correct format. ENVI supports various Landsat file formats, such as GeoTIFF, HDF, and RAW, depending on the specific Landsat mission and data product. Try opening the file in a different software, such as QGIS or ArcGIS, to confirm that the file is not corrupted.
- Check the metadata file: The "Geotiff with Metadata" option in ENVI requires a separate metadata file in addition to the Landsat file. Make sure that the metadata file is in the correct format and is located in the same directory as the Landsat file. Check that the metadata file has the correct name and matches the Landsat file name.
- Update ENVI: Make sure that you have the latest version of ENVI installed on your computer. Sometimes, older versions of ENVI may not be compatible with newer Landsat data products. Try updating ENVI to the latest version or try opening the Landsat file in a different version of ENVI.
- Try a different import option: If the "Geotiff with Metadata" option does not work, try using a different import option in ENVI. For example, you can try using the "File>Open as>Geotiff" option or the "File>Open as>HDF" option, depending on the Landsat file format.
Yunnan University
Hi try to open it by replacing the first line in the GROUP = LANDSAT_METADATA_FILE in MTL.txt file by replacing
GROUP = L1_METADATA_FILE
African Regional Institute for Geospatial Information Science and Technology, Obafemi Awolowo University
Madan Kumar Khadka thanks a lot. But when I made that change I got a new error message suggesting that "File does not appear to be a valid TIFF file". This happened for B1, 8, 9 and 10. The final error read "Object reference type required in this context: ORASTERQUALITY.
Thanks a lot for your help
Yunnan University
Hi Glory Enaruvbe, one of my friend has same issues but I solved by editing MTL files but I have no idea about this new issues.
1 Recommendation
African Regional Institute for Geospatial Information Science and Technology, Obafemi Awolowo University
Ok @Madan Kumar Khadka. Thanks a lot. I believe the issue with this may be because of the version. Your friend is using 5.3 and I am on 5.1. That may be the issue.
Again, I thank you so much!
Arts, Commerce and Science College Taloda District Nandurbar Maharashtra
Supporting file missing please again Download file Extract and open in ENVI SOFTWARE
African Regional Institute for Geospatial Information Science and Technology, Obafemi Awolowo University
Mohan Vasave your response is a bit confusing. What "Supporting file" do you say is missing and needs to be downloaded and from where please?
Thank you for your response.
Hi Glory Enarubve,
I am having the exact same issue. Like you, I used the solution above - alter the mtl file to fix the "Unable to read file as the specified filetype: LANDSAT_GEOTIFF_META" error. That got me a little further.
I am also getting your second error ""File does not appear to be a valid TIFF file" and "Object reference type required in this context: ORASTERQUALITY." I am a student and we are using ENVI 5.1 - the same version you were using. I was wondering if you were ever able to find a solution for this second error?
Thank you,
Courtney
1 Recommendation
African Regional Institute for Geospatial Information Science and Technology, Obafemi Awolowo University
@Courtney, unfortunately I could not find a solution to the issue.
Glory Enaruvbe. I might have the answer. Turns out that every student in my class had the same issue opening Landsat images and getting the same error message. Didn't matter if they were Landsat 7 or 8, Level 1 or 2 images. The professor thinks that USGS might have updated their imagery and it no longer works with the version of ENVI that we are working with (5.1). She thinks that upgrading the version of ENVI might solve the issue. Sorry that I don't have anything more definitive.
1 Recommendation
African Regional Institute for Geospatial Information Science and Technology, Obafemi Awolowo University
Clearly that must be the issue. Thanks a lot for the feedback
University of Toledo
I do not think the version of Envi is the issue. I am using Envi 5.6 but still facing the same challenge. Please share, if you have found a solution other than the version.
Thank you.
African Regional Institute for Geospatial Information Science and Technology, Obafemi Awolowo University
@Kingsley, Thanks for the information. This is useful.
African Regional Institute for Geospatial Information Science and Technology, Obafemi Awolowo University
None, please. What I have done is save each ban as a tif file in QGIS and then stack. This solution has its own issues though. I am now finding it difficult to preprocess (radiometric correction for instance). I tried many recommendations I found online but none worked.
1 Recommendation
African Regional Institute for Geospatial Information Science and Technology, Obafemi Awolowo University
@Ansar Ali, I will try this out. Thank you for sharing
Challion Integrated Services
To solve this problem, kindly open the MTL. txt file with Notepad in you PC, at the first row, replace the "Landsat" with "L1_" save the file and try importing it again, it will work this time.
NB: don't forget to put underscore "_"after typing "L1"
Enjoy your multispectral image afterwards.
I hope this solves your problem.
6 Recommendations
University of Bangui
Chigozie Ikechukwu, I've also had the same problem. I followed your procedure but the problem still persists. Here is the message displayed:
LC09_L2SP_183055_20231230_20231231_02_T1_MTL.txt
Unable to recognize this file as a standard format. If it is an external format with a known type, please select from the option below. Chigozie Ikechukwu
University of Bangui
Glory Enaruvbe I've had the same problem as you. If someone could help us.
Thank you in advance for your help.
centre of spacial techniquess
Worked with me as follow:
1. copy the MTL file to the another directory
2. Open the MTL file which is in the same directory with the tiff files
3. Replace the first line : GROUP = LANDSAT_METADATA_FILE with the sentence: GROUP = L1_METADATA_FILE
3. delete from the GROUP = LEVEL1_PROCESSING_RECORD to the END_GROUP = LEVEL1_PROJECTION_PARAMETERS block
4. copy the GROUP = LEVEL1_RADIOMETRIC_RESCALING block from the copied MTL file and paste, than make all words LEVEL1 to LEVEL2
Enjoy
Related Publications
La corrección atmosférica es un proceso que se aplica a las imágenes digitales, con el propósito
de eliminar el efecto de los aerosoles y la radiancia intrínseca que se introduce en el sensor y se ve
reflejado en la imagen, como producto de la interacción del sensor con la atmósfera. Con el proceso
de corrección atmosférica se logra mejorar la cali...
This work presents a graphic user interface (GUI), developed in MATLAB, which comprises all the preprocessing steps required to correct a Landsat TM, ETM+ and OLI. The only inputs required by the GUI are the metadata file of each Landsat image together with the digital elevation model (DEM) of the study area. The users can select among different pr...
This paper synthetically introduces several typic archiving format for remote sensing data, analyses FRED format which is applicable for all classes of downlinked remote sensing data, CEOS format which is applicable for spaceborne SAR, HDF format which is applicable for many sort of scientific data and metadata, and GeoTIFF format which can express...