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HEAsoft v6.11 - Known Issues

Please visit the HEASOFT Supported Platforms page for current information about supported operating systems and compilers.

Several packages track issues separately from this page:

The following is a list of known issues in v6.11 of HEAsoft not covered by the above pages.

Last modified Monday, 21-Apr-2025 17:48:36 EDT
  • Swift / UVOT:

    In HEASOFT 6.11, the UVOT tools uvotdetect and uvotflux were inadvertently changed to report AB magnitudes instead of Vega magnitudes. (The tools actually use the last magnitude system they find in CALDB). An updated Perl module which fixes this problem by explicitly setting the default magnitude system to Vega is available here: Calibration.pm

    To apply this update, simply initialize HEASOFT and then copy the new Calibration.pm into the directory 
        $HEADAS/lib/perl/UVOT/


  • Xspec / AtomDB (updated 9 September 2011 for source code downloads):

    A serious bug has been discovered in the AtomDB v2.0.0 release which has necessitated an update to the Xspec package. The AtomDB v.2.0.0 files should not be used. This update adds the new AtomDB v2.0.1 files and sets the apec and bapec models to use these by default. All new HEASoft downloads contain this update (binaries as of 28 June 2011, source code as of 9 September 2011). To patch your installation, see below:

    • If you are using a HEASOFT 6.11 source code distribution acquired prior to 09 September 2011:

      Download the Xspec/AtomDB source code patch for HEASOFT 6.11. Unpack this tar file on top of your existing heasoft-6.11 source code directory, then: 
        Initialize HEASoft in your environment
  cd heasoft-6.11/Xspec/src/XSFunctions/
  hmake
  hmake install

  cd ../spectral/modelData
  hmake
  hmake install
      Extra step for PC Cygwin users: 
        cd ../../src/main/    (to heasoft-6.11/Xspec/src/main/)
  rm xspec.exe
  hmake
  hmake install

    • If you are using a HEASOFT 6.11 pre-compiled binary distribution acquired prior to 28 June 2011, choose the patch file appropriate for your existing installation,

      PC Linux
      PC Linux 64-bit
      Mac Intel - Darwin 10.x
      Mac Intel - Darwin 9.x
      Mac PPC - Darwin 9.x
      Sparc - Solaris/SunOS

      then simply unpack the tar file on top of your existing heasoft-6.11 binary directory.


  • xselect:

    Some users (when invoking xis5x5to3x3 or sisclean, etc. through xselect) may see an error from the parameter interface (PIL) claiming 
       Parameter "infile" duplicated on command line.
    This problem is resolved by applying the patch described below. All new HEASoft downloads contain this update. To patch an installation acquired prior to 28 June 2011 (~16:20 EDT), see below.

    • If you are using the HEASOFT 6.11 source code distribution:

      Download the xselect source code patch for HEASOFT 6.11. Unpack this tar file on top of your existing heasoft-6.11 source code directory, then: 
        Initialize HEASoft in your environment
  cd heasoft-6.11/ftools/xselect/xselflib/
  hmake
  hmake install
      Extra step for Mac OS X & PC Cygwin users: 
        cd ../src/xselect   (to heasoft-6.11/ftools/xselect/src/xselect/)
  rm xselect(.exe)
  hmake
  hmake install

    • If you are using a HEASOFT 6.11 pre-compiled binary distribution, choose the patch file appropriate for your existing installation,

      PC Linux
      PC Linux 64-bit
      Mac Intel - Darwin 10.x
      Mac Intel - Darwin 9.x
      Mac PPC - Darwin 9.x
      Sparc - Solaris/SunOS

      then simply unpack the tar file on top of your existing heasoft-6.11 binary directory.


    If you have any questions about the information above, please write to us at the FTOOLS help desk.