TerrSet liberaGIS is the new free version of the TerrSet/IDRISI software. It is set to be released on December 2, 2024, and includes significant updates and improvements. This 20th release, made possible by the merger of Clark Labs with Clark Center for Geospatial Analytics, will make the software free to all users. The freeware software is named “liberaGIS,” derived from the Esperanto word “liberagis” meaning liberated, set free.

Yes.

You can download the new version of TerrSet liberaGIS starting December 2, 2024, from our Website.

IDRISI was initially developed by Clark University Professor Ron Eastman in 1987. This led to the development of Clark Labs to support and continue development of the system. As new applications such as the Land Change Modeler and the Earth Trends Modeler were added to the IDRISI foundation, the full suite was renamed TerrSet. IDRISI is still the GIS and Image Processing foundation upon which all tools in the suite are built. Now, Clark Labs has merged with the Clark Center for Geospatial Analytics, facilitating the free release of the TerrSet/IDRISI system.

TerrSet liberaGIS, set to be released on December 2, 2024, will be an open-access version available for free, unlike the commercial TerrSet 2020. The liberaGIS version will also feature an improved Land Change Modeler with support for Jurisdictional and Nested REDD (JNR), a new tool for climate teleconnection analysis in the Earth Trends Modeler, and a major suite of tools for raster editing. It will also remove support for some discontinued external tools and streamline the system by discontinuing certain deprecated tools like the Ecosystem Services Modeler, Gstat, parts of the Climate Change Adaptation Modeler and Marxan in HBM.

IDRISI was first released in 1987, as the first GIS software developed specifically for a microcomputer platform. The goal was to provide an accessible system that could perform professional level analyses with a minimum of computer resources. This required a special focus on algorithms that could function in a low-RAM environment and would require no more resources than those typically available on home and office microcomputers. Our special orientation was to the needs of scholars in the developing world. With this 20th release, TerrSet/IDRISI will finally be set free, thereby realizing a 37-year dream to make it available to everyone, everywhere.

Perpetual (non-expiring) licenses will still be valid. Existing licenses and installations will still work, but if you need to migrate the license to a new machine, the ability to reactivate a license will only be available until Sep 2029. The free TerrSet liberaGIS contains most of the functionality of TerrSet2020 and will continue to be available. Our hope is that people will migrate to the free version over time.

No.

No.

After October 1, 2024, there will no longer be low-income country discounts. Everyone will be eligible for the 50% discount starting October 1, 2024 and 75% discount starting November 1, 2024. 

Your TerrSet will no longer run after the license expires, but you can download and install TerrSet liberaGIS for free and continue your work with that. If you are not specifically using the discontinued modules, everything will work as before.

There will be some new tools added in LCM, ETM, and on-screen digitizing and editing. Some tools that connected to or used deprecated/older versions of external third–party tools may be discontinued, like the Ecosystem Services Modeler, Gstat, parts of the Climate Change Adaptation Modeler and Marxan in HBM. A complete list of the new feature set for liberaGIS version will be published closer to the release date.

TerrSet liberaGIS will have a set of new tools including an improved Land Change Modeler with support for Jurisdictional and Nested REDD (JNR) and a new tool for climate teleconnection analysis in the Earth Trends Modeler, among others. A complete list of the new feature set for liberaGIS version will be published closer to the release date.

No. The last update for TerrSet2020 is 19.08. The last update for TerrSet v.18 is 18.31.  None of the previous versions of TerrSet or IDRISI will have any additional updates.

Existing campus licenses will continue to work. If a license needs to be moved from one server to another, then it will need to be deactivated on the old server and reactivated on the new server. We will continue to support the program that can do that activation until Sep 2029.  However, we strongly advise that you migrate to using TerrSet liberaGIS which is license-free.  Campus licenses can be tricky to maintain as security measures and permission structures keep getting more complicated. To transition to TerrSet liberaGIS, you will install the new software on the client machines. Nothing is needed on the server. The old software does not need to be uninstalled initially (the two versions can co-exist), so the transition could be done gradually.  However, if you uninstall one of the versions, it will uninstall some components that are common to both installations, so the other one would need to be reinstalled (although not relicensed).

No.

Consult with the professors that teach the GIS courses, as they know whether their students will need to use the modules that are being removed. The TerrSet2020 license will continue to work as a server/client license. The latest version, TerrSet liberaGIS, is installed on the client machines and does not need a license file. You could install the new version on the clients, and begin to use the latest version, while waiting to decide if TerrSet2020 should be removed. However, if you uninstall one of the versions, it will uninstall some components that are common to both installations, so the other one would need to be reinstalled (although not relicensed). 

Pros of transitioning to TerrSet liberaGIS:  

1. Easy maintenance: Having a license free version (TerrSet liberaGIS) will make maintenance of the campus license much easier in the future and will remove the need to have a license folder on the server that gives clients read/write/modify access to it, which will make IT people more comfortable.
2. Newest additions: liberaGIS will include the new LCM tools — Jurisdictional and Nested REDD and Variable Transformation, the new ETM tool called SATA and some new tweaks, features and bug fixes that occured after v. 19.08 of TerrSet2020 (April 2023).  

Cons of transitioning to TerrSet liberaGIS: 

1. You will no longer have access to Ecosystem Services Modeler, Gstat, parts of the Climate Change Adaptation Modeler and Marxan in HBM.   

When the release date gets closer, we will have a more complete list of the new feature set. 

Yes.

During the transition period, tech support will continue as usual to assist with any issues. You can reach out for help via our Support Center ( https://forums.clarklabs.org) to discuss issues and share solutions with other users. 

Yes. You can only have one of them open at a time, but both can be installed and usable on the same computer. However, if you uninstall one of the versions, it will uninstall some components that are common to both installations, so the other one would need to be reinstalled (although not relicensed).