Tips for Working with Sentinel SAFE Products and Metadata
Sentinel imagery users may encounter issues when adding the imagery to maps, performing geoprocessing, or managing Sentinel data in their file system. Understanding the structure of Sentinel SAFE products can help you avoid common problems before you use them in ArcGIS Pro. This blog post provides practical tips for working with Sentinel SAFE products, focusing on common challenges and solutions in ArcGIS Pro.
The SAFE format specification for Sentinel products
The European Space Agency (ESA) distributes Sentinel products in SAFE (Standard Archive Format for Europe) format. ESA provides its products in a ZIP archive that includes a folder with the .SAFE suffix appended to the name. Imagery and product metadata are stored inside the folder. When you work with Sentinel products in ArcGIS Pro, the manifest.safe file is used as a raster product.
File name length in the .SAFE directory
The folder with the .SAFE suffix is typically distributed with a long name, such as S1A_IW_GRDH_1SDV_20190313T000142_20190313T000207_026312_02F101_603B.SAFE, which has a length of 72 characters. Other files within the folder, such as annotation, measurement, and metadata files, can have similar or longer file name lengths.
Because Windows limits file path lengths to 260 characters, extracting files with long names can cause problems in ArcGIS Pro. For example, when adding a Sentinel SAFE product to a map via its manifest.safe raster product, you may encounter an error in ArcGIS Pro if the file path exceeds 260 characters.
Working around the Windows path name limitations
When you encounter files with very long names, like the Sentinel products, you may need to change your approach to ensure that the data successfully displays on a map and your analyses run successfully. Two workarounds are provided in the following list:
- Work as close to the root directory as possible
When you reduce the number of folders needed to get to the Sentinel SAFE product, you reduce the risk that the file paths within the Sentinel product will exceed the 260-character maximum path length limitation of Windows. For example, if you store your Sentinel product in C:\MyProject\, the SAFE manifest will have a path name like C:\MyProject\S1A_IW_GRDH_1SDV_20190313T000142_20190313T000207_026312_02F101_603B.SAFE\manifest.safe, which is 99 characters. Files in the annotation folder will then approach 190 characters in path length.
Tip: Avoid extracting Sentinel data to locations like your Desktop or Documents folder, which are often deeply nested. - Enable Long Paths in Windows
This option is recommended only for users with more advanced technical skills. If you must work in deeply nested directories and shortening path names is not an option, then you can enable Long Paths in Windows. This workaround involves updating a setting in your system registry, and is available in Windows 10, version 1607 and later. Changes to your system registry should only be performed by qualified individuals—such as your organization’s IT staff—because incorrect changes can damage your computer.
By understanding the SAFE format and Windows path limitations, you can avoid common pitfalls when working with Sentinel imagery in ArcGIS Pro. Use the tips above to ensure smooth data management and analysis.
For further imagery training, check out Esri's Imagery Analysis in ArcGIS Pro course: https://go.esri.com/imagery-pro-course.
