Find answers to common questions about ArcGIS Pro.
Installation
- What are the system requirements for ArcGIS Pro?
- How do I know if I can install ArcGIS Pro?
- Can ArcGIS Pro be installed on a machine with ArcMap?
- Do I need to have the most current version of ArcMap before I can install ArcGIS Pro?
- Do I need to uninstall ArcGIS Pro before installing the current release if I have a previously installed version?
- Can ArcGIS Pro be installed on a machine with a localized operating system?
- How do I update ArcGIS Pro?
- Where do I go to download ArcGIS Pro?
- Is ArcGIS Pro supported in virtualized environments?
- Can I run ArcGIS Pro on more than one machine?
- As an administrator, is it possible to block update notifications in ArcGIS Pro so that end-users are unable to install updates from within the application?
Licensing
- Can I get ArcGIS Pro if I don't have a license for ArcGIS Desktop?
- As an ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise administrator, how do I assign an ArcGIS Pro license to a member who has the GIS Professional user type?
- How do I get Concurrent Use or Single Use licenses for ArcGIS Pro?
- If I use ArcGIS Pro with the Named User license type, but later go off maintenance and my Named User account expires, can I switch my Named User license to Concurrent Use or Single Use?
- If I convert my ArcGIS Pro license to Concurrent Use or Single Use, can I later switch back to Named User?
- As an administrator, if I decide to convert all of my ArcGIS Pro Named User licenses to Concurrent Use, but some users have taken their Named User licenses offline, what happens?
- If I have licensed ArcGIS Pro through ArcGIS Enterprise, can I convert my licenses to Concurrent Use or Single Use?
- Can I change the assigned user of ArcGIS Pro from one user to another?
- As an administrator, how do I assign licenses for ArcGIS Pro?
- Are ArcMap and ArcGIS Pro licenses authorized using the same License Manager?
- Does ArcGIS Pro use the same licenses as ArcMap?
- If I have a Concurrent Use or Single Use license, can I access ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise maps and services in ArcGIS Pro?
- As a user, how do I start a session in ArcGIS Pro?
- Can I take my ArcGIS Pro license offline?
- I'm trying to take my license back online, but the option is unavailable. How do I enable it?
- How do I change my licensing portal?
- How can I find out which ArcGIS Pro licenses have been assigned to me?
Functionality
- Do I need to create a project every time I start ArcGIS Pro?
- How do I remove ArcGIS Online (www.arcgis.com) from my list of portals?
- How do I change the default location for creating and storing projects in ArcGIS Pro?
- How do I access the help if I decide to work offline?
- How do I change default settings?
- Can I change the appearance of ArcGIS Pro?
- How do I remove recent projects from the start page?
- Is there a way to set my folder and database connections so I don't have to do it manually for each project?
- Why is the Add Data button
in ArcGIS Pro unavailable in my new project? - Can I use personal geodatabases (.mdb) as data sources for ArcGIS Pro?
- Can I publish to a stand-alone ArcGIS Server from ArcGIS Pro?
- Is the 3D Analyst extension required for ArcGIS Pro to work with 3D maps and layouts?
- Is it possible to add Bing basemaps to ArcGIS Pro?
- How do I create a new ArcGIS Pro map without a basemap?
For ArcMap users
- Will my ArcObjects application built for ArcMap work in ArcGIS Pro?
- Will Python scripts and toolboxes written for ArcMap work in ArcGIS Pro?
- Are all the geoprocessing tools from ArcMap in ArcGIS Pro?
- Will models built in ArcMap work in ArcGIS Pro?
- Can I run models that I build in ArcGIS Pro in ArcMap?
- Can I use my maps from ArcMap in ArcGIS Pro?
- I imported a map document with multiple data frames, but I only see one map in ArcGIS Pro. What happened to the other data frames?
- How do I share a map authored in ArcGIS Pro with someone using ArcMap?
- Can I use my licensed ArcGIS Desktop extensions with ArcGIS Pro?
- Where did my ArcMap styles go?
- How do I start an edit session in ArcGIS Pro?
- Can I create or use geometric networks in ArcGIS Pro?
Additional resources
- Are there videos I can watch to get started?
- Does Esri provide training for ArcGIS Pro?
- How can I connect with the ArcGIS Pro community?
- How do I submit enhancement ideas or report bugs?
- Who do I contact with questions about ArcGIS Pro if I am the administrator of an ArcGIS organization?
- Who do I contact with questions about ArcGIS Pro if I am the Primary Maintenance Contact for my organization?
Installation
View the system requirements.
ArcGIS Pro is part of ArcGIS Desktop, and customers who are current on maintenance for ArcGIS Desktop can install ArcGIS Pro. ArcGIS Pro is also available as a stand-alone application through ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise. It is included with the GIS Professional user type and can be purchased as an add-on product for the Creator user type. If you don't currently have ArcGIS Pro, you can get a free trial.
Do I need to uninstall ArcGIS Pro before installing the current release if I have a previously installed version?
You do not need to uninstall the previous version of ArcGIS Pro before installing the latest release. However, if you have installed any language packs for the previous version of ArcGIS Pro, it is recommended that you uninstall all ArcGIS Pro language packs before installing ArcGIS Pro. Remember, only one version of ArcGIS Pro can be installed on a machine at a time, so by installing a new version, the old version is overwritten.
Yes, although it is strongly recommended that you accept the default installation location and not install to a path with Unicode characters. If you receive the message Error 1324, The path ???????? contains an invalid character when installing or uninstalling, contact Esri Technical Support. An analyst can provide you with a .reg file to import on your machine. Double-click the .reg file and uninstall ArcGIS Pro.
You will receive update notification messages in ArcGIS Pro when a new version is available for installation. These notifications are not to be confused with an automatic update. When you click the message, the About page appears, where you can learn more about the update and choose to begin the download.
You can download ArcGIS Pro and optional setups, such as the offline help system, from My Esri. See Download, install, and authorize for more information. If you don't have ArcGIS Pro, you can sign up for a free trial and follow the links provided in your email to download the application.
Yes, ArcGIS Pro is supported in virtual environments. See Running ArcGIS Pro in a virtualized environment for more information.
The answer depends on the licensing model you're using:
- When connected to ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise with a Named User account, you can log in on up to three machines at the same time. If you're disconnected and have your license set to work offline, you can work with the one machine that has been taken offline.
- One Single Use license can be used to authorize one user on one machine.
- Concurrent Use licenses allow authorization of one machine per license at a time, drawing from a pool of shared licenses.
As an administrator, is it possible to block update notifications in ArcGIS Pro so that end-users are unable to install updates from within the application?
Yes, it is possible to do so by making changes to the Windows Registry as explained in this Esri Support article. These changes prevent ArcGIS Pro from searching for updates, block notification messages that appear to users on startup, and hide updates otherwise listed on the About page inside the application.
Licensing
Yes. You can get ArcGIS Pro with certain user types in ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise. The GIS Professional user type includes an ArcGIS Pro license, and the Creator user type can be assigned an ArcGIS Pro add-on license.
By default, ArcGIS Pro is licensed by Named User. If your ArcGIS Pro licenses were purchased as part of ArcGIS Desktop, you can convert your Named User licenses to Concurrent Use or Single Use licenses through My Esri. ArcGIS Pro Named User licenses are converted to ArcGIS Pro Concurrent Use licenses if your ArcGIS Desktop licenses are Concurrent Use. They are converted to ArcGIS Pro Single Use licenses if your ArcGIS Desktop licenses are Single Use. See Convert Named User licenses to Concurrent Use and Convert Named User licenses to Single Use for more information.
If I use ArcGIS Pro with the Named User license type, but later go off maintenance and my Named User account expires, can I switch my Named User license to Concurrent Use or Single Use?
Yes, if you have ArcGIS Desktop, you will be able to convert the license type to Concurrent Use or Single Use through My Esri, and continue to use the software and access projects. However, you will no longer receive software updates. You can choose to get back on maintenance at any time at the Esri Maintenance Program page.
If I convert my ArcGIS Pro license to Concurrent Use or Single Use, can I later switch back to Named User?
Reverse conversion is not currently available in My Esri. If you convert your Named User licenses to Concurrent Use or Single Use and want to go back to Named User, you must contact Esri Customer Service or your distributor.
If I have licensed ArcGIS Pro through ArcGIS Enterprise, can I convert my licenses to Concurrent Use or Single Use?
Yes, this conversion is possible. You must contact Esri Customer Service and submit a Certificate of Destruction since the licenses are already provisioned to ArcGIS Enterprise. The licenses will then be reverted to the default Named User license, and you will be able to convert the licenses to Concurrent Use or Single Use. If you want to convert licenses, it is recommended that you do so when you renew of your ArcGIS Desktop maintenance.
Yes. If you are using Named User licensing, you can use ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise to change an organization member's user type, which may affect their ArcGIS Pro license. You can also reassign ArcGIS Pro add-on and extension licenses to other organization members as long as their user type is compatible with the license.
Yes. You can use the same License Manager to authorize and manage ArcMap and ArcGIS Pro licenses.
No, you must authorize both ArcGIS Pro licenses and ArcMap licenses in order to use both ArcGIS Pro and ArcMap. If you are using Concurrent Use licensing for ArcMap and ArcGIS Pro, you can manage both license types with the same License Manager.
If I have a Concurrent Use or Single Use license, can I access ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise maps and services in ArcGIS Pro?
Yes. However, an ArcGIS organization (ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise) account is still required to access web maps and services and to share content created in ArcGIS Pro to the web. Even with an ArcGIS Pro Concurrent Use or Single Use license, you maintain an account in your ArcGIS organization and can sign in to it from ArcGIS Pro with your account credentials. With a Concurrent Use or Single Use license, it is not necessary to sign in to ArcGIS Pro to use the application; only to use it in ways that interact with ArcGIS Online or your ArcGIS Enterprise portal. See Sign in to your organization for more information.
When you start ArcGIS Pro for the first time, a Sign In dialog box appears for you to log in with your ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise credentials. If you have a Concurrent Use license, contact your administrator for your License Manager host name. If you have a Single Use license, contact your administrator for your authorization number.
Yes. To take a Named User license offline, see Authorize ArcGIS Pro to work offline in the help topic Start ArcGIS Pro with a Named user license. To take a Concurrent Use license offline, see Authorize ArcGIS Pro to work offline in the help topic Start ArcGIS Pro with a Concurrent Use license. Single Use licenses are enabled for working offline by default, because they are authorized on each machine individually.
To return an offline Named User license, see Check in an offline license in the help topic Start ArcGIS Pro with a Named user license. To return an offline Concurrent Use license, see Return an offline license in the help topic Start ArcGIS Pro with a Concurrent Use license.
Start ArcGIS Pro. On the start page, click Settings in the lower left corner. In the list of settings on the left, click Licensing. On the Licensing page, click Configure your licensing options. On the Licensing dialog box, select ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise according to the type of ArcGIS organization you belong to. Replace the URL of the current licensing portal with the URL of the new licensing portal and click OK. Restart ArcGIS Pro and sign in.
Functionality
To use ArcGIS Pro for tasks that don't require creating and saving a project (for example, catalog management), click Start without a template on the start screen. An untitled project is created, but you are not prompted to name or save it before you begin working. You have the option to save the project at any time during the ArcGIS Pro session. For more information on starting ArcGIS Pro, see Start your work.
You can remove a portal connection on the Portals page in the ArcGIS Pro Settings. From an open project, click the Project tab on the ribbon. Or, from the ArcGIS Pro start page, click Settings in the lower left corner. In the list on the left, click Portals. On the Portals page, in the list of portals, select the portal you want to remove and click Remove 
. If you have a Named User license, you can't remove your licensing portal (marked with a key icon). Learn more about managing portal connections.
See Create projects in the General options help topic to change your default settings for creating and storing projects.
See Help source in the General options help topic to use the offline help system. You must first download and install the offline help application. See Download, install, and authorize for more information.
You can change default settings on the Options dialog box in the ArcGIS Pro Settings. From an open project, click the Project tab on the ribbon. Or, from the ArcGIS Pro start page, click Settings in the lower left corner. In the list on the left, click Options. You can set options for the current project or for the application. See Project and application options for more information.
You can customize the ribbon by adding or removing tabs and commands. See Customize the ribbon options for more information. You can also change the application theme from light to dark on the General tab of the Options dialog box in the ArcGIS Pro Settings. See General options for more information.
Is there a way to set my folder and database connections so I don't have to do it manually for each project?
Yes, one way to do this is by adding your connections to your list of project favorites. Alternatively, you can create a project template that includes connections to databases and folders, from which new projects can be created.
No. Personal geodatabases are not supported in ArcGIS Pro, so you cannot use personal geodatabase datasets as inputs for geoprocessing tools or create those datasets as outputs. File geodatabases are fully supported and are the default workspaces for ArcGIS Pro projects.
Yes, you can publish map services, geocode services, geoprocessing services, and image services to a stand-alone ArcGIS Server. Your ArcGIS Pro project must contain a publisher or administrator connection to a stand-alone ArcGIS Server 10.6 or later. See Publish services for more information.
No. If you don't have this extension, you can still navigate, author, edit, and share 3D maps, which are called scenes in ArcGIS Pro. The ArcGIS 3D Analyst extension is only required for performing 3D analysis. If you want to run geoprocessing tools in the 3D Analyst toolbox, you need the 3D Analyst extension.
Yes; see Use Bing Maps.
By default, new maps and scenes open with a basemap specified by your ArcGIS organization. You can change this setting on the Map and Scene tab of the Options dialog box in the ArcGIS Pro Settings. See Map and scene options for more information.
For ArcMap users
No, ArcGIS Pro has a new .NET API, and the functionality and workflows are different from what exists in ArcMap. The new API was built using ArcObjects; however, ArcObjects is not exposed directly.
Usually, yes. ArcGIS Pro uses Python 3.x, while other applications in ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Server use Python 2.x. Despite some significant differences between these versions of Python, many geoprocessing scripts can be used as is in both ArcMap and ArcGIS Pro. You can read about Python migration for ArcGIS Pro, and use the Analyze Tools For Pro geoprocessing tool to analyze a script or toolbox for necessary updates.
The majority of ArcMap geoprocessing tools are available in ArcGIS Pro. However, some tools are not available. In some cases, these tools may be available in a future release. Tools that work with data formats that are not supported in ArcGIS Pro, such as coverages, will not be available in the future. Many new tools are also added to each ArcGIS Pro release which are not added to ArcMap.
Yes, most of the time. However, if the model includes a tool that is not available in ArcGIS Pro, the model will not work. You may be able to remove the tool and use a workaround. Additionally, if a tool in the model has changed in ArcGIS Pro, the model will not work until you update the model (make a backup of the toolbox, open the model in ArcGIS Pro, validate, and save the model). Refer to a tool's help topic to determine what needs to change for the tool to work in ArcGIS Pro. One common issue is that the Calculate Field tool no longer supports Visual Basic (VB) expressions. Learn more about migrating ModelBuilder workflows to ArcGIS Pro.
No, models that are built new, or opened and saved in ArcGIS Pro, cannot be used directly in ArcMap. However, you can save the containing toolbox as a previous version and use that toolbox in ArcMap. It's safest to make a backup of the original toolbox before modifying any models in ArcGIS Pro. Keep in mind that many tools and new data formats are only available in ArcGIS Pro, so the model still may not work in ArcMap.
Yes, map documents (.mxd), scenes (.sxd), and globes (.3DD) can be imported into ArcGIS Pro and saved in a project. For more information, see Import a map or a map package in the help topic Add maps and scenes to a project. The same geodatabase and shapefile datasets can be used by both applications. Web layers shared from ArcGIS Pro can be opened in ArcMap. Also, ArcMap and ArcGIS Pro can run side by side on the same machine. However, ArcGIS Pro projects cannot be imported into ArcMap.
I imported a map document with multiple data frames, but I only see one map in ArcGIS Pro. What happened to the other data frames?
When you import a map document (.mxd), all the data frames become maps in your ArcGIS Pro project, but only one of them opens. You can open the other maps from the Catalog pane by clicking the Project tab at the top of the pane and expanding the Maps item. Alternatively, you can open the catalog view from the View tab on the ribbon and browse to the maps in your project.
Yes. If you have an ArcGIS Desktop license for an extension product, you are licensed to use the same extension in ArcGIS Pro if it is available. See ArcGIS Pro extensions for a list of available extensions. Extension licenses in ArcGIS Pro are managed using the same license type (for example, Named User) as your ArcGIS Pro license.
Many ArcMap styles have been retired and are not included as system styles in ArcGIS Pro. However, these styles can be imported from ArcMap. See Import an ArcMap style into the project. A number of these styles have already been converted to ArcGIS Pro *.stylx format and can be downloaded from ArcGIS Online at Esri Styles.
By default, ArcGIS Pro automatically starts an edit session when you modify existing data or create data. Optionally, you can configure your application settings so that you are explicitly required to start and stop editing. For more information, see Enable and disable editing.
Geometric networks are a read-only dataset in ArcGIS Pro. The capability to manage, model, and analyze simple network systems such as hydrology has been replaced by the trace network. The capability to manage, model, and analyze more advanced network systems for water, gas, electric, telecom, sewer, storm water, and other utilities has been replaced by the utility network.
Additional resources
Yes, the ArcGIS Pro Quick-Start Tutorials playlist has several short videos that are companions to the introductory series of ArcGIS Pro quick-start tutorials.
Yes. In addition to the ArcGIS Pro quick-start tutorials in the help system, Esri provides a number of free and paid training options for ArcGIS Pro. Visit the Esri training catalog to find the course that fits your needs. Free guided lessons are also available at the Learn ArcGIS website.
You can connect with other users, ask questions, and share ideas in the ArcGIS Pro Space on Esri's GeoNet. Read ArcGIS Pro Articles on the ArcGIS Blog to learn about new software developments and best practices and to see examples of outstanding cartography.
Submit ideas for enhancements to ArcGIS Pro through ArcGIS Ideas. To report a software bug, contact Esri Technical Support and request a case. To report a problem with an ArcGIS Pro help topic, click the Feedback on this topic? link at the bottom of the topic's web page.
Who do I contact with questions about ArcGIS Pro if I am the administrator of an ArcGIS organization?
Contact Esri Customer Service or your account manager for licensing questions. Contact Esri Technical Support for technical assistance.
Who do I contact with questions about ArcGIS Pro if I am the Primary Maintenance Contact for my organization?
Contact your account manager for licensing questions. Contact Esri Customer Service for help with software download and installation.