To streamline the license authorization workflow, software license administrators can create a license file in My Esri and use it to authorize ArcGIS Pro and extension products. Administrators can also provide license files to software users to authorize software.
License files can be used to authorize ArcGIS Pro Single Use or Concurrent Use licenses that were previously converted from Named User licenses.
License file defined
A license file (previously called a provisioning file) is a plain text file that automatically supplies required information—such as product name, authorization number, and user contact information—to the Software Authorization Wizard. This is convenient when multiple licenses are being authorized because it isn't necessary for each user to enter the information manually. A license file is especially useful for an organization with many Single Use licenses. In this case, one license file can be used to authorize the software on multiple machines.
Single Use license files have the extension .prvc (denoting a client license file). Concurrent Use license files have the extension .prvs (denoting a server license file).
Note:
License files for Named User licenses that use ArcGIS Enterprise 10.7 or later as the licensing portal are JSON files with the extension .json. Named User licenses managed through ArcGIS Online do not require a license file.
Create a license file
The following steps describe how to create a license file for Single Use or Concurrent Use licenses:
- Sign in to My Esri with your Esri account credentials.
At the top of the page, the Overview tab is selected. Your organization profile is displayed.
- Click the Licensing tab. Under License Esri Products, click Start Licensing. In the second row of tabs, confirm that License Esri Products is selected.
- On step 1, Product and Licenses, under Select Product and License Options, click the ArcGIS Pro tile.
- Click the Product drop-down list and click ArcGIS Pro.
The Version drop-down list is automatically set to 10.1 - 10.8.2.
Note:
If you have ArcGIS Pro as part of an ArcGIS Enterprise 10.7 or later version deployment, click the ArcGIS Enterprise tile instead of ArcGIS Pro. Choose your version and set the license type to Portal for ArcGIS. If you have an older ArcGIS Enterprise version, click the ArcGIS Pro tile and choose ArcGIS Pro (for Portal use) as the product.
- Click the License Type drop-down arrow and click Concurrent Use or Single Use according to the licenses you want to authorize.
- Click the Licenses drop-down arrow and choose whether to generate a license file for core products and extensions, core products only, or extensions only.
- Click the File Type drop-down arrow and click License File.
In this example, the license type is Single Use and the licenses include core products and extensions. - Click Next.
- On step 2, Products, in the Select column, check the check boxes for the core products to be authorized.
In this example, a license file will be created to authorize 10 ArcGIS Pro Advanced licenses, 10 ArcGIS Pro Basic licenses, and 10 ArcGIS Pro Standard licenses.
Note:
If the license file is for Single Use licenses, all available licenses are allocated to the license file. If the license file is for Concurrent Use licenses, you can specify the number of licenses to be allocated in the Select column.
- Click Next.
- On step 3, Extensions, in the Select column, check the check boxes for the extension products to be authorized.
Note:
If you chose to authorize core products only, this step does not appear in My Esri.
- Click Next.
- On step 4, End User, fill in the required end user and organization information.
The end user is the person who will use the license file to authorize the licenses. You can populate these fields automatically from your profile.
- Click Next.
- On step 5, Review, confirm that the information is correct.
A single license file containing one authorization number will be generated. This number can be used to authorize the products and extensions listed.
- Under How would you like your license file delivered?, click the Download or Email option.
- Optionally, add a note or tags to your license file.
- Click Create File.
A message confirms that the licenses were successfully created. The license file is downloaded to your default download folder or sent to you by email. License files for Single Use licenses have the file extension .prvc. License files for Concurrent use licenses have the extension .prvs.
You can now use the license file to authorize ArcGIS Pro. Optionally, you can move it to a shared location where it is accessible to others.
Use a license file to authorize ArcGIS Pro
Follow the steps below to authorize ArcGIS Pro with a license file. Prior to authorization, the software must be installed on the computers that will use the licenses.
- Start the Software Authorization Wizard according to your license type:
Tip:
You can open the Software Authorization Wizard directly to the Authorization Options page. To do so, browse to your license file in File Explorer. Right-click the file, click Open, and click Yes on the prompt. The correct settings for the page are made automatically.
- In the Software Authorization Wizard, on the Authorization Options page, click I have received an authorization file and am now ready to finish the authorizaton process.
- Click Browse. Browse to the location of the license file and click the file to select it. Click Open.
The license file appears in the text box on the Authorization Options page.
In this example, the license type is Single Use and the license file has the extension .prvc. - Click Next.
- On the Authorization Method page, choose the authorization method you want to use and click Next.
The default method is to authorize with Esri using the internet. If an internet connection is not available, see Authorization files.
- On the Authorization Information page, the required information is supplied by the license file. Click Next.
- On the Authorization Information (continued) page, fill in the required information and click Next.
- On the Software Authorization Number page, the authorization number is supplied by the license file. Click Next.
- On the Authorize Software Extensions page, accept the default option and click Next.
Note:
If your license file does not include authorizations for extensions, the default option is not to authorize extensions. If your license file includes extensions, the default option is to authorize extensions. Authorization numbers appear next to the extensions. In this case, after you click Next an additional page appears that allows you to choose other extension products for evaluation.
When the process finishes, a message on the Software Authorization Wizard confirms that your software has been authorized and is ready for use.
- Click Finish.
- If necessary, click OK on the ArcGIS Pro Licensing dialog box.