Install the drivers to work with Microsoft Excel files

You can open Microsoft Excel tables directly in ArcGIS Pro and work with them in the same way you work with other tabular data sources. For example, you can add Excel files to a map, open them in the fields view, and use them as inputs to geoprocessing tools. For more details, see Work with Microsoft Excel files in ArcGIS Pro.

Working with Microsoft Excel tables in ArcGIS Pro does not require that Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Office be installed on the same machine with ArcGIS Pro.

The only requirement to access and work with Excel files in ArcGIS Pro is that the appropriate drivers must be downloaded and installed correctly on the computer on which ArcGIS Pro is installed. Depending on the configuration, a silent installation may be necessary to correctly install the appropriate driver. Without the appropriate driver installed, attempts to access an Excel file in ArcGIS Pro will produce a Required Microsoft driver is not installed error.

Determine the drivers to install

To determine the appropriate drivers to install, review and answer the following questions regarding the configuration of the machine on which ArcGIS Pro is installed. Your answers will help you determine if you need to install one or more drivers and if a silent installation of those drivers is necessary to access and use Excel files in ArcGIS Pro.

• Which version of ArcGIS Pro will you be using?
  • ArcGIS Pro 3.0 or newer

    Note:

    Beginning with the ArcGIS Pro 3.0 release, Microsoft .NET Desktop Runtime 6.0.5 - Windows x64 is required prior to installing ArcGIS Pro.

  • ArcGIS Pro 2.5–2.9
  • ArcGIS Pro 2.4
• Are any Microsoft Office products currently installed on the client machine on which ArcGIS Pro is installed?
  • If Microsoft Office products are installed, answer the following:
    • Were the Microsoft Office products installed using either Click-to-Run (CTR) technology or a Microsoft Installer (MSI)?
    • Is the bit version of the installed Microsoft Office products 32 bit or 64 bit?

Based on your answers, use the following decision tree as a guide to help you determine the appropriate driver to install and to determine whether a silent installation is needed for one or more drivers.

Access a higher resolution decision tree guide.

Tip:

See the Guide to connecting to Excel files in ArcGIS Pro blog post if you need additional details or guidance to answer these questions and complete these steps to access and use Excel files in ArcGIS Pro.

Install the Microsoft Access Database Engine drivers

Microsoft Access Database Engine technology helps bridge communication and external data transfers between files that are proprietary to the Microsoft Office system and other non-Microsoft Office applications such as ArcGIS Pro.

To access and work with Excel files in ArcGIS Pro, you must download and install the Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable driver on your computer. This driver is accessible from the Microsoft Download Center.

Click Download on the page and choose one of the following download options:

• Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable 64-bit driver—(AccessDatabaseEngine_X64.exe)
• Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable 32-bit driver—(AccessDatabaseEngine.exe)

  Caution:

  If the Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable 32-bit driver (AccessDatabaseEngine.exe) for Excel is installed, the 32-bit .NET 6 Desktop Runtime - Windows x86 must also be installed.

Tip:

Based on the version of ArcGIS Pro you are using, review and adhere to the following information:

• ArcGIS Pro 3.0 or newer
  • Beginning with the ArcGIS Pro 3.0 release, the Microsoft .NET 6 Desktop Runtime - Windows x64 Installer must be installed prior to installing ArcGIS Pro. For more information, see the ArcGIS Pro software requirements.
  • The Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable 64-bit driver for Excel will work with the Microsoft .NET 6 Desktop Runtime - Windows x64 Installer with no additional installation requirements.
  • If the Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable 32-bit driver (AccessDatabaseEngine.exe) for Excel is installed, the 32-bit .NET 6 Desktop Runtime - Windows x86 must also be installed.
  • Accessing Excel files with both ArcGIS Pro 3.0 or newer, and ArcMap 10.x clients installed on the same machine requires installing the following:
    • 64-bit and 32-bit Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable drivers
    • 64-bit and 32-bit Microsoft Windows .NET 6 Desktop Runtime installers
• ArcGIS Pro 2.5–2.9
  • Download the bit level of the Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable driver that matches the bit level of the currently installed Microsoft applications.
  • Accessing Excel files in both ArcGIS Pro 2.5–2.9 and ArcMap 10.x clients installed on the same machine requires installing the following:
    • 64-bit and 32-bit Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable drivers
• ArcGIS Pro 2.4
  • The Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable 64-bit driver for Excel is not supported with ArcGIS Pro 2.4. Only the Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable 32-bit driver is supported.

Perform a silent mode installation

Microsoft Office is installed in one of two ways, either MSI or CTR. It's important that you know the type of installer that's used, because if your Microsoft Office products were installed using CTR (such as Microsoft Office 365), Microsoft side-by-side detection will prevent the installation of either the 32-bit or 64-bit driver from proceeding.

Microsoft policy only allows you to install drivers of the same bit version as that of the installed Microsoft Office products. If you try to install the downloaded AccessDatabaseEngine.exe file on a machine that already has a Microsoft 64-bit application installed, you will receive an error message that you can't install a 32-bit version of the database engine because you currently have 64-bit Microsoft Office products installed. A similar error message appears if you try to install the AccessDatabaseEngine_X64.exe file on a machine that already has a Microsoft 32-bit application installed.

To work around this situation, complete the following steps to perform a silent mode installation of the downloaded files:

Note:

Ensure that the ArcGIS Pro application is closed prior to performing a silent installation.

1. Save the downloaded file to your computer on the C: drive.
2. Using the Windows search box on the taskbar, type Command Prompt.
3. Right-click the Command Prompt application and click Run as administrator.

   The command prompt opens to a default directory.

4. Type cd C:\ to change the directory to the drive where you saved the downloaded file.
5. To run the .exe file as a silent installation, type AccessDatabaseEngine.exe /quiet or AccessDatabaseEngine_X64.exe /quiet, depending on the file you've selected to download from the Microsoft Download Center.
It is recommended that you restart your computer after the installation.

Note:

To confirm whether the driver is installed, in the Windows taskbar search box, type Settings. In the Apps & features pane, search for Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016. If it isn't there, or if you have any problems with the installation information listed above, see Guide to connecting to Excel files in ArcGIS Pro for additional installation instructions.