You can open Microsoft Excel tables directly in ArcGIS Pro and work with them as you do 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 information, see Work with Microsoft Excel files in ArcGIS Pro.
Working with Excel tables in ArcGIS Pro does not require Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Office to be installed.
LibXL Library
ArcGIS Pro 3.5 has improved the process of opening Excel files by incorporating the LibXL library into the software. This integration allows users to open and read both .xls and .xlsx files, without additional drivers or complicated setup steps.
If you already have the Microsoft Access driver installed and can access Excel files from ArcGIS Pro, you can continue using it. This configuration is still the recommended workflow for working with Excel files. When you attempt to access an Excel file from ArcGIS Pro 3.5, the software first checks for the presence of Microsoft Access drivers as follows:
- If a Microsoft Access driver is found, ArcGIS Pro 3.5 will attempt to use it (prioritizing 64-bit drivers before 32-bit drivers) to access the Excel file. If successful, no further action is needed.
- If no Microsoft Access driver is found, ArcGIS Pro 3.5 will automatically use the LibXL library to allow users to access Excel files without installing additional drivers.
- In cases when a Microsoft Access driver is detected but ArcGIS Pro 3.5 cannot access Excel files using the it, or if
the software encounters remnants of a previously installed driver
that are incomplete, an error message is displayed.
- In this scenario, if you decide to stop using the Microsoft Access driver (which you may have installed solely for ArcGIS Pro to connect to Excel files) and confirmed that it is not needed for any other third-party applications on your machine, you can uninstall the driver. ArcGIS Pro 3.5 will then use the LibXL library to access Excel files, requiring no additional action.
- If you still need to use a Microsoft Access driver, uninstall any existing drivers on your machine and reinstall the latest version of either the Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable driver or the Microsoft 365 Access Runtime driver. Then, try connecting to an Excel file from ArcGIS Pro 3.5 again. If successful, no further steps are required. If you continue to experience issues while trying to connect to Excel files, contact Esri Technical Support for an alternative solution.
The LibXL library offers accurate and reliable data reporting, making it an alternative to Microsoft Access. However, it is important to note that LibXL and Microsoft Access are not identical. The following are differences from Microsoft Access when LibXL is used in ArcGIS Pro 3.5 to connect to Excel files:
- The LibXL library supports the double, text, and date data types. In the past, Microsoft solely determined how these data types were interpreted. With LibXL, the interpretation now depends on the formatting and values in each field. Due to the wide range of possible custom formats, there may be differences in interpretation for some of the less common formats.
- When an Excel worksheet is empty, the reported row count will be 0; previously, it was reported as 1.
- Columns consisting entirely of empty cells will not be counted as fields.
- Empty tables will be discarded if they do not report at least one row and are entirely composed of empty fields.
Microsoft drivers
Installing and using the Microsoft Access Database Engine driver remains a fully supported option and is the only solution that enables 32-bit side-by-side installations. This means you can run ArcMap and ArcGIS Pro on the same machine using a 32-bit Microsoft Access Database Engine, and ArcGIS Pro will work with this 32-bit driver version.
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 where ArcGIS Pro is installed.
The machine configuration, including whether any Microsoft Office products are installed on the client machine where ArcGIS Pro resides, will determine which drivers need to be installed before you can access the Excel file from ArcGIS Pro. Some configurations may also require a silent installation to correctly install an additional driver before accessing Excel files from ArcGIS Pro. Without the appropriate driver or drivers installed correctly, attempts to access an Excel file in ArcGIS Pro will produce the Required Microsoft driver is not installed error.
To determine the appropriate drivers to install, review and answer the following questions regarding the client machine configuration where ArcGIS Pro is installed. Your answers will help you decide whether you need to install one or more drivers and whether a silent installation of one of those drivers is necessary to access and use Excel files in ArcGIS Pro 3.4.
Note:
Microsoft .NET Desktop Runtime 8.0.2 Windows x64 must be installed before installing ArcGIS Pro 3.4.
- Question 1: Are any Microsoft Office products currently installed on the same client machine where ArcGIS Pro is installed?
- If no, proceed to the driver installation decision tree.
- If yes, proceed to answer question 2 and question 3.
- Question 2: Are the Microsoft Office products installed on the client machine using either Click-to-Run (CTR) technology or a Microsoft Installer
(MSI)?
Tip:
To determine whether your installer type is MSI or Click-to-Run, see the instructions below.
These instructions apply to any Microsoft Office application, such as Word or Excel.
Instructions: Using Word, choose File, and select Account. In the Product Information section, in About Word, after the build number it will either show Click-to-Run or nothing. If there's nothing after the build number, it's an MSI installation; otherwise, Click-to-Run will display if this installer type was used.
- Question 3: What is the bit version of the installed Microsoft Office products on the client machine, 32 bit or 64 bit?
Tip:
To determine the bit level of your installation, see the instructions below.
These instructions apply to any Microsoft Office application, such as Word or Excel.
Instructions: Click the About Word button
The About Microsoft Word for Office 365 window opens. The top line contains the combined version and build number; at the end, it displays whether it's 32 bit or 64 bit.
.
Driver Installation Decision Tree
Based on your answers, use the following decision tree as a guide to help you determine if one or more Microsoft drivers need to be installed and if a silent installation of the additional driver specified is needed. 
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.
Download the Microsoft drivers
The two primary drivers that can be installed if needed are as follows:
Microsoft 365 Access Runtime (OfficeSetup.exe)—The Microsoft 365 Access Runtime files are available to download in either the 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) versions in all supported languages. Once you select the language, click the appropriate bit version to download.
See Download and install Microsoft 365 Access Runtime on the Microsoft web site for the complete installation instructions
Caution:
Microsoft 365 Access Runtime is not compatible with Microsoft Office products installed with MSI. For more information, see Office installed with Click-to-Run and Windows Installer on same computer isn't supported. on the Microsoft web site.
- Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable 64-bit driver—(AccessDatabaseEngine_X64.exe)—This driver is available to download in either the 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) versions, and you can access a list of supported operating systems specific to using this driver along with detailed installation instructions from the Microsoft Download Center.
Perform a silent mode installation
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_X64.exe file on a machine that already has a Microsoft 32-bit application installed, you will receive an error message indicating that you can't install a 64-bit version of the database engine because you currently have 32-bit Microsoft Office products installed. A similar error message appears if you try installing the AccessDatabaseEngine.exe file on a machine with a Microsoft 64-bit application installed.
To work around this, complete the following steps to perform a silent mode installation of the downloaded files:
Caution:
Ensure that the ArcGIS Pro application is closed before performing a silent installation.
- Save the downloaded file to your computer on the C: drive.
- Using the Windows search box on the task bar, type Command Prompt.
- Right-click the Command Prompt application and click Run as administrator.
The command prompt opens to a default directory.
- Type cd C:\ to change the directory to the drive where you saved the downloaded file.
- See the following examples to run the .exe file as a silent installation:
To perform a silent installation of the Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable driver, from the command prompt, type AccessDatabaseEngine_X64.exe /quiet or AccessDatabaseEngine.exe /quiet, depending on the file you selected to download from the Microsoft Download Center.
- To perform a silent installation of the Microsoft 365 Access Runtime driver, from the command prompt, type OfficeSetup.exe /quiet. See Download and install Microsoft 365 Access Runtime on the Microsoft web site.