Managing and assigning ArcGIS Pro licenses

Unlike ArcGIS Desktop, ArcGIS Pro is not just limited to traditional Single Use licenses or Concurrent Use licenses. ArcGIS Pro supports those in addition to Named User licensing. This allows you to pick the licensing method that best meets the needs of your organization. So what are the differences between these types of licensing methods?

In this section, you will learn about ArcGIS Pro licenses, and how to download and assign them. We will also begin with opening our first ArcGIS Pro project.

Single Use licenses are the traditional software licenses, where you are allowed to install and run the application on a single computer. This was the most common form of license or use authorization for software until recently.

Concurrent Use licensing is often referred to as a network license. This type of license requires a license server to be set up and configured. It acts as a librarian for your software licenses. When a user starts the application, it first checks with the license server or manager to see whether one is available. If there is an available license, one is checked out to the user, and the application starts. If all licenses are in use, the user gets an error indicating all licenses are in use and the application will not start.

Concurrent licenses allow you to install the software on as many computers as you wish, but only the number of users equal to the number of licenses your organization has are able to be running the application at any given time. Esri is slowly eliminating this licensing method in favor of Single Use and Named User methods. If you or your organization is using Concurrent Use licensing, it is recommended you start looking into migrating to one of the other two as you implement ArcGIS Pro.

ArcGIS Pro uses the Named User licensing method by default. This is similar to the licensing used by Adobe Creative Cloud and Microsoft Office 365. You manage these licenses through ArcGIS Online or Portal for ArcGIS. This method assigns an ArcGIS Pro license to individual user logins that are part of your ArcGIS Online organizational account or Portal for ArcGIS. Because this is the default licensing method for ArcGIS Pro, we will show you how to assign licenses to your users in ArcGIS Online. The same basic method will also work if you are using Portal for ArcGIS.

Understanding the number and level of ArcGIS Pro licenses

If your organization has been using ArcGIS Desktop and has been paying the annual software maintenance fees, you will get an equal number of levels of ArcGIS Pro licenses. So, if you have 2 licenses for ArcGIS Desktop Advanced, 4 licenses for ArcGIS Desktop Standard, and 10 Licenses for ArcGIS Desktop Basic, you will have the same number and level of ArcGIS Pro licenses, which you can assign to users.

For completely new users, the number of licenses and levels will be dependent on what you purchase from Esri or one of their authorized business partners. Esri does offer discounts for multiple licenses as well as for non-profit and educational institutions.

ArcGIS Pro has three license levels, namely, Basic, Standard, and Advanced. The license level you have or purchase will determine the functionality of the software. Basic will have the least functionality, while advanced will have the most. The following are a few of the functionality differences between the three license levels:

To see the complete functionality comparison, go to Esri's product web page at http://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/get-started/license-levels.htm.

ArcGIS Pro also has extensions that provide increased functionality to the core application. The extensions are separate purchases and licenses, but do require a matching ArcGIS Pro license to run on. If you are migrating from the older ArcGIS Desktop platform, then the licenses for these extensions are also matched with the extensions for ArcGIS Desktop. So, if you have 1 license of Spatial Analyst extension, you will also have one Spatial Analyst for ArcGIS Pro extension license, assuming the annual maintenance for the extension is current.

Assigning ArcGIS Pro licenses

As we mentioned earlier, ArcGIS Pro supports multiple licensing models. The default model is Named User licenses, which are managed through ArcGIS Online or Portal for ArcGIS. To assign or manage licenses for ArcGIS Pro, you must be designated as an administrator. If you are, you can assign ArcGIS Pro and extension licenses to named users.

To manage or assign licenses, you must perform the following steps:

1. Log in to ArcGIS Online (www.argis.com) or Portal for ArcGIS.
2. Once logged in, you will need to click on Licenses, as shown in the following screenshot. This will require you to be an administrator for your organization:

1. From the Licenses page, you can then assign ArcGIS Pro and extension licenses to named users within your organization's ArcGIS Online account or Portal for ArcGIS by clicking on the Manage link located under the license level you wish to assign to the user:

You will only see the license levels available to your organization. As shown in the preceding screenshot, my organization only has access to Basic and Advanced licenses. Your organization may only have a single level, or it might have two or even all three.

1. Once you are on the Manage page, simply click the toggle switch located to the right of the user you wish to assign the license to, illustrated as follows:

As you can see in the previous screenshot, Eric Pimpler and Polly Corbin have both been assigned ArcGIS Pro Basic licenses, while Jason Kandrick, JoshuaKnight, and NathanielKeith have not. As an administrator, you can change the ArcGIS Pro licenses and extensions assigned to users as needed. You can assign licenses as new users are added or revoke licenses as older users are deactivated or removed.

If ArcGIS Desktop is installed on the user's computer, the ArcGIS Pro license level does not have to match the ArcGIS for Desktop license level the user may be running. These are independent of one another.

Downloading and installing the exercise data

Before you can proceed further in the book and complete the exercises, you will need to download and install the exercise data. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Download the exercise data from Packt Publishing by going tohttps://www.packtpub.com/ and click on Support from the ribbon menu at the top of the page.
2. Then, click on Code Downloads and, in the search title box, type Learning ArcGIS Pro 2 - Second Edition. Click on the book title, which should appear under the search box.
3. If needed, click on the register link to create your user account. Then, follow the links to download exercise data.
4. Once the exercise data has downloaded, open Windows File Explorer, which is typically accessible by clicking on an icon located on your taskbar that looks like a small file folder in a holder.
5. Navigate to the location you downloaded the exercise data to. If you downloaded the data to the standard Windows default location, you should be able to click on the Downloads option under Favorites in the tree located in the left-hand side of the File Explorer interface.
6. Double-click on theLearningArcGISPro.zipfile.

1. Right-click on the IntroArcGISPro folder located inside the zip folder you downloaded. Then, select Copy.
2. In File Explorer, navigate to your C:\ drive (often named, Local Disk or OS). The C:\ drive may be found under This PC in the tree on the left-hand side of the File Explorer interface, as shown in the following screenshot:

1. Right-click on the C:\ drive and select New | Folder.
2. Name the new folder Student.
3. Right-click on the Student folder you just created and select Paste. This will copy the IntroArcGISPro folder to the Student folder you just created.
4. Close File Explorer once the copy is complete.

You have now copied the exercise data that will be required to complete the book to your local computer.

Launching ArcGIS Pro

Now that you have installed ArcGIS Pro and have a license, it is time to launch ArcGIS Pro for the first time. You need to ensure that you are connected to the internet because when you launch ArcGIS Pro, it will need to connect to ArcGIS Online or Portal for ArcGIS to make sure that you have a valid license.

Let's now open ArcGIS Pro:

1. Open ArcGIS Pro. How you do this will depend on your OS and whether you have added shortcuts to your desktop or taskbar. In most cases, the first time you launch ArcGIS Pro, you will need to go to the Start button located on the lower-left corner of your monitor. It looks like the Windows icon.
2. Once you click on the Start button, scroll through the list of installed programs until you see the ArcGIS folder or group and click on it. This will expand the list of installed ArcGIS programs installed on your computer.
3. Select ArcGIS Pro from the list of programs to start the application.

1. Once you start ArcGIS Pro, you will need to sign in to your ArcGIS Online or Portal account. This allows ArcGIS Pro to verify your license. You do have the option to allow ArcGIS Pro to remember your login credentials for ArcGIS Online, so you will not have to log in every time you launch ArcGIS Pro:

After ArcGIS Pro verifies your login and license, it will take you to the window that allows you to start a new project or open an existing project. You will now open an existing project, but before you do that, you will need to make sure you have downloaded and installed the exercise data.

Opening an ArcGIS Pro Project

ArcGIS Pro makes use of projects that can contain maps, data connections, toolboxes, and more. You will now open an existing project and begin your first journey into ArcGIS Pro to help verify the successful installation of ArcGIS Pro and your exercise data. You will get an opportunity to explore 2D and 3D maps, a layout, and other project items as follows:

1. If you closed ArcGIS Pro from the previous section, open ArcGIS Pro and log in if required.

1. In the ArcGIS Pro start page, click on Open another project, as shown in the following screenshot:

Take a moment to review the Start page. It is divided into three columns. The first is for opening existing projects like the one you are about to open. At the top of the first column is a list of recently opened projects. If this is your first time opening a project with ArcGIS Pro, this area will be blank, as shown in the previous screenshot.

If this is not the first time, you will see a list of one or more projects that you have opened. As you move through the book, you will see projects added to this section. The second column area is to create new projects. It contains a list of project templates included with ArcGIS Pro. You will learn how to create your own projects later in this book. The last column area is a list of project templates you have used recently to generate new projects as well as the option at the bottom to select a different template.

1. The last step should have opened the Open Project window. Click on Computer in the left panel of the window. This should be below Portal.

1. In the right panel of the window, double-click on (C:) to access your local drive.

1. Continue navigating to C:\Student\IntroArcPro\Chapter1\IntroArcPro_Chapter1 or the location where you installed the exercise data and select IntroArcPro_Chapter1.aprx. Then, click OK (or double-click the file) to open the project:

If the project opens successfully, you will see two map views located side by side showing a granite quarry, as shown in the following screenshot. One is a traditional 2D map, and the other is a 3D map. These two views have been linked together, so when you zoom or pan in one, the other updates to match:

You will now explore this project and the two maps you see so you can better understand the relationship between the tool and examine some basic tools found in ArcGIS Pro. You will start by using the Explore tool. This is a very versatile tool that allows you to move within a map and retrieve information about the features you see.

1. At the top of the ArcGIS Pro interface, make sure the Map tab is active. If it is not, click on it.
2. Click on the Explore tool on the Map tab. This tool uses a blue and white spherical icon surrounded by small arrowheads, as shown in the following screenshot:

1. Move your mouse pointer to one of the two map views and click your left mouse button and drag it to pan within the view. As you pan in one view, watch what happens in the other view.

1. Using the Explore tool once again, click on a parcel in either view.

1. Feel free to continue exploring the use of the Explore tool. Once you are done, close ArcGIS Pro without saving the project.

You have learned about ArcGIS Pro licenses and their levels, and you have also opened your first ArcGIS Pro project and begun navigating in a map. Congratulations on your first step toward leveraging the power of ArcGIS Pro to visualize and query information!