GIS desktop software: Get ArcGIS Pro at UCT

NOTE: THIS SOFTWARE IS WINDOWS ONLY! ArcGIS Pro has above average system requirements.

1. GET A LICENCE
To licence an installation of ArcGIS Pro for yourself, you need to sign on to the UCT ArcGIS Online Portal and use the UCT Single Sign-On link.

1. Go to https://uctagol.maps.arcgis.com/
2. Choose the UCT single sign-on option
3. Log in using your UCT credentials. 

This will automatically create an account for you on the UCT ArcGIS Online Portal, which comes with a Named User ArcGIS Pro licence. Your account enables you to log in to the desktop software to licence it. Your account also provides access to the ESRI Training Academy.

2. DOWNLOAD & INSTALL ArcGIS Pro

If you already have the software installed you can skip to step 3 below.

Note: You will need Microsoft's .NET Desktop Runtime 8.0 or later installed in order to successfully install ArcGIS Pro. .NET Desktop Runtime 8 can be downloaded here.

There are two ways to download the installation media. You can:

• Download ArcGIS Pro installs from our UCT OneDrive. 

OR

• Download them from ArcGIS Online by following these steps:

1. Sign in to your ArcGIS Online organization.

2. At the top of the page, click your user name and click My settings.

3. On the My settings page, click the Licenses tab on the left of the page. Your user type, role, and assigned licenses are listed. 

4. Scroll down until you can see ArcGIS Pro. Click "Download ArcGIS Pro".

Run the downloaded installer to install the software.

3. CONFIGURE THE LOGIN SCREEN

Note: If you are relicensing an installation from 2024 or earlier you will likely need to change the licensing model your installation uses by following the steps in the "Troubleshooting" section below.

The login window will appear the first time you run the software. If their is a "UCT Single Sign-On" button on the login window then it is configured correctly and you can skip to step 4 below.

If there is no "UCT Single Sign-On" button on the login screen it needs to configured to use UCT's ArcGIS Online Portal which is done as follows:

1. Run the software.
2. The default ArcGIS Pro installation will be set to use Named User licensing and so the login screen will appear. If it does not, please see the troubleshooting section at the bottom of the guide for assistance.
3. On the login window click on "Your ArcGIS organization's URL" to expand that section of the window.
4. Complete the URL for UCT's ArcGIS Online organisation by typing "uctagol" into the empty text box so that the shown URL is uctagol.maps.arcgis.com.
5. Select the  "Remember this URL" checkbox.
6. Click "Continue".

The login screen is now configured to log directly into UCT's ArcGIS Online Organisation, which will allow the use of UCT's Single Sign-On service.

4. LOG IN TO THE SOFTWARE

To login to ArcGIS Pro please follow the steps below:

1. If the login screen is not open, run the software to open it.
2. Click the UCT Single Sign-On button to open UCT's familiar Single Sign-On login screen.
3. Log in to the software using your Single Sign-On credentials. Note: This will only work if you have already signed in to UCT's ArcGIS Online Portal to create your account (Step 1 above).

Your ArcGIS Pro is now licenced and ready for use. If you are using a communal computer remember to log out of ArcGIS Pro!

• We recommend you take a look at ESRI's free MOOCs and web training courses to learn how to get the most out of the ESRI software. You can find their MOOCS listed at https://www.esri.com/training/mooc/
• For new users, we recommend taking the GIS Basics web course.
• The following learning plan may also be useful: https://www.esri.com/training/catalog/5b733d0c8659c25ea7013df9/arcgis-pro-fundamentals/
• You can also find tutorials and worked examples here: https://learn.arcgis.com/en/gallery/#?p=arcgispro

It is possible that older installations (and sometimes brand new ones) of ArcGIS are not configured for the licence type that this guide provides. There may be no login screen, or logging in to the login screen will not work. In these cases it is necesary to re-configure the ArcGIS Pro licence type to "Named User", which is the licence type the single sign-on account provides. The licence type is changed on the Licencing window. There are several ways this window may open:

Step 1: Open the Licensing window. There are several ways this may happen.

• Run ArcGIS Pro and after the blue load screen opens another window labelled Licensing opens.

OR

• Run ArcGIS Pro and the login screen appears, but your new login does not work. In this case there will be green text at the bottom right of the login screen saying "Configure Licensing". Click this text to open the Licensing window.

OR

• Run ArcGIS Pro and it opens normally, but it says "Not signed in" in the top right corner. In this case:

1. On the left of the screen click on "Settings".
2. On the settings screen click on "Licensing" in the list of options on the left of screen.
3. Near the bottom of the licensing screen click on the button labelled "Configure your licensing options" to open the Licensing window

Step 2: Configure ArcGIS Pro to use the "Named User License"

Once the Licensing window has opened:

1. There will be a drop down option next to "License Type" at the top of the window. Use the drop down to select "Named User License".
2. Click "OK".
3. Restart ArcGIS Pro. The login screen should now appear and work correctly if configured for UCT Single Sign-On (Step 3 in the Setup above).

Should you experience any difficulties with this guide or getting your software working please contact us at uct-gis@uct.ac.za