ArcGIS Pro Installation Instructions

Review the ArcGIS Pro system requirements to ensure the software will be compatible with your computer.

Make sure your device has hardware and software requirements to support ArcGIS.

Download the software from SF State's Institute for Geographic Information Science's Box folder

• Go to the Institute's ArcGIS Pro version 3.6 Box folder and log in with your SF State credentials prompted (i.e., your 9-digit id number and associated password)
• Double-click on the ArcGIS Pro installer (the .exe file) to install the software (this may take a bit),
• After downloading ArcGIS Pro, also download and install any patches (the .msp files), or drivers, that are in the Box folder.

ArcGIS Pro uses “cloud-based licensing,” which means that it is necessary to log into a user account whenever using the software (i.e. you need to have internet to use ArcGIS Pro even though it is desktop software). SFSU has an enterprise account that all faculty, staff, and students can use easily so long as you’re within internet range. If you know you need to be away from internet for an extended period of time, contact your *ESRI Site License Administrator for a single use license. This guide assumes you have already downloaded and installed ArcGIS Pro to your computer and are now ready to license the software. Sign in to (i.e. license) ArcGIS Pro: 

1. Go to the Start menu in Windows
2. Locate and select the Desktop App for ArcGIS Pro (you may need to type it in if it is not already in the start screen menu) 
3. After ArcGIS Pro starts initializing, it will prompt you to sign in. Do not enter a Username or Password in this first window, click Your ArcGIS organization’s URL
4. Enter sfsu in the next window, check Remember this URL, check Sign me in automatically
5. Choose the only option San Francisco State University
   1. Enter your 9-digit SFSU ID and password, then click Login
   2. Note—if you are SFSU Faculty or Staff, you’ll need to use 2-Factor Authentication after this point (either the DUO app or a token). 
   3. Students, you should be done after entering your 9-digit ID and password and are ready to use Pro now.
6. Open ArcGIS Pro from the Start Menu again and create a new project. You’ll see your assigned username in the upper righthand corner that will take the form of something like the following: 912345678@sfsu.edu_SFSU
7. Go to ‘Settings’ in the upper left then choose ‘About’ and uncheck the box for ‘Check for updates on startup’ (you want to stick with ArcGIS Pro 3.1.2 because this is the version faculty are teaching with this year and we know it’s compatible with other software you’re likely to need in other classes)
8. All done! Enjoy ArcPro!

When updating between an older version of ArcGIS Pro to v. 3.5, you have the option to click on the About ArcGIS Pro tab and choose to update to the latest version, however, note that if you have configured your software with any python dependencies (e.g. Spyder) you may need to uninstall the old version of your ArcGIS Pro software if relic folders have not been successfully overwritten. *Note if you are taking a class with us at San Francisco State, we encourage you to use the same version of ArcGIS Pro on your home computer that we have available through campus, which right now is ArcGIS Pro 3.5 This will reduce the problems you encounter with lab exercises if you move between working on a home computer and working on university computers or virtual machines. 

Some useful ESRI references you may find helpful:

• Clean uninstall of ArcGIS Pro

If you have trouble with installation, ask your SFSU GIS site license administrator for instructions to contact ESRI Technical Support.

It is important to note that ArcGIS Pro does not currently support the use of cloud storage services, such as OneDrive and Google Drive. 

Follow our guide to on how to fix/avoid issues caused by OneDrive.

ArcGIS Desktop or ArcGIS Pro will not run on an Apple Macintosh computer without additional software. To use it on a Mac, you must be running Windows. There are several options for running Windows on a Mac:

1. Create a dual boot setup using Bootcamp (Free)
2. Set up a virtual machine using Parallels (available at a discounted rate for students enrolled in a degree program)

NOTE: Bootcamp can only be used on Mac devices with Intel processors. Parallels must be used for Macs with M Chips. Up-to-date compatibility information can be found on Esri's site.

Contact cmartin9@sfsu.edu if you need help determining your device's processor type prior to installing these programs.

1. Setting up a dual boot system with Bootcamp (Free)

Bootcamp allows users to choose to work in either Windows or MacOS upon startup. While you cannot toggle between the two without restarting the computer, files stored in one partition will be available in the other. 

• We highly recommend you back up the contents of your computer first.
• Download and install Bootcamp
• Download Windows 11.
• Launch the Bootcamp Assistant. Navigate to the copy of Windows 11 you downloaded.
• When prompted, partition at least 25 GB of space for Windows--more if you plan to work with large datasets.
• Let the Bootcamp Assistant run and select the new drive you just created to install Windows on. Make sure the size of the drive you pick matches the size that you specified in the previous step to avoid overwriting your MacOS drive.
• Once you have Windows set up, install the ArcGIS software you need.
• To select which drive to boot to when restarting the machine, click on the option key.

2. Setting up a virtual machine with Parallels ($59.99 as of Feb 2026)

This option is not free, but does allow users to switch between operating systems and access files without having to restart your computer.

• We highly recommend you back up the contents of your computer first.
• Note: Windows 11 and Parallels are currently only available through these links for students enrolled in a degree program, and not students in the GIS Certificate Program. Students must be logged in to access discounts, etc.
• Download Parallels Desktop for Mac (Select "Students", then "More Software" in the drop-down menu).
• A different virtual machine option is to download and install VMWare. There is no SFSU student discount for this software, but VMWare can be purchased directly from the manufacturer here.
• Download Windows 11.
• Install the Parallels software, open it, and select "New" to create a new virtual machine. Locate the Windows 11 file you downloaded earlier.
• Once you have Windows set up, install the ArcGIS software you need.
• You should be able to access this virtual Windows 11 machine from your desktop--there's no need to restart your computer. 

Your ArcGIS Pro license:

If you are an academic student who is graduating or a CPaGE student who finished taking classes with the GIS Certificate Program, your access (i.e. your license) to  ArcGIS Pro technically ends when the current term’s grades are posted.  If you need more time with ArcGIS Pro to wrap up incomplete classwork or research supporting your studies at SF State, you may consider purchasing a personal ArcGIS for Student Use account ($100 for one year).

Your ArcGIS Online content:

If you are an academic student who is graduating, or you are a GIS Certificate Program student who is finished taking classes, your access to SFSU’s ArcGIS Online Account (and ArcGIS Pro desktop software - licensed through AGOL) ends when the current term’s grades are posted. This means that you will no longer be able to edit your content (i.e. Web Maps, StoryMaps), though you will still be able to share any links you’ve created. If you would like to migrate your content to a different AGOL account to be able to continue editing it, please send SF State’s Esri Site License Administrator an email request along with your full name and 9-digit ID.

Note that a “different AGOL account” may be:

• A personal ArcGIS for Student Use account
• An employer’s ArcGIS Online account
• Another university's ArcGIS Online account

ArcGIS Online is part of the ESRI Geospatial platform available to active SF State students, faculty, staff, and affiliates for university-related research and teaching purposes. Please remember that when you use ArcGIS Online or install ArcGIS Desktop software on your computer, you are agreeing to use the software for your own teaching and learning purposes and not for commercial for-profit activity.

The quickest (recommended) way to get started with your SFSU ArcGIS Online user profile is to:

1. Go to San Francisco State's ArcGIS Online organization here.
2. If you are signing in for the first time, this may take a minute, but once you enter your SFSU 9-digit ID and password, you should be able to see your username generated in the upper right. It will be something like 912345678@sfsu.edu_SFSU
3. Now you're all set to explore! Check out the Organization and Content tabs to get familiar with the ArcGIS Online Environment

An alternate way to access your SFSU ArcGIS Online user profile is to sign in through ESRI's user interface

1. Choose Sign In through ArcGIS Online 
2. Choose Your ArcGIS organization's URL
3. Type sfsu then choose Continue
4. You'll be presented with the SFSU Global Login screen, if you are signing in for the first time, this may take a minute, but once you enter your SFSU 9-digit ID and password, you should be able to see your username generated in the upper right. It will be something like 912345678@sfsu.edu_SFSU
5. Now you're all set to explore! Check out the Organization and Content tabs to get familiar with the ArcGIS Online Environment. 

Learn more about privacy online

• SF State’s policy about confidential information and personally identifiable information (PII) is found here
• The ArcGIS Online vendor, Esri is committed to compliance with the European privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which went into enforcement in May 2018
• Esri is also committed to compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which went into effect in January, 2020

Log in to Business Analyst Online

1. Click Sign In
2. Click the option to sign in with Your ArcGIS Organization's URL (this will allow you to sign in with your SFSU credentials).
3. Type in sfsu to the URL textbox
4. You will be redirected to the SF State Global Login site. Enter your SF State ID or E-mail and your SF State Password. Click Login. You should be automatically redirected to SF State's Esri Business Analyst site.

Go to Esri's Story Maps website

1. Click on the Sign In button on the top of the page.
2. Choose to sign in with an Enterprise Account
3. Enter SFSU's ArcGIS Online organization URL: sfsu.maps.arcgis.com
4. Then click on the button to login Using Your San Francisco State University Account
5. You will then be redirected to the SF State Global Login page.
6. Enter your SFSU credentials.
7. You will then be automatically logged in to the Story Maps site.

Access to ESRI trainings for SFSU faculty, staff, and students are managed using ArcGIS Online credentials. If you want to use ArcGIS Online standalone, or access ESRI trainings, you will first need to create an ArcGIS Online account. At San Francisco State University, we have enterprise log-ins set up so you can access these tools using your 9-digit student id number and your associated password through the SF State Global Login page. Instructions on how to get set up are below. 

1. Go to SFSU's ArcGIS Online organization here and sign in -- you will need an ArcGIS Online Account.
2. Select the dropdown menu from your username
3. Choose Trainings
   1. You will be brought to a page where ESRI's educational trainings are unlocked for you to explore:
   2. Note: if you aren't automatically redirected to ESRI trainings, please contact your SFSU *site license administrator(s) to make sure you are ESRI-enabled

4. From the ribbon, you can choose Course Catalog and search for topics of interest

5. Note that if you are faculty or staff in the CSU, you may ask SFSU site license administrator, Quentin Clark to take an instructor-led trainings--these are not freely available to students as we only have a limited number of these available to the CSU.

*ESRI Site License Administrators:

Quentin Clark: gis@sfsu.edu

Chloe Martin: cmartin9@sfsu.edu