VDI

Updated 17th July 2024

Here are two awesome User Interfaces (UI’s) I built that will compliment any ESRI ArcGIS Pro (AGP) and/or ArcGIS Desktop (AGD) deployment. More specifically from my point of view, they have been developed with a Citrix Published Application, VMware Horizon, Remote Desktop, VDI and AVD deployment in mind, giving the users the ability to easily switch licensing types and launching the different programs and tools, making life much easier for them.

ArcGIS Pro Challenges

• Changing the licensing is not as simple as it seems, especially when launching it as a published application. This is because you have to change it from within the program once launched; and then the program needs to restart for the new licensing type to work. What that means is that the ArcGISPro.exe process will terminate and restart. Whilst that happens a published application session may log itself off, as there are no processes running to keep it open. The code in this UI will manipulate the user registry values before starting ArcGIS Pro, and therefore setting the licensing type as required. I call this Self-Service by allowing the users to switch License Levels/Types on demand!
• Having a single interface allowed me to integrate other tools and processes as requested by users over time that could all be associated with ArcGIS Pro. For example, users wanted an easy way to start File Explorer in the same session. Let’s make it easy for the users to do their work! That’s my job!
• Update on 17th July 2024 for Python code changes I completed in back February:
  • Due to some corporate licensing challenges with ArcGIS Pro, the ArcGIS Pro License Selector has been updated for the following reasons:
  • It defaults to a Basic license, regardless of what you last used. If you need to use a Standard or Advanced license type, please select it before launching ArcGIS Pro. This behaviour can be changed back by using the AlwaysDefaultToBasic script variable as documented below.
  • I have added a “Reset Extensions” checkbox, that is selected by default. This will remove any Extensions you may have selected in your previous session, as the licensing for some of these Extension is also limited. You have the option here of deselecting it if you wish to continue to use previously selected Extensions in your new session. This behaviour can be changed back by using the AlwaysResetExtensions script variable as documented below.
  • Unfortunately, neither of these settings are managed by ESRI at an enterprise level, so I’ve enhanced this tool to assist in reducing the usage of the more advanced licensing options.
  • I have also improved the flow of the Python code.

ArcGIS Desktop Challenges

• In a large enterprise deployment, setting the licensing model can be a pain. This is done via a user environment variable. So you could use Group Policy Preferences to target them based on AD Security Groups. But that adds an administrative overhead, and users must then log support tickets via the Service Desk, which creates unnecessary overhead and lost time whilst they wait for it to be actioned. That’s not agile, and doesn’t allow users to change their license type to suite their needs. The code in this UI will manipulate the user environment variable before starting the ArcGIS Desktop program of choice, such as ArcMap or ArcCatalog, and therefore setting the licensing type as required. Again, I call this Self-Service by allowing the users to switch License Levels/Types on demand!
• There are way too many Start Menu items to publish, which is not a neat and tidy way to present it, so why not just present it via a single UI?
• Having a single interface allowed me to integrate all the common ArcGIS Desktop programs and other tools and processes as requested by users over time that could all be associated with ArcGIS Desktop. For example, users wanted an easy way to start File Explorer in the same session, and they wanted a way to install specific Python modules that are not part of the default Python install. Again, let’s make it easy for the users to do their work! That’s my job.
• ArcGIS Administrator notes:
  • Since releasing this tool I’ve had a couple of people contact me and ask if this tool can overcome the Administrative requirements for running ArcGIS Administrator. The answer is simply no as this tool runs in the user context and does not elevate permissions.
  • As documented by ESRI, to run ArcGIS Administrator users must have either local Administrator permissions, or full control of the following registry key structures:
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\ESRI
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Classes\CLSID\{E6BDAA76-4D35-11D0-98BE-00805F7CED21}
  • References:
    • ESRI Article ID:000012731 – Why doesn’t the ArcGIS Desktop Administrator allow switching of software types or the license manager?
    • ESRI Article ID:000013228 – Does the ArcGIS Administrator allow switching of the License Manager or the software seat type?
  • When I deploy ArcGIS Desktop, I run the following PowerShell code post-install.

$acl= get-acl -path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\ESRI"
$inherit = [system.security.accesscontrol.InheritanceFlags]"ContainerInherit, ObjectInherit"
$propagation = [system.security.accesscontrol.PropagationFlags]"None"
$rule=new-object system.security.accesscontrol.registryaccessrule "USERS","FullControl",$inherit,$propagation,"Allow"
$acl.addaccessrule($rule)
$acl|set-acl
 
$acl= get-acl -path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Classes\CLSID\{E6BDAA76-4D35-11D0-98BE-00805F7CED21}"
$inherit = [system.security.accesscontrol.InheritanceFlags]"ContainerInherit, ObjectInherit"
$propagation = [system.security.accesscontrol.PropagationFlags]"None"
$rule=new-object system.security.accesscontrol.registryaccessrule "USERS","FullControl",$inherit,$propagation,"Allow"
$acl.addaccessrule($rule)
$acl|set-acl

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