ArcGIS 10.4

ArcGIS 10.4 has finally arrived (most of it). Esri announced last week that their flagship product suite, ArcGIS 10.4 is here. This includes an updated release of Desktop, Server, and Portal to name a few. And also marks the [any day now] release of Pro 1.2.

There are lots of new features with ArcGIS 10.4, along with a slew of patches/fixes. The usual reference to software has also changed (“ArcMap” seems to be replacing “ArcGIS for Desktop”), and 1.2 Pro is part of ArcGIS 10.4 release, and… who cares, if you can’t figure this out ask someone to draw you a map 😉

ArcGIS 10.4: ArcGIS for Desktop (AKA ArcMap?! errr ArcMap and ArcCatalog?! Arrgh, Arc32-Bit):

Some fixes, tweaks, and new features to keep up with the times. Nothing groundbreaking, but then again, we are nearing the end of the product life-cycle here. Don’t get me wrong, many of the new features are great, and will help you delay moving to Pro a tad longer if you so desire - but it’s time to make sure Pro is in your long term implementation plan. Some updates to Arc32-bit are:

• Lots of new and updated LAS tools
• Tools to create SQLite databases
• Python: Upgraded to Python 2.7.10. New libraries included: SciPy, pandas, Sympy, and nose. Many existing libraries also updated.
• Lots of raster improvements, and new supported types (SPOT-7, UAS, etc).

ArcGIS 10.4: ArcGIS for Server:

Lots of updates and new features here. Since ArcGIS for Server is used in many different ways (AGOL, EC2, Azure, etc) this release not only has tonnes of fixes, but includes lots of new admin features to boot! For a full list, jump to Server’s What’s New page - although here is a quick summary:

• ArcGIS Server read-only mode
• Update passwords for registered and managed databases
• Changes to geoprocessing service publication and service extension deployment: Only Admins can publish these by default at ArcGIS 10.4.
• Default single cluster mode: Reducing load balance chatter by default.
• Default install setup for HTTP and HTTPS protocols
• Security fixes and enhancements
• Scan ArcGIS Server for security best practices: Comes with a Python script that scans for some common security issues.
• Microsoft Windows 10 support for testing and development (not recommended for production).
• Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 support
• Chain together multiple server object interceptors (SOIs) for a service
• Service enhancements: Including new extract capability and GeoJSON format to name a few.
• Changes for ArcGIS Server on Amazon Web Services
• Patch notification for extensions
• Geodatabases and databases: Support for Damang databases, and new requirements for SQL Server

ArcGIS 10.4: ArcGIS Pro 1.2

The release date and official list of new/updated features will be available from Esri in the next few weeks. One very important feature of Pro 1.2 will be the ability to use Concurrent Licensing a feature that will help many organizations work with Pro in a familiar setting. Lots of enhanced 3D tools and new Vector Tile tools are anticipated as well. More on 1.2 after it’s officially released.