MalaGIS

Sharing GIS Technologies, Resources and News.

From the launch of Arc/Info in 1982, to ArcView bringing desktop GIS to the masses in 1993, and the release of ArcGIS Desktop 9 in 2004, Esri spent over four decades building the world's most ubiquitous desktop mapping platform. ArcGIS Desktop was once the first choice for countless GIS professionals to open maps, edit vectors, and generate legends. Now, with official support for the ArcGIS Desktop 10.8 series (including 10.8.1, 10.8.2) officially ending, it's fair to say an era is coming to a close.

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The other day, while casually browsing in the MalGIS community chat, a friend @Tiantian suddenly asked me, "Does ArcGIS Pro 3.6 not support Windows 10 anymore?" This sudden question gave me a fright. After all, many friends following MalGIS should still be on Windows 10, some even on Windows 7. If there were such an issue, it should have surfaced earlier. However, when the friend later showed me the evidence, I couldn't be sure for a moment.

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After much anticipation, ArcGIS Pro has been updated again! This update brings version 3.6, but the currently released version does not include a Chinese language pack, so only the English version is available. I downloaded and installed it, and the process is relatively straightforward and user-friendly for beginners, though the lack of a Chinese pack is a bit inconvenient. It is recommended for users with some English proficiency who want to try out the new features.

PS: For production use, it is advisable to wait until a Chinese language pack and subsequent update patches are released.

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Many users encounter issues when installing third-party packages for ArcPy, sometimes accidentally causing conflicts with Python versions and their corresponding packages. Incompatibilities between package versions can be particularly frustrating and may even disrupt core functionality of ArcGIS or ArcGIS Pro. This article provides a reference for the default Python and NumPy versions bundled with various ArcGIS versions, which can be helpful for troubleshooting such problems.

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In the previous article, Loading the Geovis Earth Basemap in ArcGIS Pro, ArcMap, and QGIS, I introduced the free Geovis Earth basemap service. Recently, some readers asked whether I could create a tutorial on loading imagery from Siwei Earth.

So I gave it a try — and yes, it technically works (using their free API). However, the imagery turned out to have major positional offsets, making it unsuitable for practical use. Still, the API extraction method itself is quite interesting, so let’s explore it.

PS: If you’re only looking for a usable basemap URL, you can skip this post. I’ve tested it — it doesn’t work properly.

Above: The loaded data shows significant offset issues.

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Many users have reported that after switching to the Tianditu basemap in the China region of ArcGIS Pro, some imagery appears unclear and there are limited style options. Well, given the particular nature of our industry and the strict requirements for data legality and compliance, if data confidentiality is a concern, it is strongly recommended not to use map sources outside the China region. So, are there any other Chinese map sources available? Of course, I found a basemap service with decent clarity: the Jilin-1 map source. It offers a free usage quota for individuals, and I highly recommend it.

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Following recent announcements from the Ministry of State Security and the service suspension of ArcGIS Pro basemaps, many users have suggested switching to QGIS. However, does using QGIS truly ensure security and compliance? After several days of research, this article attempts to explore this issue and welcomes further discussion.

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In the previous article "ArcGIS Pro Basemap Service Access Issues in China and Solutions", we discussed the unavailability of ArcGIS Pro basemap services within China. One of the suggested solutions was to wait for an official fix. Surprisingly, the ArcGIS Pro team acted swiftly. Just yesterday (2025-09-18), upon opening ArcGIS Pro, the basemap services were already functioning normally again.

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Early yesterday morning, our team received several messages in the Malagis GIS backend asking why the ArcGIS Pro basemap services couldn’t be loaded. I went to check it out and was quite puzzled—everything was working smoothly on my end without any issues. So, I posted about it on social media and found that most friends couldn’t access it either, with only a few reporting it was working. Some also shared solutions in the comments.

After seeing everyone’s workarounds, I realized my tool had been set to the default mode all along. After switching to direct mode, a big exclamation mark indeed appeared.

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The latest ArcGIS Pro 3.5 installation packageis available, Our team has personally tested it and confirmed it works. The installation process is relatively straightforward.

What New Features Does ArcGIS Pro 3.5?

The main highlights include:

• Revolutionary 3D mesh analysis capabilities, opening new doors for BIM and detailed 3D model processing.
• Significant enhancements in image processing, particularly deep learning capabilities. Notably, the integration of the SAM model provides a powerful new approach for image segmentation.
• Practical updates for data import (GPX) and geoprocessing tools (such as building/contour simplification), improving daily workflow efficiency.
• Continuously improved cartography, data management, and sharing functionalities.

For detailed update information, please refer to the official website introduction:
https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/get-started/whats-new-in-arcgis-pro.htm

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