FAQ: Can Python Be Used to Determine What Version of ArcGIS is Installed?

Answer

Yes, in the new version of the Geoprocessor Programming Model for ArcGIS 9.3, there is a method that will output the version of ArcGIS that is installed on the machine.

The method is called gp.GetInstallInfo(), and it outputs a python dictionary. The information in the dictionary can be used by other methods in the script.

The items in the dictionary are as follows:

SourceDir: Source directory
InstallDate: Date of installation
SPBuild: Service pack build
ProductName: Product name
BuildNumber: The build number
InstallType: The installation type
Version: The product version
SPNumber: Service pack build number
Installer: Account installed by
InstallDir: Install location
InstallTime: Time of installation

Code:
import arcgisscripting
gp = arcgisscripting.create(9.3)

print gp.GetInstallInfo("desktop")

Note:
There are other installation types that can be used by this method: engine, server .net, and server java.

Sample Output:

Code:
{'SourceDir': u'\\\\data\\ArcGIS_Desktop\\Desktop\\', 'InstallDate': u'6/17/2008',
 'SPBuild': u'N/A', 'ProductName': u'ArcGIS Desktop', 'BuildNumber': u'09.30.00.01770', 'InstallType': u'N/A',
 'Version': u'9.3', 'SPNumber': u'N/A', 'Installer': u'user123', 'InstallDir': u'C:\\Program Files\\ArcGIS\\',
 'InstallTime': u'8:20:21'}

Article ID: 000010241

Software: