HOW TO

Troubleshoot the basics of Business Analyst Desktop

Last Published: September 12, 2023

Summary

The following article describes some basic troubleshooting steps to resolve some of the issues that may be encountered with Business Analyst Desktop.

Before beginning, it is important to understand how Business Analyst is set up for ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Pro. 

ArcGIS for Desktop
The following are the components that are required to install the full stack of Business Analyst on your computer.

  • ArcGIS for Desktop (ArcMap)
  • ArcGIS Business Analyst Desktop
  • ArcGIS Business Analyst Data
  • Background Geoprocessing for ArcGIS Desktop and Business Analyst (optional, but highly recommended)

ArcGIS Pro does not require a separate installation of Business Analyst like ArcGIS for Desktop. ArcGIS Pro comes with Business Analyst built in. The local Business Analyst Data can be used with ArcGIS Pro.

Procedure

Troubleshooting the installations on the computer
There are many occasions where errors are encountered that could be related to the software installations on the computer. Version discrepancies may throw unexpected errors. It is therefore important to check if the versions match.

This first step in troubleshooting Business Analyst is to do the following:

  1. Open the Control Panel. Go to Programs and Features > Uninstall or Change a program.
  2. Check that all the versions match. For example: If ArcGIS Desktop 10.8 is installed, Business Analyst for Desktop should also be at 10.8, similarly any other installed Desktop Extensions.
  3. Esri Business Analyst 20XX US Data Update, is also listed if local data is installed
  4. Background processing may be installed for both Desktop and Business Analyst. These must also match with the versions of ArcGIS for Desktop and Business Analyst for Desktop

Once it is confirmed that the correct software and data are installed, we con move to the next step.

Licensing of Business Analyst and the Data
Authorization of the Business Analyst extension and authorization of the data are different and independent from each other. Authorization of Business Analyst can be done using Single Use, Concurrent use and Named User (ArcGIS Pro licensing, while the data is authorized using a SDLIC file.)

ArcGIS for Desktop

  1. From the Start menu, open ArcGIS Administrator.
  2. Click Desktop. This shows how ArcGIS for Desktop is licensed.
  3. Under Desktop, click Availability.
  4. Look for Business Analyst from the software list and make sure it is installed and authorized. If it is not authorized, you must license it using single or concurrent use licensing, depending on how ArcGIS for Desktop is licensed.
  5. Click Data Licenses. Is there any information listed on the right side, under Data Licenses information?
    • If Yes, this means your data license does exist. To make sure the licenses are not expired, expand BA_20XX_ACS. Expand license information and check the expiration date.
    • If No, this means that the data is not licensed (if it is installed). This can be licensed by adding the SDLIC file that you may have received from the Customer Service Representative.
    • Please note that the data license file is not available on My Esri. This is sent via email, when the software and the data is purchased

ArcGIS Pro

  1. Open ArcGIS Pro without creating a Project, and click Settings on the lower left corner.
  2. Click Licensing. Under Esri Extensions, check to see if Business Analyst is licensed and when it expires.
  3. Click Manage your Data Licensing (it may be necessary to scroll to the bottom) and see if this lists different variables for the year of the Business Analyst Data you have installed on your computer

Additional license troubleshooting
What aspects of the data one has access to is also determined by the SDLIC file. For example; data may be restricted to one particular state, limited to certain variables, etc. This may explain why your analysis are not returning results in a particular region, or why running reports with certain variables is throwing a error. To check this, follow the following steps:

  1. Under Data licenses, If you have a complete data purchase you should see BA_20XX_MP1 and BA_20XX_MP2 listed. In most occasions, there should be 15 total licenses listed for a particular year.
  2. Expand  BA_20XX_ACS > Expand Licensed Applications / Usage modes > ArcGIS - Generic (Public) > License Criteria > Geographies\STATE. This shows if you have access to All or limited geographies.

Checking the configuration from within the software
Now that we have checked the software and its licensing, lets move into the software and make sure that everything is setup right inside the software. 

ArcGIS for Desktop

  1. Launch ArcMap
  2. Click Customize > Extensions. Make sure Business Analyst is checked.
  3. Make sure the Business Analyst toolbar is enabled under Customize > Toolbars.
  4. Click the Business Analyst drop-down from the toolbar and click Preferences.
  5. Click Dataset. This allows changing between different datasets, if multiple years are installed. If you do not see any year of data and you have installed it, then this is an issue. 
    • This may be happening due to an error in data installation and the registry may not have any information about the Business Anlayst data.

ArcGIS Pro:

  1. Launch ArcGIS Pro and open a new map
  2. Go to the Analysis tab, click the Business Analyst drop-down and change data source. Click Computer and ArcGIS Pro should automatically find the data on the local machine.

The above are some of the basic steps which allow you to confirm that the installation of Business Analyst for Desktop and the Business Analyst data is correct, Some of the issues that you may currently be running into, may also be resolved by taking the above steps.

Article ID: 000023648

Software:
  • ArcGIS Business Analyst Desktop

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