Change Assembly Cache Location for ArcGIS Add-ins

Question

Is there a way to change the assembly cache location for ArcGIS Pro Add Ins?  Currently, the cache location is C:\Users\<user_name>\AppData\Local\ESRI\ArcGISPro\AssemblyCache\.  Our organization does not allow files to be executed in that location and would like to change or disable the Assembly Cache directory.

GerhardTrichtl · Answer

See ENH-000162807 : Add option for user to set where ArcGIS Pro extracts Add-In DLLs - Allow to change Assembly Cache Location for ArcGIS Add-ins

Let Support add you to this Enhancement.

ChristianMayeaux · Answer

Hi @KoryKramer, what ever became of this issue? I'm currently running into the same problem with the assembly cache in the appdata directory. The root of our issue is that some of our security software (Bit9) is set up to block pretty much anything executing from a user's AppData directory. From what I understand, our ITSEC policy on this matter is unalterable so I was curious if there are any work-arounds to get the .dlls to load from anywhere other than the user's AppData directory?

KoryKramer · Answer

Hi @MzCPE can you give us an example directory that would be acceptable to your organization/admin?

Because add-ins are zip files that contain a .dll and .dlls cannot be loaded while still in a .zip file, it is necessary to have a location where we know the user is able to write (i.e. extract the files from the add-in into that user's directory).

Since your organization doesn't allow files to be executed from the user profile location, what location do they allow files to be executed from? Can you also share what the root concern is - is it security? Are there scans that happen on other folders that do not happen on the current user profile folders? We're trying to understand the problem that would be solved by allowing an organization to designate where the add-in AssemblyCache folder resides.

Thank you in advance for more specifics and context that you can provide!