Will PRO Honor Import MXD Functions after ArcMAP End of Life?

[GIS_Fox]

I have a simple question: Once ArcMap 10.X series apps reach their end of life in the coming years, will ArcGIS PRO 2.9.5 and/or the PRO 3.X series apps be able to honor the import of old or ongoing MXD files that remain stored on local or shared locations?

We, and likely many other organizations, have numerous MXDs saved between the 10.5 and 10.8 series of ArcMap deployments and versions that we will need or want to bring into PRO using the convenience import MXD options within the PRO application. Many projects are not expected to be complete within a brief period or before Arcmap EOL dates, and so far, opening various MXDs and projects is commonplace over a long period of time for different stages or aspects of a full project scope. Either due to timing, necessity, or discovery of old MXDs with file checks and data control, it is unlikely all projects can be migrated prior to the official end of life/end of support for ArcMap that will be needed or archived for later use, and we wanted to make sure there were functional redundancies to the need of opening an old MXD and bringing in what work is needed.

As migration from Arcmap to PRO continues, the likelihood of these small import MXD migrations will become less common or necessary as data and accuracy improve, but this was on my mind as I help users troubleshoot or migrate and wanted to know if there was an answer in the community since I have found the documentation regarding this yet. 

Sincere thanks,

Jansen L.

[AyanPalit · Accepted solution]

@GIS_Fox Great question and thanks for the detailed notes.

Let's start with some key references:

"ArcGIS 10.8.2 is the current release of ArcMap and will continue to be supported until March 01, 2026 as established in the ArcMap Product Lifecycle."

Keep an eye on ArcMap Continued Support page. So what happens once ArcMap is retired - this is explained at ArcGIS Product life cycle support policy 

"While continued support has a timeline, ArcMap does not. If ArcMap is the software that helps you be successful, you can continue to use it, as long as your license is valid. Keep in mind, our desktop development efforts are focused on ArcGIS Pro, and we encourage you to migrate to ArcGIS Pro."

Reference: ArcMap Continued Support Blog

Esri is strongly committed to supporting all user communities while pushing new products and technologies. With that background, let's now address  ArcGIS Pro function to Import an ArcMap document. As noted, this is ArcGIS Pro capability and will be available after ArcMap retirement.  At a distant undetermined  future date, this capability will become obsolete when no MXD's are leftover. I see this migration/adoption timeline driven by users. Esri collects user feedback and provides ample advance notice when removing functions: Removal and deprecation notices