How can you find ArcGIS version programatically?

Question

Is there a way using ArcObjects.net to find out what version of ArcGIS is installed on a machine (i.e. 9.3., 10.0, 10.1)?

Answer 1

In ArcObjects .NET, use the RuntimeManager e.g.:

Listing all installed runtimes:

var runtimes = RuntimeManager.InstalledRuntimes;
foreach (RuntimeInfo runtime in runtimes)
{
  System.Diagnostics.Debug.Print(runtime.Path);
  System.Diagnostics.Debug.Print(runtime.Version);
  System.Diagnostics.Debug.Print(runtime.Product.ToString());
}

or, to just get the currently active runtime:

bool succeeded = ESRI.ArcGIS.RuntimeManager.Bind(ProductCode.EngineOrDesktop);
if (succeeded)
{
  RuntimeInfo activeRunTimeInfo = RuntimeManager.ActiveRuntime;
  System.Diagnostics.Debug.Print(activeRunTimeInfo.Product.ToString());
}

Also in arcpy, you can use GetInstallInfo.

Answer 2

On a Win7 64 bit PC this Registry Key may help. I have 10.0 installed, and it reads 10.0.2414.

\HKLM\software\wow6432Node\esri\Arcgis\RealVersion

Answer 3

There seems to be an interface called IArcGISVersion with a getVersions method which may be what you need.

UPDATE

Above relates to Java (thanks @blah238) - here is link to .NET (thanks @JasonScheirer)

Answer 4

You can also get the ArcGIS version by querying the version of AfCore.dll. This requires knowing the ArcGIS install directory, which you can either get by querying the registry or by hardcoding (it's C:\Program Files (x86)\ArcGIS\Desktop10.3\ for most users).

/// <summary>
/// Find the version of the currently installed ArcGIS Desktop
/// </summary>
/// <returns>Version as a string in the format x.x or empty string if not found</returns>
internal string GetArcGISVersion()
{
    try
    {
        FileVersionInfo fvi = FileVersionInfo.GetVersionInfo(Path.Combine(Path.Combine(GetInstallDir(), "bin"), "AfCore.dll"));
        return string.Format("{0}.{1}", fvi.FileMajorPart, fvi.FileMinorPart);
    }
    catch (FileNotFoundException ex)
    {
        Console.WriteLine(string.Format("Could not get ArcGIS version: {0}. {1}", ex.Message, ex.StackTrace));
    }

    return "";
}

/// <summary>
/// Look in the registry to find the install directory of ArcGIS Desktop.
/// Searches in reverse order, so latest version is returned.
/// </summary>
/// <returns>Dir name or empty string if not found</returns>
private string GetInstallDir()
{
    string installDir = "";
    string esriKey = @"Software\Wow6432Node\ESRI";

    foreach (string subKey in GetHKLMSubKeys(esriKey).Reverse())
    {
        if (subKey.StartsWith("Desktop"))
        {
            installDir = GetRegValue(string.Format(@"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\{0}\{1}", esriKey, subKey), "InstallDir");
            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(installDir))
                return installDir;
        }
    }

    return "";
}

/// <summary>
/// Returns all the subkey names for a registry key in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
/// </summary>
/// <param name="keyName">Subkey name (full path excluding HKLM)</param>
/// <returns>An array of strings or an empty array if the key is not found</returns>
private string[] GetHKLMSubKeys(string keyName)
{
    using (RegistryKey tempKey = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(keyName))
    {
        if (tempKey != null)
            return tempKey.GetSubKeyNames();

        return new string[0];
    }
}

/// <summary>
/// Reads a registry key and returns the value, if found.
/// Searches both 64bit and 32bit registry keys for chosen value
/// </summary>
/// <param name="keyName">The registry key containing the value</param>
/// <param name="valueName">The name of the value</param>
/// <returns>string representation of the actual value or null if value is not found</returns>
private string GetRegValue(string keyName, string valueName)
{
    object regValue = null;

    regValue = Registry.GetValue(keyName, valueName, null);
    if (regValue != null)
    {
        return regValue.ToString();
    }

    // try again in 32bit reg
    if (keyName.Contains("HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE"))
        regValue = Registry.GetValue(keyName.Replace(@"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software", @"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node"), valueName, null);
    else if (keyName.Contains("HKEY_CURRENT_USER"))
        regValue = Registry.GetValue(keyName.Replace(@"HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software", @"HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Wow6432Node"), valueName, null);
    if (regValue != null)
    {
        return regValue.ToString();
    }

    return "";
}