Get started

There are a number of ways to get started to develop with ArcGIS Maps SDK for Qt. If you are new, follow the steps below to get started with Qt and Qt Creator.

1. Sign up for an account

To use ArcGIS Maps SDK for Qt to access content Content is a collection of items in a portal that belong to a user, group, or organization. Learn more , services A service, also known as an ArcGIS service, is software that supports an ArcGIS REST API and provides geospatial functionality or data. A service can be hosted by Esri or in ArcGIS Enterprise. Learn more , or an organization, you need an ArcGIS Location Platform account An ArcGIS Location Platform account, formerly known as an ArcGIS Developer account, is an identity associated with an ArcGIS Location Platform subscription. Learn more , ArcGIS Online account An ArcGIS Online account, also known as an ArcGIS Organization account, is an identity associated with an ArcGIS Online subscription. It can be used to access ArcGIS tools and develop applications with ArcGIS location services for an organization. Learn more , or ArcGIS Enterprise account An ArcGIS Enterprise account is an identity for an instance of ArcGIS Enterprise. It can be used to access ArcGIS Enterprise tools, applications, and services, and to develop applications. Learn more . The type of account, user type, and role you need depends on the resource you need to access and the operations you wish to undertake.

If you do not have an account, select one of the options below:

Get a free account for ArcGIS Location Platform Get an account for ArcGIS Online

Want to join an existing ArcGIS organization?

To join an existing ArcGIS organization, request an account from your ArcGIS Online ArcGIS Online is a GIS mapping, analytics, data hosting, and content management software as a service (SaaS) product. It includes applications, tools, APIs, and location services for users and developers. It is subscription-based and requires an ArcGIS Online account. Learn more or ArcGIS Enterprise ArcGIS Enterprise is a GIS mapping, analytics, data hosting, and content management product that can be hosted on-premise or in a cloud infrastructure. It includes software, applications, tools, APIs, and services for users and developers. Learn more administrator. Ensure your account has a role with privileges to create developer credentials.

2. Get the SDK and dependencies

The ArcGIS Maps SDK for Qt has APIs for developing desktop apps for Windows, Linux, and macOS. Mobile apps can be developed for iOS and Android. You can install this SDK on Windows, macOS, and Linux. For a full discussion for the various development configurations, see the Install and set up topic.

The following describes the abbreviated steps to develop Windows desktop apps (this is the most common option for developers new to the ArcGIS Maps SDK for Qt), you need to:

1. Ensure that your Windows development environment meets the system requirements (ex: Windows 11 (64-bit) version 21H2).

2. Install a supported Microsoft Visual Studio C++ compiler (ex: MSVC2022 C++ x64 build tools) that is provided as part of a Visual Studio Build Tools 2022 installer.

3. Run the Qt installer available from the Qt Group and install the latest Qt Framework (ex: version 6.8.2 or higher) and the Qt Creator IDE (ex: version 18.x or higher)

4. Download the latest version of the ArcGIS Maps SDK for Qt (ex: version 300.x) from the downloads page.

5. Follow the instructions in the Install and set up document to install the ArcGIS Maps SDK for Qt on your operating system.

6. Optionally clone the ArcGIS Maps SDK for Qt Toolkit GitHub repo. The toolkit contains user interface (UI) controls and components that you can to use out-of-the-box or customize them to suit your needs.

Go to Install and set up

3. Choose a type of authentication

To access secure ArcGIS services and resources, you need to implement authentication. The easiest way to get started is to obtain an access token An access token is an authorization string that provides access to secure ArcGIS content, data, and services. Its capabilities are determined by the privileges it supports. It is obtained by implementing API key authentication, User authentication, or App authentication. Learn more from an API Key An API key is a long-lived access token created using API key credentials. They are valid for up to one year and are typically embedded directly into client applications. Learn more and implement API key authentication API key authentication is a type of authentication that uses an API key to authenticate requests to ArcGIS services and secure portal items. Learn more . If you want to build an app that requires users to sign in with their ArcGIS account, implement user authentication User authentication is a type of authentication that allows users with an ArcGIS account to sign into an application and allow it to access ArcGIS content, services, and resources on their behalf. The typical authorization protocol used is OAuth2.0. Learn more .

Learn about the types of authentication

4. Create your first mapping application

Follow step-by-step instructions in the Display a map tutorial to create your first mapping application. The following snippet shows the main code in the tutorial to display a map:

Highlights from that tutorial (C++ version) include the following code snippets:

• Setting the API Key, in the main.cpp file:

      const QString accessToken = QString("");

• Creating a map from an ArcGIS basemap, in the Display_a_map.cpp file:

  Display_a_map::Display_a_map(QObject* parent /* = nullptr */):
  
      QObject(parent),
  
      m_map(new Map(BasemapStyle::ArcGISTopographic, this))

• Adding the map to the map view control, the Display_a_map.cpp file:

      m_mapView->setMap(m_map);

Once you are done building your application, make sure to license it before deploying to production. For more information, see License and deployment topic for details.

Go to the Display a map tutorial

5. Find more tutorials

Go to the tutorials to create and run applications to perform different operations.

6. Explore the samples

Go to the samples to learn how to perform more tasks with the API.