ArcGIS Pro projects in QGIS
ArcGIS Pro saves its work in a different way from ArcMap: an .aprx project is a ZIP archive of
map, layer and layout definitions, and maps, layers and layouts can be shared on their own as
.mapx, .lyrx and .pagx files. Projects saved by Pro 1 and 2 store the definitions as XML,
Pro 3 as JSON. This converter reads both and builds a QGIS project from them.
From a project you get one QGIS project with every map as its own group and map theme, and every
layout as a print layout. A .lyrx file becomes styled layers and QML styles, a .mapx file a
project with that map, and a .pagx file a print layout (with the maps it carries).
What comes across
- Layers in their groups, with visibility, scale ranges, transparency, definition queries, field aliases, joins and relates, and the data connection (file geodatabase, shapefile, enterprise geodatabase, query layers, feature services, raster and tiled services).
- Symbology: simple, unique values (including Arcade value expressions that just read a field), class breaks, proportional symbols, dot density, charts and heat maps; raster stretch, RGB, classify, unique values and colour map colourizers.
- Symbols with their layers: solid fills and strokes with dashes and offsets, hatch fills, gradients, picture fills, and markers. Vector markers become QGIS markers, either a plain shape or an embedded SVG drawn from the marker's own geometry; marker placements along lines and inside polygons are kept.
- Labels: Arcade, VBScript, JScript and Python expressions that combine fields, with font, halo, placement and scale range.
- Layouts: map frames at their scale, legends, scale bars, north arrows, text, graphics and pictures.
Pitfalls
- Basemaps from vector tile services are kept as placeholders with their address; add them in QGIS from the Vector Tiles source.
- Visual variables (size, colour and transparency driven by attributes) and geometric effects other than dashes and offsets are noted but not applied.
- Layers in knowledge graphs, utility networks and other ArcGIS-only datasets are listed but cannot be opened in QGIS.
More about what this tool reads and writes: ArcMap MXD to QGIS Converter.