Joined: 12 Mar 2014
Posts: 26
Location: Northeast New York State (no, not the city) PS Version: CS4 OS: Windows 8.1
Posted: Sat May 31, 2014 5:17 pm Post subject: Help me understand the Abobe Creative Cloud
As I understand it the CC works like most other cloud services, allowing you to save your work in the cloud. Bu it also allows you to install Adobe applications on any computer the CC is installed on, provided that you have the log in credentials for the CC.
Here's my situation. I'm interning at a non-profit community outreach office as the IT employee. We do everything from running a food pantry, providing transportation to medical appointments, helping adults and children find therapy, assisting people who need other help with social services, etc. We do a lot, and we are stretched very thin, manpower and dollar wise. My supervisor has Photoshop and InDesign installed on her PC in her office. I need to design posters, fliers, a volunteer handbook, mailers, etc. She has offered to let me use her computer so I could use the Adobe programs that are on there, but I don't think she realizes how long a project can take, not to mention that I would feel uncomfortable sitting at my supervisor's desk using her computer.
A friend of mine who also works in IT in a different state mentioned that it is possible to install the CC, and then using the CC, install any licensed Adobe products on any computer. Then as long as you have the password, you can use it anywhere, such as at home and at work. You just can't have two users logged into one CC account.
I had a live chat with a very helpful representative on Adobe's website last night and he seemed to confirm that this is indeed true. He directed me to their sales department for further assistance, but they aren't open until Monday. I'd like to have better questions and answers for when I call Adobe and when I propose this change to my boss.
So if it works, I could use the CC while she isn't and vice versa, without the need to purchase additional licences that we just can't afford at the moment.
Has anyone done this before? How much does installing the Creative Cloud alter the use and look of Photoshop, InDesign, other Adobe products, etc? Is it a difficult learning curve for a user who is only minor tech savvy? I don't want to make too drastic of a change and then have to learn to use it myself so I can teach my supervisor how to use it. Can files be easily saved locally instead of in the cloud? Can the CC be cleanly uninstalled, leaving Photoshop and InDesign intact in case it just isn't working out for us? Is there anything else that I should know?
I believe both InDesign and Photoshop are version CS6 on her PC.
When you install Creative Cloud on your computer it puts a small Admin program on your computer which handles what CC programs are installed and if you are logged in or not. The actual programs are installed directly onto your computer, for instance Photoshop CC will be installed locally just like any previous version of Photoshop. The only difference is that each time you open the program it checks to see if your subscription is up to date and makes sure that you are not logged in from another machine. If you end your subscription Photoshop CC will still be installed on your system, it just will not start.
As with all previous versions of Photoshop, if you install Photoshop CC it will leave any previous version on your computer alone, so with CC installed you could either use CC or your CS6 version. I do this all the time, since I teach Photoshop I usually have the current version plus 1-2 previous versions installed, right now I have back to CS4 installed and all versions run fine.
The only thing is that when CC is installed it will become the default program used to open Photoshop files and any other file type you have linked to that program. So double clicking on a Photoshop file will automatically launch that file in Photoshop CC. Not a big deal if you want to open the file in CS6, you just have to open CS6 first then open the file from there.
You can't have Photoshop CC and Photoshop CS6 running at the same time on the same computer since they would both be trying to access some of the same shared Adobe files on your computer (crashes would happen). But then again I don't know why you would want to do that.
If you expect that you may be getting rid of Photoshop CC in the future make sure that any files you create in CC are saved with Maximize Compatibility selected (in Preferences, Edit menu). That way you would be able to open them in the future in Photoshop CS6. While you have both programs installed you can always open the file you made in CC using CS6 to make sure you can open it. You should have no problems.
When using CC on your computer you can save the files anywhere you want, they don't need to be saved to the cloud.
All CC programs run just like the previous CS6 versions, except of course for any new features. Adobe is usually great on keeping things consistent between versions. You could go back and learn Photoshop using training for CS4 and you would be able to use CS6 or CC with no problems (excepting again any new features that were added in the newer versions).
If you uninstall CC then everything goes back to how it was before you installed. You should not have any issues.
I haven't tried accessing CC from two different devices using the same login, but it is designed to allow this.
Joined: 12 Mar 2014
Posts: 26
Location: Northeast New York State (no, not the city) PS Version: CS4 OS: Windows 8.1
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 2:45 pm Post subject:
Thanks George,
You answered all my questions and then some. I'm happy to hear that Photoshop though the Creative Cloud and CS6 can both be installed at the same time. This will put some relief on me and my boss. I'm assuming this holds true for InDesign and Illustrator as well. Makes sense that it would.
Thanks for telling me about the maximize compatibility mode. I would have been looking for it under the save options when you select save as.
I did just today install the Creative Cloud and found that they offer a 30-day trial. That should last me though nearly my entire internship. I really wish I could keep it for longer, as I very much enjoy graphic design. However, I haven't had much call for it other than with my photography, and the price is high for a poor student.
As for file associations, will it break anything if I set all Photoshop/Illustrator/InDesign files to open in their original respective versions, even though they may have been made in the CC? I'd imagine it wouldn't, but I thought I would ask anyway.
Thank you very much for the reply! I look forward to when I can finish my computer information systems associates degree and move on to my bachelors where I can take graphic design courses and get my feet wet. Until then, it's tutorials, YouTube, and books for me!
Hi Berton, open a Windows Explorer window and right click on any .psd file. Choose Open with, then Choose default program...
As long as your CS6 program is showing on that list you will be able to set that as the default.
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