FAQ
Find answers to the most commonly asked questions about the Adobe® Creative Suite® 4 editions.
- Creative Suite 4 information
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Why should I buy Creative Suite 4 instead of an individual product?
Adobe Creative Suite 4 editions provide a complete toolset that can help you streamline the creative process, easily express ideas in different media, and share your work with clients and fellow creatives. Since you're likely to need more than one software component during your creative process, it's a smart and more affordable option to buy a suite edition instead of individual products. If you've been using individual Adobe products, you may be eligible for special pricing when upgrading to Creative Suite 4. Check the upgrade details page for the suite edition you are interested in to determine if you qualify.
Why should I upgrade to Creative Suite 4?
By upgrading to Creative Suite 4, you stay on the cutting edge by taking advantage of significant improvements in workflow and efficiency, along with improved features and integration. Plus, when you upgrade to Creative Suite 4, you can still import files from earlier versions.
By keeping your software current, you not only get the latest features and functionality, but you also benefit from special upgrade pricing. See tiered upgrade pricing information in the eligibility, pricing, and purchasing options section later in this FAQ.
Why do I need all of the products in a suite edition?
With Creative Suite 4 editions for design, web, and video, Adobe has selected the products that are most useful for those specific functions. The premium editions include a broader set of tools to enable cross-media work. In most cases, you will find that you use each tool in some capacity throughout the creative process. And even if you don't use every component now, you have the flexibility to use them later.
What products are included with each suite edition?
Check the suite comparison chart to see what's included in each of the suite editions. Or use the suite selector tool for recommendations on which suite edition best meets your needs.
What's new in each product?
When you visit the web pages for any specific product, go to the features page and choose "Top new" to learn about the latest features.
- Eligibility, pricing, and purchasing options
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What's the best way to find out what products and upgrades are available for me?
If you know what product(s) you currently own, check the upgrade eligibility chart on the upgrade details page to determine what upgrades you can buy. If you're buying Adobe products for the first time, use the suite selector tool to determine which suite edition is right for you.
What is tiered upgrade pricing?
With the release of Creative Suite 4, Adobe is introducing two levels of upgrade pricing, one for customers upgrading from Creative Suite 3 to Creative Suite 4 and a second, higher level for customers upgrading from an earlier version of Creative Suite to Creative Suite 4.
Why is Adobe offering tiered upgrade pricing?
Customers who upgrade regularly have long requested better pricing compared to those who upgrade infrequently. Adobe is introducing tiered upgrade pricing to reward these customers. Now, customers moving from Creative Suite 3 to Creative Suite 4 will pay less than those moving from earlier eligible versions to Creative Suite 4.
As a special introductory offer, customers with earlier versions of Adobe Creative Suite, Macromedia® Studio, and Adobe Production Studio software can upgrade for the same price as those moving from Creative Suite 3! This offer ends on February 28, 2009, in North America.
Does tiered pricing also apply to individual Adobe products?
No. The new tiered upgrade policy applies only to editions of Adobe Creative Suite and not to upgrades to individual products, such as Adobe After Effects®, Flash® Professional, InDesign®, Illustrator®, Photoshop®, and so on. Customers can upgrade to the CS4 version of individual products from up to three versions back. The only exception is Adobe Premiere® Pro; customers can upgrade to Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 from any previous version of Adobe Premiere Pro or Adobe Premiere.
I don't know what version I own. How can I find out if I'm eligible for upgrade pricing?
From within any of your individual Adobe products, select the menu item "About [product name]," which will open a dialog box that displays which version you own. Then check the upgrade eligibility chart on the upgrade details page to determine what upgrades you can buy.
What if I got my product as part of a suite edition? How will I know which suite edition it's part of?
There are several options to determine which edition of Creative Suite is installed on your computer:
- If you've registered your software, your product registration details will show your suite edition and serial number. Check your registration details by logging in to your account on Adobe.com and clicking the "View product registration" link.
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For Creative Suite 3 editions only, you can determine suite edition by doing the following:
- - In Windows, go to Start > All Programs and check the Creative Suite edition.
- - In Mac OS, users can identify which suite edition is installed via the uninstaller (go to Applications\Utilities\Adobe Installers). For example, the uninstaller will say "Design Premium," "Web Premium," or whichever other suite edition was installed.
- For earlier versions of Creative Suite, check your installation CD or DVD for the suite edition.
How can I purchase Adobe Creative Suite 4 software?
There are two main ways to purchase Adobe software:
- Buy from Adobe: Buy and download Adobe software to start using it immediately. Or choose to have it shipped to you.
- Buy from a reseller: Whether you're looking for a local retail store or a value-added reseller, Adobe has an extensive network of partners.
Does Adobe offer education discounts?
Yes. Full-time or part-time students, faculty, staff, and employees of government-certified educational institutions can purchase education versions of Adobe products at a reduced price. Learn more about education discounts.
Does Adobe offer volume licensing?
Yes. You can qualify for a discount on software through one of Adobe's volume licensing programs. Learn more about volume licensing.
What are your recommendations on buying for a team?
The Creative Suite 4 editions address the needs of various creative roles on a multidiscipline team. As you learn about the CS4 products and review your purchase options, consider the requirements of each of the roles and individuals on your team. Use the suite selector tool to determine which suite editions are right for your team.
- Policies
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Am I able to upgrade a single-user copy of my Adobe product from Mac OS to Windows or vice versa?
Yes. For details, see "Order an Adobe product platform swap or language swap" (ServiceNote kb405819). You will then need to contact Adobe Customer Service in your region for eligibility and fulfillment. There may be a cost. Restrictions apply.
Am I able to switch a single-user copy of my Adobe product from one language to another?
Yes. For details, see "Order an Adobe product platform swap or language swap" (ServiceNote kb405819). You will then need to contact Adobe Customer Service in your region for eligibility and fulfillment. There may be a cost. Restrictions apply.
What is the three-versions-back product upgrade policy?
For individual products, you can upgrade from up to three versions back. For example, if you have Illustrator CS, CS2, or CS3, you are eligible for the upgrade price for Illustrator CS4. If you have an earlier version, for example, Illustrator 9 or 10, you are not eligible. The exception is Adobe Premiere Pro; you are eligible to upgrade from any earlier version to Adobe Premiere Pro CS4.
For individual products, if you have a version earlier than three versions back, you are not eligible for upgrade pricing — you will need to pay the full retail price.
For Creative Suite editions, you can also upgrade from up to three versions back, but there is tiered pricing (see tiered upgrade pricing information in the eligibility, pricing, and purchasing options section earlier in this FAQ).
I purchased Creative Suite 3 around the time Creative Suite 4 was announced. Am I eligible for a free post-announce upgrade?
Yes, you may be eligible. For more information, see "Adobe post-announce upgrade policy for single-user products" (ServiceNote tn_15304).
Am I eligible for upgrade pricing when moving from Adobe GoLive® to Adobe Dreamweaver® CS4?
Yes. Check specific pricing on the Dreamweaver upgrade details page.
Am I eligible for upgrade pricing when moving from Macromedia FreeHand® to Illustrator CS4?
Yes. Check specific pricing on the Illustrator upgrade details page.
Am I eligible for upgrade pricing when moving from Adobe PageMaker® to InDesign CS4?
Yes. Check specific pricing on the InDesign upgrade details page.
I am a volume licensing customer. Are there policies I should be aware of?
Check the volume licensing program page for more details.
Where do I go if I have customer service questions?
For answers to commonly asked customer service questions, visit the customer service page.
Where do I go if I have technical support questions?
For answers to commonly asked technical support questions, visit the support page.
- Trial information
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Availability and use
Does Adobe have trial versions of Adobe Creative Suite 4?
Yes. To help you evaluate Adobe's creative software for upgrade or purchase, we offer "try and buy" versions of the premium editions of Adobe® Creative Suite® 4 software as well as each individual application, such as Adobe InDesign® CS4 or Flash® CS4 Professional, in many of the languages in which we ship. These trial versions are fully functional, so every feature and aspect of the product is available for you to test-drive.* These product trials can easily be converted for unrestricted use without needing to reinstall the software in most cases.
The trial period begins on the first day that you launch the software and continues for 30 days (a counter appears each time you launch to help you track the elapsed time). When the trial expires, you must purchase the software to continue using it.
*Adobe Encore® CS4 software is not available as a trial. Encore CS4 will be installed as part of the trial DVD set for Creative Suite 4 Production Premium and Master Collection but will not be available for use until you purchase. The trial versions of Adobe After Effects® CS4, Flash CS4 Professional, Adobe Premiere® Pro CS4, and Soundbooth® CS4 software do not include some features that depend on software licensed from parties other than Adobe. For example, some codecs for encoding MPEG formats are available only with the full version of these products.
Which products are available as a trial, and in which languages?
DVD trials
Available to order as a DVD setProduct Languages Adobe Creative Suite 4
Design PremiumEnglish, French, German, Japanese Adobe Creative Suite 4
Web PremiumEnglish, French, German, Japanese Adobe Creative Suite 4
Production PremiumEnglish, French, German, Japanese Adobe Creative Suite 4
Master CollectionEnglish, French, German, Japanese Trial downloads
Product Languages Adobe Acrobat® 9 Pro English, French, German, Japanese Adobe After Effects CS4 English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish Adobe Contribute® CS4 English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean(Windows® only), Spanish Adobe Dreamweaver® CS4 English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean (Windows only), Spanish, Swedish Adobe Fireworks® CS4 Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean (Windows only), Spanish, Swedish Adobe Flash CS4 Professional English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean (Windows only), Spanish, Swedish Adobe Illustrator® CS4 English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Swedish Adobe InCopy® CS4 Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish Adobe InDesign CS4 Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish Adobe Photoshop® CS4 Extended Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Swedish Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish Adobe Soundbooth CS4 English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish When will Creative Suite 4 trials be available?
Trials for all products except those in Japanese should be available by mid-November 2008. Japanese-language trials are expected to be available by early December 2008. To be notified about trial availability, you may sign up to be contacted via the product notification form.
How do I get a product trial?
You have two choices:
- Download a trial version of an individual creative application, such as InDesign CS4 or Flash CS4 Professional, directly from the Adobe.com download pages at no charge.
- Purchase a trial DVD set of any of the Adobe Creative Suite 4 premium editions (for example, Design Premium or Web Premium) from the Adobe Store. Creative Suite 4 editions integrate multiple creative tools into unified design environments for print, web, interactive, mobile, and video and film production. Because of potentially long download times, the suite edition trials are available only on DVD sets.
What does it cost to get a Creative Suite 4 trial DVD set, and why is there a charge for them?
Prices for the trial DVDs are listed in the following chart and include shipping and handling. This charge helps cover the cost of producing and distributing the DVD sets.
U.S. Europe Japan Asia Pacific Design Premium US$10.99 EUR 10.0 JPY 1,850 US$19.99 Web Premium US$10.99 EUR 10.0 JPY 1,850 US$19.99 Production Premium US$10.99 EUR 13.0 JPY 2,350 US$24.99 Master Collection US$10.99 EUR 13.0 JPY 2,350 US$24.99 The DVD sets can serve as your backup media if you choose to convert from trial to purchase at the end of 30 days. (Alternatively, you can choose to have a full product box delivered to you when you purchase, and simply use this serial number to convert the trial you already installed.)
What if I get a trial version of a Creative Suite 4 edition, but have time to try only one or two components in the 30-day trial period? Can I still try the others later?
No. Each edition of Creative Suite 4 is a complete integrated product that is bound by the 30-day trial period. For example, Creative 4 Design Premium integrates these components: InDesign CS4, Photoshop CS4 Extended, Illustrator CS4, Flash CS4 Professional, Dreamweaver CS4, Fireworks CS4, and Acrobat 9 Pro with Adobe Bridge CS4, Device Central CS4, and Version Cue® CS4. Launching any one of these initiates the 30-day trial period. You must then evaluate these components within the 30-day window.
Can I extend the trial period longer than 30 days?
Unfortunately, you may not extend a trial version once it expires at the end of 30 days, nor can you install another copy of the same trial version onto the same computer to try again.
Can I convert my trial to an unrestricted version?
Yes. With Creative Suite 4, you can convert your trials with even more flexibility. If you have tried an individual component such as Photoshop Extended CS4, you can either convert that directly to the same product or convert it to one of the Creative Suite 4 editions that contains Photoshop CS4 Extended. Alternatively, if you tried an edition of Creative Suite 4 but decide to buy an individual component that is part of that edition, you can simply enter the serial number for the purchased product to convert your trial to the individual product you want.
See more specifics later in this FAQ on how to convert your trial.
Maximizing your trial experience
Are there resources available to help me evaluate the trial software?
Yes. If you have opted to receive e-mail communications from Adobe, for some product trials you may receive a series of communications with helpful resources and tips to get the most from your trial. There are also additional free resources available to you:
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To explore the new features and get started quickly, visit Adobe Bridge Home, Home, an online channel available in Creative Suite 4, to discover product videos, tutorials, tips, and resources that can help you work smarter and faster, making the most of your software trial. This content is refreshed on a regular basis.
Access Adobe Bridge Home by launching a Creative Suite 4 product and choosing File > Browse In Bridge. (Note: Adobe Bridge Home is not available in Acrobat 9 Pro, Contribute CS4, or Soundbooth CS4.)
- Get tips, tricks, and inspiration from top creatives: Find out what features top designers love most, learn how they use Adobe applications, and get tips on moving between them. View a gallery of their work in this interactive experience.
- Watch Adobe TV, your online source for expert insight and inspiration. Feed your passion for Adobe products with insider tips, innovative techniques, and behind-the-scenes tours delivered on video, on demand.
- Attend an eSeminar, OnDemand seminar, live event, or conference. See a complete list of events.
- You can also browse the Design Center or Developer Connection for additional training information.
Can I get technical support or help for my trial version?
Adobe Technical Support will help you install or troubleshoot an installation issue with a trial version of Adobe creative products. Additional phone and web support is available only for registered users of purchased software. For additional help, we recommend the following free options:
- Search Adobe Community Help to find the focused answers you need — fast. Searchable content includes the in-depth product-specific Help that Adobe has always delivered, plus additional Adobe and third-party content chosen by experts at Adobe and in the design and production communities. Use the search bar within most Creative Suite 4 component software, or simply choose Help > [Productname].
- Search the online Adobe Knowledgebase.
Converting your trial
How do I convert my trial to an unrestricted version of the product?
All of our Creative Suite 4 trials are "try and buy," meaning you can evaluate individual products or editions of Creative Suite 4 and then convert the installed trial to an unrestricted version by purchasing and entering a serial number anytime during the trial period or after the trial period ends.
New for Creative Suite 4, you can convert your trial with even more flexibility. If you have tried an individual component such as Photoshop Extended CS4, you can either convert that directly to the same product or convert it to one of the Creative Suite 4 editions that contains Photoshop CS4 Extended. Alternatively, if you tried an edition of Creative Suite 4 but decide to buy an individual component that is part of that edition, you can simply enter the serial number for the purchased product to convert your trial to the individual product you want.
Converting your trial is a simple two or three step process:
- Purchase the software anywhere you wish — through the online Adobe Store (as an electronic download or as a shipped product) or from your preferred reseller, store, or catalog. If you plan to purchase through the Adobe Store, simply click the link in the application trial countdown screen to purchase the product and follow the prompts to obtain a serial number. Note that product availability may differ from region to region.
- Enter the serial number from your purchase into the product screen that counts down the remaining days in the trial. You can enter a serial number to convert the trial anytime during the 30-day trial period or after the trial period ends.
- Optional: If you purchased an electronic download from the Adobe Store, log into your account and download any additional available content or applications for the product you purchased. You can use your Adobe ID and password to access this content anytime for up to three years after the product is released. If you purchased through a channel other than the Adobe Store and are converting from an individual product to a suite edition or to a different application, you may need to install the additional applications on your computer.
What if I tried multiple products?
If you tried multiple products but purchased a suite edition that contains both products, you can enter the suite edition serial number in one of the products and the other product will automatically pick up the serial number. You will need to install the additional products contained in the suite edition. If you bought the individual products you tried, you can simply enter the serial numbers in the respective products.
I am a volume licensing customer. Can I convert a trial to an unrestricted version using a volume licensing serial number?
Yes, volume licensing customers can also convert trials by simply entering the license serial number. Contact your reseller or authorized Adobe License Center to place a volume licensing order.
Under what circumstances would I need to uninstall or reinstall the trial product(s) when converting my trial?
Creative Suite 4 products have multiple language versions available in the same software version. When you are converting your trial, the serial number's language must match the installed language of the application in order for it to be accepted in the serialization screen.
If you have installed a language that is different from your serial number's language, but that is part of the same set of languages included in your trial version, you can simply go back and reinstall the correct language and then enter your serial number.
However, if you choose to convert your trial to a language that is not in the language set of the trial product you installed, you will need to uninstall your trial and install the product in the language you purchased. The following is a list of the languages included in each language set:
- Americas: English, International English, French Canadian, Spanish
- Japan: Japanese, International English
- Continental Europe: International English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Brazilian Portuguese
- Asia: International English, Chinese Traditional, Chinese Simplified, Korean
- Nordics: International English, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish
- Eastern Europe: Czech, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, Romanian
How do I uninstall my trial software?
To uninstall your trial version, close any open Adobe software on your computer and do the following:
- In Windows, open the Windows Control Panel and double-click Add or Remove Programs. Select the product that you want to uninstall, click Change/Remove, and then follow the onscreen instructions.
- In Mac OS, double-click the product installer in Applications\Utilities\Adobe Installers. Authenticate as an administrator, select Uninstall Components, and then follow the onscreen instructions.
Am I eligible for upgrade pricing when I convert my trial?
Yes, if you have a qualifying earlier version of Adobe software, you may purchase an upgrade to convert your trial to an unrestricted version. To verify that you have an earlier version that qualifies you for the software you're purchasing, navigate to the product area that you're interested in buying and click the upgrade eligibility link. When you enter the purchased serial number to activate your trial for ongoing use, the installer will search your hard drive for the qualifying software. If it doesn't find it, it will prompt you for the serial number of your earlier version. If that serial number does not work, you can contact Adobe Customer Service in your region for further assistance.
Should I make a backup copy of the trial software and additional content?
Yes, if you choose the download option when converting a trial to an unrestricted version, we highly recommend making a backup copy and keeping it together with the serial number. That way, if you get a new computer or have to rebuild an existing machine, you have everything you need to efficiently reinstall your Adobe creative software. (Alternatively, follow the instructions in the e-mail receipt to log in and download your software for up to three years after you purchase.) If you had the software shipped from Adobe or a reseller at purchase, that package serves as your backup version.
I work on two computers. Once I have converted the trial version to an unrestricted version, can I then install it on a second machine?
Yes, the Adobe license agreement entitles you to install and activate the software on two systems as long as you use only one system at a time. To install on a second machine, do one of the following:
- Use the trial DVD for a Creative Suite 4 edition to install it on the second machine. Then enter your serial number to activate the second copy.
- Download a standalone product trial to the second machine, or make a backup and use that to install it onto a second machine. Then enter your serial number to activate the second copy.
- Use the media in the box you received to install your software onto a second machine, and use the associated serial number to activate it.
