After Effects CS6 / FAQ

To learn about the new features in each edition, click the links for top new features on each of the suite edition product overview pages.

If you've been using an earlier version of Creative Suite, you may be eligible for an upgrade price for Creative Suite 6. Check the upgrade eligibility table on the buying guide for your suite edition to determine the most cost-effective way for you to upgrade.

Creative Cloud is a digital hub that offers members the ability to download and install every CS6 desktop application, plus additional applications and services. For more information, see the Creative Cloud FAQ.

If your creative workflow requires multiple Adobe components, you can save money when you purchase a Creative Suite 6 edition instead of individual CS components. Depending on the edition you purchase, you can save up to 60% compared to buying the individual components that make up that edition.

Check the product comparison chart in the buying guide of each edition to see what's included.

With Creative Suite editions for design, web, and video, Adobe has a solution tailored to meet your needs no matter what you are trying to create. Each edition has been designed around next-generation workflows that give you the creative freedom to express your ideas as completely and quickly as possible. So even if you don't use all of the tools today, purchasing a suite edition gives you the flexibility to adapt your workflow as your creative needs change.

As of the launch of Creative Suite 6, Adobe has combined Design Premium and Web Premium into one suite edition, CS6 Design & Web Premium. This new edition for designers and web developers includes all of the tools needed to deliver innovative ideas in print, on the web, and for tablet devices and smartphones. Learn more about Design & Web Premium and the included components.

Adobe does not plan to make any changes to the existing complimentary and paid support programs that are enjoyed by our customers. For details on these programs, visit the Adobe support page.

Yes, you can upgrade from CS5 or CS5.5 versions of Design Premium or Web Premium to CS6 Design & Web Premium. For more specifics on upgrade pricing, as well as options to upgrade from earlier versions of Design Premium or Web Premium to CS6 and to Creative Cloud, see the Design & Web Premium buying guide.

The software license agreement accompanying your product may entitle you to install and activate the software on two systems with certain restrictions. The product license agreement for Creative Suite 6 does not allow you to install the components of a single suite edition across multiple computers. Please see the software license agreement for more information.

Adobe CS Review and SiteCatalyst® NetAverages™ were discontinued as of April 12, 2012; however, Adobe BrowserLab, Adobe Story, and Acrobat.com continue to remain available. Learn more about the discontinuation of CS Live.

To make the most of your creative possibilities, consider signing up for Adobe Creative Cloud, a new set of online services, applications, and community features available via membership. With Creative Cloud, you can explore, create, publish, and share your work using CS6 desktop applications, Adobe Touch Apps, and services together for a complete ideation-to-publishing experience.  Learn more about Creative Cloud.

You will still have access to BrowserLab, Story, and Acrobat.com using your Adobe ID.

To use the services, your Adobe ID must be a valid email address. If your ID does not contain a verified email address, you will need to update it. Follow these instructions to update your Adobe ID or password:

· Go to the Adobe website and sign in with your current Adobe ID.
· Click Edit Your Account Information and select the Adobe ID tab.
· Click Change to enter your current email address. You can also change your password in this tab. Click Update to apply the changes to your account.
 
After you change your Adobe ID to match your email address, you can set up access to the desired services.

A subscription is a new, more flexible way to get Creative Suite software. A subscription gives you ongoing access to a Creative Suite application for a low monthly price, while also giving you ongoing access to every upgrade version at no additional charge, as long as your subscription remains active.

The following CS6 products are available by subscription:

• Adobe Photoshop® CS6
• Adobe Illustrator® CS6
• Adobe InDesign® CS6
• Adobe Dreamweaver® CS6
• Adobe Flash® Professional CS6
• Adobe Premiere® Pro CS6
• Adobe After Effects® CS6
• Adobe Audition® CS6
• Adobe SpeedGrade™ CS6
• Adobe Muse™ (individual subscription; not part of CS6)

No, there are no differences in the functionality or in the system requirements between the two. However, if you suspend or cancel your subscription, you will no longer be able to use the software. 

Yes, as a subscriber to a Creative Suite application, you will get several important benefits that you do not get when you buy a traditional version:

• Access to both the Mac OS and Windows® versions and the ability to install them on your primary computer and one backup computer. So, if you have a Mac at home and a PC at work, you can install your applications on both as long as they are not running at the same time. See the product license agreements page for more information.
  
• 10GB of space on www.creativecloud.com and the ability to:
  • Sync your creative files between your Adobe Touch Apps on your tablet and your desktop computer, and between two of your desktop computers
  • Share large creative files with colleagues and clients
  • Store your files for easy access from anywhere

If you are an existing CS suite edition or Photoshop Extended subscription customer, your subscription will automatically be migrated to a Creative Cloud membership with the same plan type:

• One-year subscribers will transition to a one-year Creative Cloud membership at the promotional rate of US$29.99/month. This price is valid through your existing contractual period. No action is required on your part.
• Month-to-month subscribers will transition to a month-to-month Creative Cloud membership at the current monthly rate. If you wish to change your plan type or upgrade to a one-year Creative Cloud membership at the promotional price, contact Adobe Customer Service.

If you are an existing CS5.5 subscriber to an individual product other than Photoshop Extended, you will maintain your existing plan type at the current CS6 subscription rate. You are also eligible to upgrade to a one-year Creative Cloud membership at the promotional rate of US$29.99/month; if you wish to do so, you will need to cancel your existing subscription and purchase a one-year Creative Cloud membership by August 31, 2012. Contact Adobe Customer Service.

While a subscription gives you ongoing access to one Creative Suite application for a low monthly price, an Adobe Creative Cloud membership gives you access to all Adobe Creative Suite 6 desktop applications,  plus additional tools and services that allow you to take your creative idea from concept to publishing. Creative Cloud will deliver continuous value to members by providing immediate access to new features, tools, apps, services, and upgrades as they become available. Learn more about Creative Cloud membership options.

Subscribing is a great option to consider if:

• You haven't upgraded your application in years and want to move up to the current version at an affordable monthly cost
• You don't want to worry about upgrades (they're included with your subscription) and you want a regular, dependable monthly cost to use Adobe creative software
• You have never used Creative Suite software and want an alternative way to try it for the first time
• You want or need to extend your skills by learning a new application, but need to do so with very low upfront costs
• You may have been a victim of counterfeit software and want a safer and more cost-effective way to get genuine Adobe software

Also, the month-to-month plan is a terrific option if you work on a freelance basis or are a small business owner and have only an occasional need for a particular Creative Suite software application.

Subscription editions of Creative Suite software are installed locally on your computer, just like regular Creative Suite products. The functionality of a subscription edition is no different from that of the regular product. You do not need to be online constantly to use your Creative Suite subscription. However, you will need to be online when you install and license your software, and at least once every 30 days thereafter. The software will alert you when you need to connect to the Internet for a license status check.

Subscriptions to individual Creative Suite applications are available through Adobe.com and select retail and online stores.  Find a store in your area.

When you subscribe on Adobe.com, you have the choice between a one-year or month-to-month plan. When you buy at a participating retail or online store, you have the choice of a 3-month subscription or a 12-month subscription, both of which can be easily renewed at www.creativecloud.com.

No. When you purchase a subscription on Adobe.com, you will immediately receive an email that contains a link to the electronic download of the software to which you have subscribed. When you purchase a 3- or 12-month subscription at a retail store, you will receive a key card that contains instructions on how to access and download your software. Subscription edition products are available only through electronic download.

Adobe Creative Cloud is a focal point of creative expression and inspiration, and www.creativecloud.com is a great place to explore, create, publish, and share work across devices, the desktop, and the web. The Creative Cloud offering is always evolving, and we want customers who are subscribed to an individual Creative Suite application to experience this firsthand. By visiting www.creativecloud.com to download your subscription edition application, you not only get access to your software, but you will be able to do a number of things on the Creative Cloud website, including but not limited to:

• Download trials of all other applications and services that are part of the Creative Cloud offering
• Access 10GB of storage space that comes with your subscription and the ability to sync, store, and share your creative files
• Manage the details of your subscription, including canceling, changing credit card information, and more
• Easily move from subscribing to a single product to becoming a member of Creative Cloud
  
• Access free versions of Creative Cloud services

If you are already using a trial version of an individual Creative Suite application that is available by subscription, simply visit the Adobe Store to purchase a subscription. Select the subscription option when you add the product to your online cart. When you open your trial version, click the License This Software link and sign in using your Adobe ID. Note that you can convert only CS6 trials to a subscription; earlier trial versions cannot be converted.

Your subscription includes access to the current and future versions of the Creative Suite application (as long as your subscription remains active) as well as 10B of storage space and the ability to sync your creative files from your desktop to the cloud.*

* Wireless Internet connection required.  Mobile and tablet applications and syncing functionality require a separate download and agreement to additional terms. Adobe online services, including the Adobe Creative Cloud service, are available only to users 13 and older and require agreement to additional terms and Adobe's online privacy policy. The applications and online services are not available in all countries or languages, may require user registration, and may be subject to change or discontinuation without notice. Additional fees or subscription charges may apply.

Adobe offers both one-year and month-to-month plans. One-year plans have lower monthly payments and require that you remain a subscriber for at least a year. One-year plans will automatically renew for the next 12-month period after the initial term has been met. Month-to-month plans provide the flexibility of a short-term commitment, allowing you to end your subscription at any time if your business needs change. If you decide to restart, simply purchase a new subscription without having to reinstall your apps.

For more information about Adobe Creative Suite subscriptions, visit the CS6 subscription editions page.

Subscription fees vary by product and your country of residence. Visit Adobe.com or the Adobe.com store in your respective country for pricing information. For more details, visit the subscription editions page.

Your credit card will be billed each month under either plan. See terms and conditions for details.

When you subscribe to a one-year or month-to-month plan on Adobe.com, you will be required to pay the monthly charge via credit card. When you buy a 3-month subscription or a 12-month subscription at a participating retail or online store, you can pay using any form of payment the retailer accepts.

If you live in a region where you purchase a subscription from the Adobe Store with a price quoted in U.S. dollars or euros — but you receive credit card statements with charges stated in your local currency — you may see different amounts charged from month to month because of changes in the currency exchange rates from one billing date to the next. Month-to-month subscriptions will be billed the current list price. Adobe will notify you of any price change, and you will have the option to cancel before your next monthly billing.

The cost of a one-year subscription will not go up during the year in which you are subscribed. It is possible that the cost of a month-to-month subscription will increase, but if it does, you will be notified and given the opportunity to cancel.

Currently, subscription editions are available only for individuals.

No. Currently, only retail priced subscriptions to individual Creative Suite applications are available.

Subscriptions are being made available in the following languages: Brazilian Portuguese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Spanish, and Swedish. Not all products come in all languages; check the technical specifications for the product you are interested in.

Subscriptions are available in the following countries:

• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Brazil
• Bulgaria
• Canada
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Ireland
• Italy
• Japan
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Mexico
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• United Kingdom
• United States

Your subscription begins as soon as the order is fulfilled by the Adobe Store.

Download times will vary based on the product you select and the speed of your Internet connection. In all cases, a high-speed connection of some type is required. Here is an example of an estimated download time:

Visit the Adobe Store download forum, where you can find information about typical software download issues.

During the course of your purchase and installation, you will be asked to create or enter an Adobe ID. An Adobe ID can simply be your current email address with a password you create. Learn more about the benefits of an Adobe ID.

No, Adobe has moved to identity-based licensing with a technology that will not support multiple same-product subscriptions, so you can buy only one subscription per Adobe ID. For example, if you need two subscriptions to Adobe Photoshop CS6, you will need to purchase each subscription with a unique Adobe ID.

When you install your software, you will be required to enter the same Adobe ID that you used to subscribe, for the following reasons:

• To help ensure that the person who subscribed is the same person who is installing the software
• To enable Adobe to send you important account information in the event your subscription is about to expire or cannot be charged to your credit card

Adobe respects your privacy and will send you information about other Adobe products or services only if you explicitly opt in for such messages.

Please ensure that your Adobe ID is your current active email address; if it is not, please update it.

See the CS6 subscription terms and conditions.

You can install your subscription software on up to two computers. Refer to the license agreement for the product you wish to subscribe to for more information.

Activation is the process by which Adobe validates that your software is genuine and being used as allowed by your product license agreement. It is intended to protect both your rights as a consumer and Adobe's rights as a software developer. Activation helps confirm that the software you bought is not counterfeit; you will not be able to use your subscription software if it is not activated.

Yes. Activation will take place once every 30 days for a subscription license check. If you are not online for 30 days, your software will inform you to connect to the Internet.

In the event that we cannot activate the product, we will warn you when you launch the application. Note that blocking access to the activation server will prevent the product from launching.

If you own a business and need multiple subscription edition products to get your team up and running, you will have to purchase, download, and install each subscription product with a unique Adobe ID. This means that each user will need to have his or her own Adobe ID and password that will have to be entered on each of the systems on which you install the applications. Adobe is working on a team offering of Adobe Creative Cloud that we hope to have available later in 2012, starting at US$69.99 per month. If you'd like to stay up to date on the team offering and its availability, sign up for notifications here.

You can return a subscription edition within the first 30 days of purchase and get a full refund. The return process can differ for various countries or regions. Learn more about returning products in North America or Europe and Asia/Pacific.

If your month-to-month or annual subscription is stopped due to an issue with billing your credit card, you will be notified by email and your software will display an alert that your subscription has been suspended. If it has been less than six months since your subscription ended, simply navigate to the Account page on www.creativecloud.com and make any required updates to your billing information to restart it. If it has been more than six months, you will need to buy a new subscription.

If you canceled your month-to-month subscription and would like to restart it, you will need to either restart your subscription on the Account page, call Adobe Customer Service, or buy a new subscription. A one-year subscription cannot be restarted. Instead, you will need to purchase a new subscription.

If you would like to renew your one-year subscription for another year, you do not need to do anything. Your account is set to auto-renew so that you will not experience any interruption in access to your product.

To cancel a one-year subscription, you can either go to the Account page on www.creativecloud.com or contact Adobe Customer Service. If you cancel your subscription before meeting the one-year commitment date, you will be charged 50% of the remaining amount left on your contract.

No. When you suspend or cancel your subscription you will no longer have access to any version of your Creative Suite subscription software.

Yes, if you would like to buy the licensed version of your Creative Suite application, call Adobe Customer Service in order to get a discounted rate.  

If you buy the same product that you were previously subscribing to, you do not need to download or reinstall it. You can deactivate the product by choosing Help > Deactivate in the menu bar. Then, the next time you launch the product, simply enter the serial number that came with your new purchase. If your subscription has already expired, when you launch the application, simply enter the new serial number to begin using the software again.

You can upgrade your subscription to a Creative Cloud membership by logging in to www.creativecloud.com, going to the My Account page, and simply walking through the steps to upgrade. You will be given a partial refund on the remaining amount due on your existing subscription.

You can upgrade two or more subscriptions to a single Creative Cloud membership by logging in to www.creativecloud.com, going to the My Account page, and simply walking through the steps to upgrade. You will be given a partial refund on the remaining amount due on both existing subscriptions.

You will be eligible to receive updates and upgrades to the Creative Suite product you subscribed to as long as your subscription remains active. Adobe will notify you by email of upgrades as they become available. The email will contain instructions on how to access and install the upgrade.

Any ongoing bug fixes, security patches, and other update releases that do not require full upgrades will be made available through the updater through Adobe’s application manager just as in the regular versions of Adobe Creative Suite software.

If you have questions relating to managing your subscription, contact Adobe Customer Service.

No. You are not required to install any new version of the subscription software, and you have a great deal of flexibility on when you install an upgrade, should you choose to do so. You can continue using your current version of the product at least for one full year after the subsequent version is released.

To manage your subscription account, visit the My Account page at www.creativecloud.com.

If you have questions relating to managing your subscription, contact Adobe Customer Service.

If you have questions about using Creative Suite software, visit the support page.

You get the same service and support with your subscription that you would get under the regular purchasing model for the same product.

With the CS6 update, joining Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Photoshop as native 64-bit Mac applications are Adobe Encore, Adobe SpeedGrade, and Adobe Illustrator. On Windows, Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, SpeedGrade, and Encore are native 64 bit and run only on 64-bit operating systems. Photoshop and Illustrator are native 64-bit Windows applications, but also run on 32-bit operating systems.

By optimizing code for 64-bit operating systems, Adobe is able to deliver the performance gains video professionals require. Creative Suite customers benefit from working on the latest hardware and operating systems, and the majority of video professionals have already transitioned to 64-bit capable systems, such as Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Lion, or 64-bit versions of Windows 7. Because 64-bit operating systems offer superior performance, CS6 and future releases of Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Encore, and SpeedGrade will not support 32-bit operating systems. For an up-to-date list of 64-bit third-party plug-ins for After Effects, visit the After Effects plug-ins page.

On Windows, the CS6 versions of Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, SpeedGrade, and Encore require a 64-bit edition of Microsoft® Windows 7. If you are using one of the following operating systems, you will not be able to install or run those applications:

• 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows XP Home or Professional
• 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows Vista® Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise

If you are using one of the listed incompatible operating systems, Adobe recommends that you upgrade to a 64-bit edition of Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate.

On 64-bit operating systems you have access to essentially unlimited RAM, because they offer a wider address system and data path. On 32-bit systems, each application is limited to 4GB of RAM (and in practice this number is actually smaller). More RAM means applications can manipulate larger chunks of data, cache more information, and handle a wide range of tasks more efficiently.

Mac OS Snow Leopard and OS X Lion are already 64-bit capable.  64 bit enables leveraging of more than 4GB of RAM. All you need to do is add more RAM to start seeing the benefits of native 64-bit OS support.

When you install Windows 7, choose the 64-bit version.

With the CS6 update, joining Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Photoshop as native 64-bit Mac applications are Adobe Encore, SpeedGrade, and Illustrator. On Windows, Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, SpeedGrade, and Encore are native 64-bit and run only on 64-bit operating systems. Photoshop and Illustrator are native 64-bit Windows applications, but also run on 32-bit operating systems.

Windows versions of Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects CS5 and later, whether standalone or as components of Creative Suite Production Premium or Master Collection, require a 64-bit edition of Windows.

To run the CS6 version of After Effects or Adobe Premiere Pro, you should upgrade to a 64-bit edition of Windows 7. Adobe has a number of upgrade paths available to current Creative Suite customers. Refer to the buying guide pages for your products to get full details on your upgrade options.

Adobe plans to continue offering support according to the existing complimentary and paid support programs. For details on these programs, visit the support page.

With native 64-bit applications, more RAM means better performance when working with multiple applications on high-resolution projects. For that reason, we recommend you use at least 8GB of RAM, and 16GB, 32GB, or even more for high-performance configurations.

Visit the performance page for more information.

Adobe and Apple have worked closely together to test Adobe® Creative Suite® 5, 5.5 and CS6 editions and individual products for reliability, performance and user experience when installed on Intel® based systems running Mac OS X Mountain Lion (v10.8). Earlier versions of Adobe Photoshop® (CS3 and CS4) software were also tested with Mountain Lion and there are currently no known issues.

As with any new release of an operating system, there may be unexpected issues that arise that were not discovered during testing.  If you encounter any issues, please report them on our bug reporting form.

At this time, none of the CS5, 5.5 or CS6 applications require updates to be compatible with Mountain Lion.  However, we do recommend that all users download the latest version of the Adobe Flash® Player runtime. 

In our testing we have found no significant issues with running CS5, 5.5, CS6 or Acrobat products with Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. 

Apple created a new security feature called Gatekeeper™ which is intended to help make applications downloaded from the Internet safer. Learn more at http://www.apple.com/osx/what-is/security.html

Adobe has added the Gatekeeper signing requirements to our currently shipping applications.  However, our legacy products created before Mountain Lion's Gatekeeper feature was available are not signed. If you download one of those legacy (unsigned) applications, the Gatekeeper security feature may pop-up a security dialog that warns users against downloading non-signed applications from the Internet. You can still install the un-signed applications by following these directions.  

If updates for Mountain Lion compatibility with Creative Suite products are required in the future, the updates will be made available through the Adobe Updater, a utility that is installed with Adobe products to manage downloading and installing updates for you. As long as the automated notification feature in Adobe Updater is turned on, you will be alerted automatically when the updates become available. You can then follow the onscreen instructions to download and install the updates. Alternatively, you can open a CS5, CS5.5 or CS6 product that requires an update, choose Help > Updates to open the Adobe Updater, check all of the updates you want, and then click Download and Install Updates. Lastly, you can also visit the downloads page on Adobe.com to monitor when updates are posted, and then download and install the updates for each relevant product. 

Starting with Mac OS X Lion (v10.7), Apple no longer includes support for Rosetta, which is required to run PPC code on Macs with Intel® processors. Creative Suite 2 software was created to run on PowerPC hardware on Macs and will not be able to run on Lion and Mountain Lion. Additionally, older plug-ins as well as drivers for printers, scanners, and other hardware peripherals that require PPC support will no longer work with even the most current Creative Suite products without Rosetta. 

Customers are encouraged to check plug-in compatibility by contacting the plug-in vendor before upgrading to Lion. For third-party products, contact the manufacturer for guidance.

Adobe offers support to Creative Suite customers running Mac OS X Mountain Lion in accordance with our standard customer support policies. Visit the support page for additional information about our complimentary and paid support programs.

Adobe recommends following your company’s internal guidelines to manage updates. You may want to contact the IT person who manages your Adobe licenses for information about your corporate policies on updating software. For volume licensing customers, information is available for IT managers on how to do a silent install  of CS5, 5.5 and CS6 updates Individual users should use the Adobe Updater within their products (choose Help > Updates) to download and install individual system updates.

As a Creative Suite application subscriber or member of Creative Cloud, you are eligible to receive updates and upgrades as long as your membership remains active. Adobe will notify you via email as they become available with instructions on how to access them.

Yes. If a full version of a CS5, CS5.5 or CS6 product is compatible with Mountain Lion, then the trial version of that product is compatible as well. The known issues described in this document also apply to the trial versions. 

If you know what products you currently own, refer to the buying guide for each product on Adobe.com and check the upgrade chart to find out which upgrades you are eligible for.

If you're buying Creative Suite products for the first time, refer to the CS6 family buying guide to determine which suite edition is right for you.

Owners of a CS5 or CS5.5 suite edition qualify for upgrade pricing to a CS6 suite edition. Owners of an individual CS5 or CS5.5 product qualify for upgrade pricing to the same product but not to a suite edition. Any version earlier than CS5 will not be eligible for upgrade pricing.

Owners of CS3 and CS4 individual products and suite editions will receive temporary upgrade pricing to CS6 until December 31, 2012. After that date, only customers on CS5 or CS5.5 will qualify for upgrade pricing to CS6.

To help our customers stay ahead of the technology curve, we plan to move to new releases of CS products each year. And to avoid having different version numbers for CS products in market concurrently, which we realize has been confusing to customers, we will update all CS products and suite editions with full new releases at the same time.

When we release new CS products in 2013, customers who own CS5.5 or later (any suite edition and most individual products) will qualify for upgrade pricing to the new release. In addition, upgrade pricing will also be available to owners of Photoshop CS5, Photoshop CS5 Extended, Illustrator CS5, and Fireworks® CS5.

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 buying guide for that product to determine which upgrades you are eligible for. Buying guide links are at the top right of the product pages.

No, Adobe does not offer a discount if you want to move from an individual Creative Suite product to a suite edition.

No, Adobe no longer offers "upsells" for the following products: FreeHand® to Illustrator; Photoshop Elements to Photoshop or Photoshop Extended.

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 "My products and services."

For CS4 and CS3, you can determine the suite edition by doing the following:

• In Windows, go to Start > All Programs and check the Creative Suite edition.
• In Mac OS, you 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.

Creative Suite 6 product upgrades for volume licenses may be purchased through local resellers, Adobe direct sales, or the online Adobe Store. In North America, Australia, and New Zealand, CS6 product upgrades for individual licenses may be purchased directly through Adobe only. In all other regions, CS6 upgrades for individual licenses may be purchased through local resellers, Adobe direct sales, or the online Adobe Store.

No. Adobe does not offer upgrade pricing for customers wishing to move from a suite edition to an individual CS component. For complete upgrade information for the product you are interested in, consult the upgrade eligibility chart on that product's buying guide page.

Before you open your upgrade of CS6 software, read the upgrade information page to ensure you are a licensed user of eligible Adobe software.

Yes. Qualifying full-time or part-time students, faculty, and staff of accredited educational institutions can purchase Adobe products at a reduced price. Learn more about Creative Suite 6 for education and eligibility requirements. Note that there are no reduced-price subscriptions available for education customers.

Yes. You may qualify for a discount on software through Adobe Volume Licensing (AVL). Learn more about volume licensing, or have a licensing specialist contact you.

The Creative Suite 6 editions address the needs of various creative roles within a multidiscipline team. As you learn about the CS6 products and review your purchasing options, consider the requirements of each of the roles and individuals on your team. To learn more about CS6 for teams, refer to the "For companies" section of each suite edition's product pages (accessible under Resources). You can also have a licensing specialist contact you.

No. There is no upgrade path to move from a desktop license of a product to a subscription. Existing subscription customers, however, will automatically receive new Creative Suite products as they become available.

There are no discounts for perpetual licenses for subscription customers. 

No. You cannot upgrade from a Creative Suite edition to an individual CS component. To confirm your options and learn about the requirements for upgrades, check the upgrade eligibility chart on the buying guide page of the product you wish to purchase. Among other requirements, you must be able to provide the serial number for the product you wish to upgrade during installation.

Owners of a CS5 or CS5.5 suite edition qualify for upgrade pricing to a CS6 suite edition. Owners of an individual CS5 or CS5.5 product qualify for upgrade pricing to the same product but not to a suite edition. Any version earlier than CS5 will not be eligible for upgrade pricing.

Owners of CS3 or CS4 individual products and suite editions will receive temporary upgrade pricing to CS6 until December 31, 2012. After that date, only owners of CS5 or CS5.5 will qualify for upgrade pricing to CS6.

In North America, Australia, and New Zealand, you can purchase individual product and suite edition upgrades to CS6 only through Adobe.com. These upgrades are not available through a reseller.

In other regions, you can purchase upgrades to CS6 through a local reseller.

Yes. If you are upgrading from an earlier qualifying version of an Adobe product to the newest version, you can upgrade across languages. To move from one language to another in the current version, you will have to call Customer Service in your region for eligibility and fulfillment. There may be a cost. Restrictions apply. See the service note.

You  may be eligible. Call Customer Service in your region for more information.

Yes, you may purchase upgrades for education versions provided you meet the upgrade eligibility requirements. For requirements, pricing, or to place your single-user license order, visit the Adobe.com Store in your region.

No. Adobe does not permit individual end users to upgrade volume license products to individual shrinkwrapped software.

Yes, provided you meet the upgrade eligibility requirements. For customers who want to move from shrinkwrapped software to a volume license, we also offer a credit against past qualifying purchases. For details and requirements, visit the Adobe Volume Licensing page.

Yes. To help you evaluate Adobe's creative software for upgrade or new purchase, we offer "try and buy" versions of the premium editions of Creative Suite 6 as well as most individual CS6 products, such as Photoshop CS6 Extended and Flash Professional CS6, in many of the languages in which we ship. These trial versions offer almost every feature and function of the product for you to test-drive. In most cases, the trials can easily be converted to purchased versions without needing to reinstall the software. The trial period begins on the first day you launch the software and continues for 30 days. When the trial expires, you must purchase the software to continue using it.

Note that Adobe Encore CS6 and Adobe Prelude CS6 are not available for trial. Encore and Prelude will be installed as part of the trial for CS6 Production Premium and Master Collection but will not be available for use until you purchase. The trial versions of Adobe After Effects CS6 and Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 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.

There are two options. You can try individual products or suite editions by downloading trial versions of CS6 products directly from the Adobe.com download pages. You can also sign up for a free Adobe Creative Cloud membership, which gives you access to all of the CS6 desktop applications that are available as 30-day trials.

Trial DVDs are no longer available. Trials are available for download on Adobe.com.

You can download trial software by navigating to the Downloads section of Adobe.com and selecting the product you would like to try. In order to improve your download stability and speed, Adobe offers Adobe Download Assistant software.

On Windows, Adobe Download Assistant downloads two files, an executable (EXE) file and a 7z file. The 7z file is a highly compressed archive that is used with the EXE file to install a downloaded product. The EXE and 7z files must both be completely downloaded and located in the same folder in order for the product to install successfully.

On Mac OS, Adobe Download Assistant downloads a single .dmg file.

Visit Adobe Download Assistant Help for more information.

By default, some product installers will automatically start when your download completes. If the installation doesn't start automatically, see Start the installer after downloading.

You do not need a serial number to try out your software. To start the trial, launch your software and click the Start Trial button on the first screen that loads.  

If you already purchased a product on the online Adobe Store, your serial number will be emailed to you. Alternately, you can sign in to your Adobe account to find your serial number. For additional information, see Find a serial number.

If you are a subscriber, you don’t need a serial number. After you log in to your software, your subscription will automatically begin.

No. Each edition of Creative Suite 6 is a complete integrated product that is bound by the 30-day trial period. For example, Creative Suite 6 Design & Web Premium integrates these components: Photoshop CS6 Extended, Illustrator CS6, InDesign CS6, Dreamweaver CS6, Flash Professional CS6, Fireworks CS6, Acrobat X Pro, and Adobe Bridge CS6. Launching any one of these initiates the 30-day trial period. You must then evaluate these components within the 30-day window.

Yes, Adobe now offers month-to-month and one-year subscriptions for most individual CS6 applications. In addition, Adobe now offers membership in Adobe Creative Cloud, which gives users ongoing access to most Creative Suite applications. This means you can continue to use your application on a month-by-month basis for a fraction of the full purchase price. Learn more about CS subscription editions.

Yes. If you have tried an individual product such as Photoshop CS6 Extended, you can either convert that directly to the same product or convert it to one of the Creative Suite 6 editions that contains Photoshop CS6 Extended. Alternately, if you tried an edition of Creative Suite 6 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 component you purchased.

Acrobat X Pro is available as a trial for Windows only. However, the full version of Acrobat X Pro is included with both Mac OS and Windows versions of Master Collection, Design & Web Premium, and Design Standard. Full versions are available for sale individually on Adobe.com.

Yes. If you have opted to receive email communications from Adobe, 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:

• Visit Adobe TV, your online source for expert insight and inspiration. Discover insider tips, innovative techniques, and behind-the-scenes tours delivered on video, on demand, helping you make the most of your Creative Suite 6 software trial.
  
• You can also browse the Design Center or Developer Connection for additional training information. 
• Join the worldwide Adobe user group community to network and build connections, master new skills, and learn from your peers. Adobe Groups provide a forum for business and creative professionals at all levels.
  

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 6 component software, or simply choose Help > Product name.  Search the online Adobe Knowledgebase in the support area.

Converting your trial is simple:  Purchase the software through the online Adobe Store (as an electronic download or as a shipped product) or from your preferred authorized reseller, store, or catalog. If you want to purchase through the Adobe Store, simply click the Buy button on the trial screen — the screen that loads when you launch your trial software. After you make your purchase, click the License This Software button on the trial screen to enter your serial number or start your subscription.

Optional: If you purchased an electronic download from the Adobe Store, log in to 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 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 CS6 product to a suite edition or to a different individual product, you may need to install the additional applications on your computer.

Yes. You can convert your trial to a point product subscription or to a Creative Cloud membership through the online Adobe Store. After you purchase your subscription or membership, click the License This Software button on the trial screen — the screen that loads when you launch your software in trial mode.  Learn more about the subscription program.

Creative Suite 6 trials allow you to evaluate individual products or editions of Creative Suite 6 and then convert the installed trial to a full version. For instance, if you tried a CS6 suite edition 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 component you want.

Alternatively, if you have tried an individual product such as Photoshop CS6 Extended, you can either convert the trial directly to the same product or convert it to one of the Creative Suite 6 editions that contains Photoshop CS6 Extended.

If you tried multiple products and purchased a suite edition that contains all of them, you can enter the suite edition serial number in one of the components and the other ones will automatically pick up the serial number. You will need to install the additional components contained in the suite edition. If you tried individual CS6 products and bought them as single products, you can simply enter the serial numbers in the respective products.

Yes, Adobe Volume Licensing customers can also convert trials by simply entering a valid license serial number. Contact your reseller or authorized Adobe License Center to place a volume licensing order. Note: To convert Acrobat X Pro, you must download and install a different version for volume licenses.

When you are converting your trial, the serial number you enter must match your trial software language set. If the language set does not match, you may need to uninstall your trial and reinstall a version that supports the desired language set.

The following is a list of the languages included in each language set: 

Americas : English, French Canadian, International English, Spanish

Japan: International English, Japanese

Continental Europe: Brazilian Portuguese, Dutch, French, German, International English, Italian, Spanish

Asia: Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, International English, Korean

Nordics: Danish, Finnish, International English, Norwegian, Swedish

Eastern Europe: Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Turkish, Ukrainian

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 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.

Yes, provided you have a qualifying earlier version of Adobe software. In this case, you may purchase an upgrade to convert your trial to a purchased version. To verify that you have an earlier version that qualifies, navigate to the product area you're interested in and click the buying guide link, and then check the upgrade eligibility chart. 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, contact Adobe Customer Service in your region for further assistance.

Yes, if you choose the download option when converting a trial to a purchased 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 software. Alternatively, follow the instructions in the email 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 media serves as your backup version.

The software license agreement accompanying your product may entitle you to install and activate the software on two systems with certain restrictions. Refer to the software license agreement for more information.