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Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 FAQ - Your Top Questions Answered

Last week Adobe unveiled Creative Suite 5.5 and held an expert session to address common questions and answers about the new release. We covered part of this session in our earlier piece on the free-upgrade grace period for CS 5.5

Learn More about Adobe Creative Suite 5.5

And here, without further ado, is the rest of the shared knowledge from those Adobe Evangelists.

If you have any questions at all about the release that are not answered here or by our CS5.5 launch overview, or comparison to CS5, or new product feature articles, just leave them in the comments below and we’ll get answers!

Topics

Upgrading to CS5.5

 Q:  What will the upgrade options be for owners of CS5 Master Collection suite?
 A:  Best to check here for all the pricing and your individual upgrade case.
 Q:  I’ve recently bought the design pro version… what are the upgrade costs?
 A:  You can find the configurations and upgrade info here.
 Q:  Will there be a ‘Student and Teacher’ upgrade option – will the education discount be available for the upgrade price?
 A:  You can find out more info on the Student & Teacher Editions here.
 Q:  OK, the upgrade price is cheaper… I thought I recalled that upgrade versions are not available in Education store, and looks to be the case here (just full versions)… thanks.
 A:  I don’t believe student editions receive upgrade discounts. Rather, you can upgrade your current student edition to the full commercial version of CS5.5 at the discounted price.
 Q:  If I have the Student version of CS5 Master suite, how much will it cost to upgrade? Will there be student upgrade pricing to CS 5.5?
 A:  In the U.S., the education store only offers the full version for $899, and regular upgrade is $549 for everyone at the commercial store.

With Multiple Versions

 Q:  Does CS5.5 install over CS5 suite? Or, does one have to remove CS5 first? Or, can you have both installs running on the same computer?
 A:  CS5.5 installs alongside of CS5, so, yes, you can have both. It is best to remove CS5 of course, but in most programs you can run them side by side. For instance, I can have Flash CS5 and CS5.5 open at the same time!
 Q:  If you’ve got licenses for both the Design and Production bundles, for instance, can they be installed one atop the other?
 A:  Yes, because when you run the second installer it will see the apps already installed and not install them again.
 Q:  Is CS5.5 backwards compatible with CS5?
 A:  Yes, for the most part most of the apps will save back to 5.0 formats. Flash for instance, has a ton of new features that require a CS5.5 file format, but it can be downsaved. InDesign will export to .IDML which can be opened in previous versions 5-4, 5.5 to 5 to 4. There are some new features which may not work, but you can open and use the file. Or you can use external InDesign downsaving services which will do this for you for a nominal fee (from CS5.5 to CS5, CS4, CS3, CS2, or even CS[1]).
 Q:  I’d like to know more about compatibility between earlier releases… Which CS5.5 products have different file formats than their CS5 versions – and of those products, is it possible or easy to save back to the CS5 (or CS4) format?
 A:  Product-by-product will backwards-save depending on the application. For example, InDesign can go back to CS5 or CS4 via IDML, as outlined in the previous question. Adobe After Effects CS5.5 has the ability to save back to CS5; there’s actually a File > Save As option to do so. While Premiere Pro does not have an official save-back-to-old-version option (and it’s technically not supported) we’ve had some customers with fairly good success doing so. In Flash Professional, you can save in XFL format for CS5, or Flash CS4 format to go further back, although you may lose some newer features. For more infor­mation and details, see this guide to compatibility between versions.

CS5.5 Subscriptions

 Q:  On the subscription editions – is Adobe totally doing away with full software purchases and moving entirely to subscription-based only?
 A:  No, not by a longshot. Regular software purchases will continue to be the vast majority, per Adobe’s CEO… The subscription offering will help fit some cases.
 Q:  Will this be online software for access in the cloud only, or do you actually download the apps and run on the desktop?
 A:  It’s not hosted in the cloud – you have to download and install it.
 Q:  Will the subscriptions be sold in the retail channel?
 A:  Subscriptions will not be sold in the channel now, only direct from Adobe.
 Q:  Is there an education version for the subscriptions?
 A:  For CS5.5, we are selling subscriptions for the commercial market only.
 Q:  Will these subscription editions require a constant Internet connection? Can they be used if the user doesn’t have a persistent online connection? e.g., corporate or government intranet
 A:  You need an active connection to re-validate the subscription, at the minimum once per month starting with the installation.
 Q:  Are you able to continue using the software at all after stopping paying the monthly fee? For a lapsed subscriber, does the program not launch, do you get the upgrade screen, or something else?
 A:  The program won’t launch and we will show messaging why.
 Q:  So essentially the CS5.5 subscription is more of a rental for companies or people looking for temporary access of Adobe software?? It is not cost effective otherwise for a steady user, except for the capability to start designing monthly before buying outright. The perpetual license is much more affordable with updates than a subscription.
 A:  Yes, a subscription is a solution for companies looking for temporary access to Adobe Creative Suite (i.e. a part-time contractor), and it is also for customers who cannot afford the large up-front cost. Another benefit our customers tell us is the more flexible and predictable budget planning.
 Q:  Is the software platform-specific, or will one license work and run on both operating systems (Windows and Mac)?
 A:  It is platform-specific only.
 Q:  Will subscriptions be available under any Adobe Volume License deal?
 A:  We have no plans for making subscriptions available to volume licensing customers at this time.

General Questions

 Q:  Will CS5.5 still be a two-machine license?
 A:  We still allow customers to install on one primary and one secondary computer.
 Q:  How will the release of CS5.5 effect the Adobe Certified Expert (ACE), Associate (ACA), and Instructor (ACI) programs?
 A:  It shouldn’t affect it at all. You should be good! There won’t be an additional certification exam to become an ACE in Flash 5.5. It will just be CS5 until CS6 is released.
 Q:  Will the maintenance program be available for those on the full suites already, and will CS5.5 be covered by it?
 A:  Yes, maintenance contracts will still be available, and include Creative Suite 5.5.
 Q:  Could somebody explain why the large price difference between the US and Europe?
 A:  Pricing is higher in Europe on many goods, not just software, so it’s important to under­stand why. Adobe pricing is influenced by many factors including value of product in local market, customer research, the specific market requirements, and the cost of doing business in that market. Unlike the economies of scale achieved in the large standardized US market, the EU, for example, has 10 major languages, 4 major currencies and diverse regional markets. Therefore, the costs of doing business in the European market are considerably higher per unit of revenue than in the US.

Acrobat X

 Q:  Why isn’t Adobe Acrobat on the same release schedule as the rest of the products?
 A:  It’s a different cycle and may never be aligned with the suite as it addresses a large and somewhat different corporate market in addition to CS customers.

Audition CS5.5

 Q:  When is the Adobe Audition launching? Will it be available a la carte?
 A:  Audition will be part of Production Premium, Master Collection, and will also be a standalone product, to be purchased separately if you desire.
 Q:  Is there anything in particular you would like to tell us about Audition in this new version of CS 5.5?
 A:  Incredibly fast processing engine; the ability to open and simultaneously work on multiple sessions; lightning-fast batch processing and multitasking (ie, process files while continuing to work on others) and the biggest feature for users of “other” DAWs and NLEs…OMF & Final Cut XML Exchange.
 Q:  Will Audition CS 5.5 now support AC-3 export for 5.1 surround sound files natively without the use of a third-party plugin?
 A:  Audition CS5.5 does not currently have the ability to export AC-3 directly; you would have to go through Premiere Pro (using SurCode) to do this. However, with the new integration between Premiere Pro and Audition CS5.5, it’s a much smoother workflow than ever before.
 Q:  Will Audition be Adobe’s solution for ADR?
 A:  While you could in theory use Audition for ADR, in this new version we weren’t able to add in all of the (ADR-styled) capabilities of the previous Windows-Only version (where you could loop subsequent takes, and choose a ‘best’ from the take history). So, it can be done, and you have the ability to view video and overdub…but the take history from before is not present.

Dreamweaver CS5.5

 Q:  What are some of the new improve­ments to Dreamweaver CS5.5 in the area of HTML5 and CSS3 support that the Dreamweaver HTML5 Pack 1.2.7 in the Dreamweaver CS5 11.0.3 updater did not include?
 A:  Greg’s got a great post in detail.
 Q:  Is there going to be an update for the HTML5 Pack 1.2.7 for DW CS5?
 A:  Everything is baked in – have a look at the post linked above.
 Q:  Does Dreamweaver CS5.5 support RGBA colors?
 A:  YES! And HSLa too! I just wrote up what’s new here and recorded an hour-long deep-dive with all the details…
 Q:  I want to build a mobile app in Dreamweaver. Can I do that now?
 A:  Well, glad you asked! YES! See the article and deep-dive linked above, including the new jQuery Mobile and Phonegap integration.
 Q:  What new functionality will Dreamweaver 5.5 have in terms of CMS management?
 A:  We’ve made no changes to the level of CMS support from CS5 – in other words, WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and ExpressionEngine are all supported. Other PHP-based CMS’s should also work, however, we’ve not tested against them.
 Q:  How does Adobe plan to update free frameworks such as jQuery Mobile inside Dream­weaver since they often release new versions? Is it going to require a software update?
 A:  We will ship with the most current version of the framework. After that, we will be able to update the frameworks, but if you want to do it on your own, we’re going to be posting a “how to.”
 Q:  Is there any impact to integration with Business Catalyst?
 A:  Not in this release. The Dreamweaver team is working very closely with the Business Catalyst team.

Fireworks CS5

 Q:  What are some of the great tweaks in Fireworks CS5.5?
 A:  Nothing new in Fireworks this time around (remember, this is a dot release to keep up with trends in the industry). But the team is hard at work, never fear!
[Ed Note: There will actually be some new changes coming in Fireworks CS5.1 – thanks YL.]

Flash CS5.5

 Q:  How does Flash CS5.5 support video embedding and editing?
 A:  You’d do most of your editing in a Premiere Pro or After Effects. Or you can do some trimming etc in Adobe Media Encoder CS5.5. Concerning embedding, it works just like before. Import, then decide whether you want the video embedded in the SWF (for very small video files) or external (preferred).
 Q:  How is this latest update going to change (or have potential to change) the web design/development workflow?
 A:  If you’re using Flash Catalyst and Flash Builder, there is a bi-directional workflow. Create a custom component in FB and “skin” it in Flash Catalyst.
 Q:  How long before iOS and BlackBerry support update on the new Flash Builder 4.5?
 A:  It’s coming really soon. I’ll check to see if I can find a better approximation.
 Q:  Why didn’t anyone here say CS5.5 FINALLY includes Flash Builder Premium!!
 A:  You’re right, thanks – that’s a biggie and adds new value to the suites.

Illustrator CS5

 Q:  Just so I’m clear: Illustrator doesn’t change from CS5 to CS5.5, correct? 95% of my CS use is Illy.
 A:  Correct, Illustrator did not change for CS5.5.

InDesign CS5.5

 Q:  To what extent will Adobe Digital Publishing Suite take part in all this – is DPS going to be included with CS5.5?
 A:  DPS itself is not part of Creative Suite… but you can use Creative Suite to author content for it.
 Q:  Will Overlay Creator and Content Bundler come with ID?
 A:  Yes – please see this story.
 Q:  On designing e-books with InDesign. Other solutions to offer clients to go to the iPad? What is your take on third party solutions? like RovingBird Epublisher?
 A:  Making ePub (eBooks) with InDesign CS5.5 has become very easy. The engineers rewrote the whole export to ePub module. The result is now very clean XHTML and CSS code.
 Q:  Can you explain the process of taking your finished digital magazine to the iPad or other digital devices? How does one create a dedicated iPad app for their magazine?
 A:  In order to create a magazine App with Digital Publishing Suite you would have to go through our hosted solution in which Adobe is building the branded App for you. Otherwise, you can side load a .folio file into the Free Adobe Content viewer App on the App Store.
 Q:  What is the simplest way to go from InDesign to iPad? Is there a direct export? Or is the only way to go through Content Bundler? Is Wallaby necessary? I’m looking for a simple solution with as little coding as possible. I would like some movement, the ability to add audio and video, buttons, and slideshows.
 A:  That depends on what kind of content you want to produce? currently you can go: .PDF, .folio into the content viewer App, or ePUB into the iBooks app. The .folio (formally called .issue) is produced with the DPS now built into InDesign CS5.5. Have a look at the Digital Publishing Suite on labs.adobe.com, and yes you can do all those things with it.
 Q:  Will we be able to turn off the hover in InDesign CS5.5?
 A:  Yep :)

Photoshop CS5

 Q:  Where can we learn more about creating mobile apps that link to Photoshop?
 A:  It’s our new Photoshop Touch software and it enables devices to work with Photoshop on the desktop.
 Q:  Do you guys ever see a future where content is made entirely on tablet devices such as the iPad, as opposed to on a desktop computer? In the future I’d love to see a much more fully fledged Photoshop for iPad, instead of just using it to control the desktop counterpart. However, great start with Photoshop Nav and the others, very interested to see how they work!
 A:  I think for the foreseeable future you will see apps continued to be optimized for the platforms. A full-blown Photoshop may not be feasible for a while as the tablets themselves don’t have the RAM. Also you probably don’t need all that the desktop version offers in a tablet form at least for now. The future could be very different if the processor speed and memory advance on tablets.
 Q:  Does anyone else wish for improve­ments to Photoshop actions? Working with a lot of web graphics, I often need to apply the same effect to a batch of images, but, I need to be able to develop an action quickly. Sometimes I feel like getting the kinks out of an actions takes longer than if I just went ahead and finished the images myself. I feel like the functionality could be a bit smarter and ignore hang-ups like “Layer X is not available”, etc.
 A:  Yes, I concur with your comment. I like the potential, but it does take some toying around to get the effect you want and I tend to figure out another way to do it that takes less time than figuring out the action way :)
 Q:  I was thinking of taking up Photoshop CS5 ACE Exam, but would you recommend to just wait for CS 5.5, so I could be certified for the latest version?
 A:  There won’t be a Photoshop CS5.5 ACE, as there is no Photoshop CS5.5. PS remains at CS5 and therefore the test won’t change.

Premiere & AE CS5.5

 Q:  When will full stereoscopic 3D editing and control, export come to the Creative Suite line? Supporting Cineform Neo3D is lovely but more than the entire Master Collection. We need a reliable Adobe solution in Premiere Pro and After Effects.
 A:  Cineform is the current solution we’re promoting as it truly allows for the fastest and most reliable way to quickly capture/Xcode and edit 3D media quickly and efficiently, while maintaining non-destructive color-grading and high-bit depth capabilities with their First Light application. In CS5.5, you have very functional capabilities working with the (Cineform 3D) files in both Premiere and After Effects. But yes, we’re always looking into and investigating alternative possibilities.
 Q:  How’s R3D support in Premiere Pro 5.5? Will it have all capabilities of Redcine-x built into it? What about Epic, HDRx, etc? And is all of this CUDA supported?
 A:  R3D support is enhanced in PPRO CS5.5, including a newly-revamped Source Settings panel (with better support for RMDs); we are also showcasing RED Epic here at NAB (and epic support will be available as a labs release in May); no comment on HDRx at present. And while R3D is *not* CUDA accelerated, Red Rocket support (which has been in PPRO since the 5.02 update) will certainly accelerate things.
 Q:  Where can I find the list of the Mercury supported video cards, including laptops please?
 A:  Typing these manually… here you go: GTX285, 470, 570, 580, Quadro FX 3700m, 3800, 3800m, 4800, 5800, Quadro 2000, 2000D, 2000M, 3000M, 4000, 4000M, 5000, 5000M, 5010M, 6000, Quadro CX.

Soundbooth CS5

 Q:  So is Soundbooth officially end-of-life?
 A:  Soundbooth has officially been ‘replaced’ by Audition CS5.5. We will continue to support it for sometime…but it is no longer available as a standalone product or within Creative Suite. Yes Soundbooth is (was) good. But trust me, once you play around in Audition…OMG

Other Questions?

If you have any questions about Creative Suite 5.5 that are not answered above, please ask them in the comments below and we will get you speedy answers!

See also:

Adobe’s second Ask a CS Pro session for CS5.5 with different questions and answers.

Our release guide for CS5.5, and a version comparison between CS5 vs. CS5.5.

What they said about the grace period for free upgrades to CS5.5.

You might also like to know when Adobe CS6 would be due.

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80 thoughts on “Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 FAQ - Your Top Questions Answered”

  1. Hallo, benötige eine genaue Anleitung um in Adobe pro c5.5 Surround zu erstellen.

    Benötige ich ein SurCode für Dolby Digital 5.1 Encoder Plug-In für Adobe Premiere Pro ?

    fg Sepp Furrer

    Reply
  2. Hallo, Danke für die Infos, ich bin aber schon seit 3 Stunden am Ausprobieren ohne Erfolg.

    Ich habe pro C5.5 und After Effekt und Audition Encore usw. Ich habe in der Audio Spur 4 und 5 eine mp3 Musik die ich einfach an allen LS Ausgeben möchte mit 5.1 im Mix Fenster wird der Regler B Quatrad für 5.1 nicht Angezeigt wie Schalte ich den Frei? Bitte um Antwort. Danke fg Sepp

    Reply
  3. Hello there,

    I am building an iPAD app using the Adobe InDesign and DPS solutions. However, I am unsure if a hover effect – similar to a javascript hover effect on a web page – is possible in your solution set? I have heard different reports. I am trying to build nav buttons that will become visible when the slide over an image occurs…as opposed to a tap.

    Thanks in advance
    Dave

    Reply
    • Hi David, that’s an interesting scenario. What you’ve no doubt heard is that touch-based mobile devices and tablets don’t have the natural ability to hover or mouseover as there is no mouse of course… There is some finagling you can do on this account, but it may not be what you want – and often the best approach is to try to rethink your user interface.

      For example, instead of changing the visible nav buttons on a slide or swipe, you might change them on a tap – which possibly could be simpler and more intuitive for the user, depending on what you’re trying to accomplish.

      You mentioned you’ve heard different reports though, so if you succeed in an alternate solution closer to what you envisioned, please do come back and share it.

      Hope this helps!

  4. My question deals with hairline clicks I’m getting while recording my voice into Adobe Audition CS5.5.

    I’m aware that these are mouth clicks, but in all my years working with Cool Edit and Adobe 3.0 in a broadcast studio at various radio studios during production I never experienced any of these audible clicks. Here’s something I find to be interesting – I also have Audacity and Sound Forge and I get absolutely no clicks whatsoever. I’m beginning to believe that there must be a sensitivity setting for CS5.5 that I’m not aware of that could possibly eliminate this. I’m using a Shure SM7B mic connected to a Roland Quad-Capture and this is connected via USB to my computer. Would your Evangelist team help me with this annoying experience I’m having? I’ve learned so much from these forums. Please let me know when the answer is posted. Thanks so much.

    Ed

    Reply
  5. hi i have some questions concerning about centering an image.

    When i open dreamweaver i can successfully center an image using AP div and the image was perfectly centered at the background. However when i preview it in my web broswer, it shows otherwise and the image is not at the center of the background. I am a dreamweaver newbie, Please help thanks :D

    Reply
  6. @ProDesignTools

    Thank you, thank you. My setting was on MME and when clicking the drop down window it gave me the option of selecting AISO which I have done.

    I know you guys always have a good answer and I appreciate it.

    Ed

    Reply
  7. Hallo ich brauch eine anleitung oder ein handbuch fuer adobe audition c5.5 … mein rechner erkennt mein microfon an nur das programm nich… danke

    Reply
  8. Hi, we have a client which has Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 and Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 installed on his computer in order to do a comparision. Dreamweaver CS5 was installed first. When trying to run them side by side it doesn’t work. Can it be done and if so, how?

    Thanks.

    Reply
    • Hi Anne-Marie, what do you mean by “it doesn’t work”? What exactly happens (or doesn’t happen)?

      Ideally CS5 would be the second one installed… One thing to try would be to uninstall both, run the Adobe CS Cleaner Tool, and reinstall in natural order.

      Another question would be why was CS3 installed after CS5 on the same machine?

  9. Hi Everybody: I’d like to share a situation I had using a Roland Quad-Capture USB unit for voice recording and mixing with Adobe CS5.5. Somehow I accidentally clicked on the wrong button in one of the programs that you’ll find by right clicking on the speaker icon at the bottom right of your screen. This totally wiped out my settings in the Adobe CS5.5 Audio Hardware setup. You’ll find it by clicking on EDIT-Preferences and Audio hardware. Since things were messed up I could not record myself or record what I hear on my computer.

    I won’t go any further except to say this was a nightmare tracing down. If anyone is experiencing this problem they can contact me and I’ll gladly share the proper settings to get back up and running. All I ask is for Adobe to furnish me with the email address of those interested so I can answer them. By the way – it was Adobe technicians that got me squared away. Thanks Adobe!!!!!

    Reply
    • Sure Ed – thank you so much for sharing that issue and solution, and also offering to help others… We’d be happy to pass along to you the details of anybody here who would like or need that sort of information, and posts a comment requesting it.

  10. I bought a brand new, and as yet, un-installed copy of CS5.5 Premium.

    In the FAQ section above, I saw no references to 32-bit vs 64 bit OS .

    I am presently running XP Pro, but am prepared to update to Win 7 if required.

    Is it a prerequisite that CS5.5 run exclusively in 64 bits, or will it run in 32-bit XP, ’till such time as I build a new machine and install a 64-bit OS? I understand the memory limitations of a 32-bit OS.

    Gord Clark
    Rockburn, Qué.

    Reply
  11. If anyone can answer this question, I know you can. In Adobe Audition CS5.5 I can cut up my audio tracks in Multitrack by using Control K. How can I do the same in the Waveform (Edit) Window?

    In Adobe Audition 3.0 the F8 key cuts up selected audio in the Edit window. By cutting up the audio in the Edit window you are marking it and can drag these cut up files into the multitrack for placement in doing a production. Can you help??????

    This back and forth Q&A we have regarding Adobe recording software or DAW is fantastic and I appreciate all you do in getting the answer(s). Keep up the great work! Ed

    Reply
  12. No problem – I understand. I need to find me a broadcast production type whe delves into this kinda stuff.

    You’d think Adobe would keep the steps in doing things uniform. Like you said maybe someone will see the posting and answer it… Thanks for keeping my question posted. Ed

    Reply
  13. hi guys. I imported a photo jpg to premiere and the photo shows up gigantic in timeline.

    what happened? if somebody knows the answer please help me

    Reply

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