[UPDATE (Oct. 2022) – The all-new Creative Cloud 2023 release has launched and is now available! See what’s new in features and all the differences compared to older versions.]
Adobe has just unveiled the new “CC” release to follow CS6 (it’s not CS7) – and one of the upgrade questions people are asking is what’s new, what’s different, what’s changed in CC (Creative Cloud 2013) compared to the previous version? The company says it “brings together everything you need to create your best work with incredible new versions of our flagship desktop tools, services that take publishing content to the next level, and making it easier than ever for creatives to collaborate and share their work worldwide.” So our job here is to give you a quick “cheat sheet” on top new features, to help you decide about upgrading…
Adobe CC (2013) updates almost all of the individual products from CS6 – including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign/InCopy, Dreamweaver, Flash Pro, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition, Prelude, SpeedGrade, and Story. In addition, Adobe Muse and the Edge family of tools are now also branded with the “CC” moniker.
The CS6 tools not revisioned to CC are Fireworks and Encore – although the CS6 versions of both continue to be available within Creative Cloud. Acrobat XI Pro and Flash Builder 4.7 are also included but remain the same editions as before.
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Adobe CC works on a subscription basis starting as low as $9.99 a month, which includes future upgrades automatically at no additional cost… The standard Creative Cloud membership includes complete access to all of the software and services for one price. Alternatively, static versions of last year’s CS6 tools & suites are still available for direct purchase for those that may prefer traditional licensing.
The new release shipped on Monday, June 17, 2013 – with brand new free trial downloads of all the CC desktop applications available via the Creative Cloud free level of membership. In addition, the CS6 free trials continue to be downloadable as well.
Adobe is offering many specials and discounts now for the new product launch, but for exact details and information on Adobe CC worldwide pricing, see their “CC Plans” page.
You can read more about why Adobe is making this move here:
« Apples, Oranges, and Creative Cloud: Thoughts on Adobe CC »
What’s New in CC (2013) vs. CS6? A Version Comparison
Some key elements of what’s new with Adobe CC generally:
- A slick and solid new Creative Cloud Desktop App that unobtrusively replaces both the Adobe Application Manager and the Creative Cloud Connection, and does file versioning too.
- Cloud-based syncing and sharing of all your customized tool settings like preferences, presets, brushes, shortcuts, workspaces, styles, fonts, colors, and more.
- The ability to share and publish your work directly from within your creative tools up to Behance in the Cloud as desired.
- 680 individual Typekit fonts will now be downloadable and installable locally on your desktop (a nearly ,000 value if purchased commercially).
- Customers with annual memberships will be now able to use all CC products for up to 99 days offline without revalidation or needing to be connected to the Internet (eventually to be 180 days).
- The new CC apps will install and work alongside any older versions of Adobe software like CS6, CS5, etc., and will be able to backsave or export to CS6 file formats.
- In fact, Creative Cloud members will have access to download and install prior versions from an archive of selected desktop releases starting from CS6 onwards.
Free Stock! Download 1,000,000+ premium assets from the new Adobe Stock Free Collection
Major New Features in Adobe CC (2013)
And here’s a quick run-through of some of the top new features in CC for major applications…
[UPDATE (October 2013) – Many more new product features (on top of those listed below) have already been added & upgraded since CC was initially released – find out more here.]
— Photoshop CC: All-new Smart Sharpen, Perspective Warp, Intelligent Upsampling, Sync Settings and Save to Cloud, New Camera Shake Reduction (Image Deblurring), Conditional Actions, Improved 3D painting & effects, Copying of CSS attributes, Editable rounded rectangles, Multi-shape and path selection, Camera Raw 8 support, all “Extended” features now included. [SEE DETAILS]
— Illustrator CC: Touch Type tool, Images in brushes, Font search, Multiple-file place, CSS extraction, File packaging, Unembedded images, On-art Free Transform, Area and point type conversion, Auto corners for pattern brushes, Sync Settings/Fonts/Colors, Faster type performance, Expanded Links panel options, a more connected Illustrator. [SEE DETAILS]
— InDesign/InCopy CC: New modern user interface, Native 64-bit support for fast performance, HiDPI and Retina display support, Instant font preview, QR Code Creator, Font favorites, Adobe Exchange panel, EPUB enhancements, Font search and filter, Sharing with Creative Cloud, Sync Fonts, InCopy now included in CC. [SEE DETAILS]
— Dreamweaver CC: New CSS Designer Tool, Modernized & streamlined workflow, enhanced Fluid Grid Layout interface, Edge Web Fonts support, Modern platform support, jQuery UI widgets, Sync Settings & Preferences, Behance Integration, Source Code Pro font for Code View. [SEE DETAILS]
— Muse CC: Create stunning effects with new Parallax scrolling, Live in-browser editing, a more connected Adobe Muse as part of the CC family. [SEE DETAILS]
— Flash Pro CC: Reengineered and streamlined user interface, New 64-bit architecture, High-definition export, Improved HTML publishing, Real-time mobile testing, Powerful new code editor, Real-time drawing, Unlimited pasteboard size, Sync Settings & Shortcuts to Cloud, Code profiling in Adobe Scout CC, Timeline time-savers, Custom metadata APIs. [SEE DETAILS]
— Premiere Pro CC: Link & Locate, Editing finesse, Lumetri Deep Color Engine, Precise audio control, New Closed captioning capabilities, Adobe Anywhere integration, Enhanced Mercury Playback Engine, Mezzanine codecs built in, High-fidelity interchange, Sync Settings, Improved multicam editing, Adobe Story panel, Project browsing, Multiple GPU export support, Adobe Exchange panel, Broad format support, Enhanced monitoring, and more. [SEE DETAILS]
— After Effects CC: Live 3D Pipeline with Cinema 4D, Refine Edge Rotoscoping Tool, Warp Stabilizer VFX, 3D Camera Tracker improvements, Pixel Motion Blur, Adobe Anywhere integration, Bicubic resampling, Streamlined user interface, Snap to Layer features, Find Missing Assets, Optimized and accelerated performance, Improved multiprocessor and GPU support, Sync Settings, and more. [SEE DETAILS]
— Audition CC: New Sound Remover Tool, Preview Editor, 64-bit performance, Frequency Band Splitter, Enhanced multitrack editing, New Sound Design tools and effects, Audio finesse, ITU loudness metering, Enhanced Spectral Display, Editable Favorites with Favorites Panel, a more connected Adobe Audition, and more. [SEE DETAILS]
— Prelude CC: Thumbnail hover-scrubbing, Rough cut export, File renaming and custom metadata on ingest, Script scenes as metadata. [SEE DETAILS]
— SpeedGrade CC: Redesigned user interface, Shot Matcher, Mercury Transmit, Film stock emulations. Powerful layer-based grading, Snapshot browser, Expanded control surface support, Adobe workflow integration. [SEE DETAILS]
These are just a few highlights of what’s new in the CC toolset as there are now over 1,000 new features since CS6.
See Also
- Free Adobe Stock! Download 1,000,000+ top images
- Don’t need full Cloud? Get PS + LR for $9.99/month
- Download free Adobe books (choose over 30 titles)
- How to save 60% with the Student & Teacher Editions
- The 10 most common myths about Creative Cloud
- How to join Adobe’s Creative Cloud for free
Do you have any questions about Creative Cloud? Just ask them below and we’ll get you answers fast!
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I’m a teacher and will probably upgrade to CC. My question is will the current education edition price be grandfathered yearly? Sounds like an awesome deal. I always upgrade, so this is actually saving $$$. I will always have CS6 to fall back on.
Hi Brandon, are you going to get the current 65-75% off deal? That is stated upfront to be a first-year promotional price, after which the rate moves to the standard 40-50% off discount for students & teachers.
Like most companies, Adobe does not guarantee their future prices in advance – however, we think the prices generally for Creative Cloud are likely to drop further going forward, rather than increase.
Finally, if you have CC upgrading from an older CS version, this article may be helpful as well:
Adobe CC-CS File Compatibility Guide for All Apps
Gostaria de receber o captivate 6 para avaliação
Hello Helder, Captivate 6 is here, and the newer version Captivate 7 is here, and the latest-and-greatest version Captivate 8 is here.
Those are direct download links for the free 30-day trials for your review.
Cool, I could buy it.
When CS6 came out I got shocked, the theme changed to black and 3D Text. A lot of things I could see.
I hope Creative Cloud isn’t the last version. If another comes out, I guess they should name it CC2 or CC3.
If this is the last version, I hope they’ll updated it. A lot of people use it today.
I had used Photoshop in its first version. Now it changes a lot.
Remember that, add more features, but be careful about bugs.
I really want to work with this software, but I don’t even know about the codes.
They could work with some software, it will be easier. Like Gimp, people can shared their own plugin but they need to script. Or share their own brushes, texts, etc.; people could play with these features for a long time.
Thank you,
Mike.
Thank you for the very good description. This should be done by Adobe – they can be grateful that you are supporting Adobe customers.
Thanks again, good job.
I have several plugins for CS6, how do i get them to CC?
Hey there Ray, that depends on the plugin and depends on the application… Some CS6 plug-ins will work fine with CC, and others need new or updated versions from the plugin makers. Which ones are you talking about in particular?
For example, many CS6 plug-ins will work with CC no problem (without changes) – but you just have to be careful how you install them.
So I am confused, I was going to buy photoshop for its photo editing abilities – is this new software just photoshop but with a new name ?
Should I still get photoshop cs6, or is this the one I should get ?
Greetings Adam, yes – Photoshop CC is definitely the Adobe Photoshop, the latest-and-greatest release of Adobe’s leading program.
There is no “CS7” – Photoshop CC is the next version after Photoshop CS6 (it replaces and is better than CS6), so CC is really like CS7…
With Photoshop CC, the world’s best photo and image editing tool gets faster performance and new features plus enhancements to existing capabilities.
The “CC” versions originally came out in June 2013, and have already been updated many times since then. The ongoing upgrades are automatically included for CC customers.
Which one you buy depends on whether you want to pay a lot of money upfront for an older version (CS6 from 2012), or an affordable monthly price (just $10) for the latest CC release.
This detailed comparison guide should help you decide:
Compare Your Options: Creative Cloud (CC) vs. Creative Suite (CS6)
Hope that fully answers your question, if not then just post back!
And here’s another way to look at it:
— Adobe’s desktop tools, previously known as Creative Suite (CS), are now branded CC (Creative Cloud) to reflect their reinvention and to support a more intuitive, connected and collaborative way of creating – the creative industry is changing and they want to access, share, collaborate in real time with the latest and greatest innovations.
— Adobe is doing away with new versions of Creative Suite – they have no plans for future releases of Creative Suite or CS products. CC is what Adobe’s flagship collection of creative tools will be known as going forward, containing newer versions of all the same applications and more.
— New creative software innovation (feature upgrades) will be delivered exclusively to Creative Cloud members and not through perpetual software any longer.
Will CC be available for a flat out purchase (specifically PS) or is the new model for Adobe a subscription basis? Simply put, can I buy a hardcopy of the latest PS and be done with it? A subscription does not really interest me.
Or if i want a hardcopy, does that mean i need to go the route of CS6? Are those essentially the only two options i have?
Thanks for the help!
Welcome Jay, the answer is no – Adobe has been very clear they are not bringing back perpetual licenses for the Creative tools, so the only way to get the latest releases now and in the future is to go with CC (Creative Cloud). CC does include free ongoing upgrades so you can stay current with the latest.
The other option as you noted is to get CS6 instead, which Adobe is still selling direct for anyone who wants it – but it’s important to note that the CS6 release is over two years old now and may not be supported on future/newer operating systems (such as Windows 10 [aka Windows 9] or Mac OS X 10.10 ‘Yosemite’). Both of those are expected out within the next 12 months, and Adobe says you should not expect any updates for any of the CS6 applications to address possible OS compatibility issues either on MacOS or Windows.
Check out this guide for more details and to help decide between the two Adobe choices:
Creative Cloud (CC) or Adobe CS6 – Which Should You Buy?
Finally, you can download the free trials of one or the other, or even both versions, if you want to try them out for yourself on your own machine:
— Download CC Free Trials
— Download CS6 Free Trials
Hope this helps!
Hello–I am a high school teacher and we are adopting CC next year. I will specifically be teaching Dreamweaver CC. Are there any high school level text books or teacher resources available yet for Dreamweaver CC? If not, is CS6 similar enough to use those text books and teacher resources with my students?
Books? Yes! Here are some terrific free ones to start with, in fact there are a few books specifically on Dreamweaver (both CC and CS6):
Download over 20 Great Adobe Books at No Cost, Learn All Products
Can I use my CS6 actions in CC, just wondering before I download. Thanks
Yes Monica, you should be able to migrate your CS6 actions to the new CC version of Photoshop… See here for more details:
Adobe Help – Moving Presets Between Different Versions of Photoshop
This may also be helpful regarding compatibility of PSD and other Adobe files:
Adobe CC and CS File Compatibility Guide for All Major Applications
Hey, we were using CS6 for creating flash panels, I just want to know whether the new version CC can be used for creating the flash panels.
Hi Prasanna, can you give a bit more detail on exactly what you want to do? Have you downloaded and run the free CC 2014 trials to try them out?
How can I get CS6 to work on windows 7 64-bit?
Hey Bill, not sure what you mean – can you please be more specific?
All CS6 programs are supported on Windows 7 and Windows 8 (though technically won’t be on Windows 10 [aka Windows 9])… See the official CS6 system requirements for more information.
As for 64-bit, quite a few of CC and CS6 tools will not run on 32-bit computers, but all will install & run on 64-bit systems.
Which is the best between adobe cs and cc?
Well, Adobe CS6 is over two years old now and while Adobe still sells it, they have said that they will not be supporting CS6 on future major operating system releases (such as Windows 10 [aka Windows 9] and the next Mac OS).
By contrast, the new CC 2014 release came out just a few weeks ago and contains over 500 new features & improvements compared to CS6 across all applications, including better performance as well as significant creative tools & services which were not available in CS6.
See this post for more details:
What’s the Difference Between Adobe CC 2014 vs. CS6, CS5, CS4, CS3?
With CC you also get all ongoing upgrades to your products included at no additional cost, as soon as they’re available. There are multiple plans available at different price points, from a single application to the entire collection with almost everything Adobe makes.
I’m using CS6 on a Windows 7 box and it is still performing just as well as ever. Earlier this year I upgraded my camera to the (current best general purpose HD cam) Sony PMW-300 and the 50Mbit 4:2:2 XDCAM codec edits and plays beautifully. CS6 is very stable and mature, enabling me to concentrate on getting the work done without having to keep paying extra.
That’s great Andrew, and there’s nobody forcing you to upgrade… In fairness though, one could say the same types of things about most software that you’ve run on your system for awhile.
So you might still be able to use old(er) versions of Photoshop, but we would argue that in terms of features, performance, and other improvements, you can’t miss what you’re not running… How much potential time saved and productivity might you be giving up by not advancing with the state of the art? It’s hard to say, but we use CC 2014 every day now and wouldn’t want to go back.
Finally, Photoshop CS6 Extended (full) costs $999 for someone who doesn’t have it… So that is a huge upfront expense. How many of years of $10/month on the new CC Photography Plan (with the inclusion of Lightroom plus all ongoing upgrades) would that equate to?
As an non-professional illustrator of books, I create watercolour artworks and scan them into PS Elements to fine tune them. The author supplies me with Word text which I then convert to a PDF and drop onto the appropriate page.
There were many many steps to do this and text manoeuvring/manipulation and editing proved painfully long winded. And now the printer wanted me to add a “bleed” and the CMYK files (which I couldn’t as I had no idea how to). So now I’m considering using Adobe InDesign for the next books.
Am I on the right track? I already have LR5 and PSE12.
I use an Apple laptop (I travel a lot but continue to work) and a desktop Windows 7 when at home. Can I get both versions for the one price?
Will CC 2014 – specifically InDesign be able to do all I need?
Having used PSE for quite a number of years now, is InDesign similar or will I have to relearn from the beginning?
Hi Sally, InDesign and Photoshop do different things – but it sounds like InDesign is really what you need from what you’ve described of your work…
Photoshop is the world’s best image editor, while InDesign is a page layout and desktop publishing application. Creative Cloud includes both tools (with the pro/full version of Photoshop instead of Elements), and they are fully-integrated which means they work well and smoothly together.
Photoshop CC can also do the CMYK color model for printers, which Elements cannot do.
Acrobat XI Pro and Lightroom are also part of the Creative Cloud bundle, as is Adobe Illustrator if you ever wish to try/use that in your work. See everything that CC contains.
So considering what you outlined, it sounds like your best bet would really be to download and run a free trial of CC 2014 and see how you make out. It’s fully-functional and won’t cost you a cent for the first 30 days to try out (or possibly up to 44 days).
To get started actually learning the tools, check out Adobe’s Learn Creative Cloud tutorials.
There are also over 20 Adobe books you can legally download for free.
Hopefully that fully answers your questions, if not just post back!
We love the new Adobe cloud products, a much more convenient and manageable way of buying these great tools.
A few questions:
1) I already have LR 5 but not PS and am interested in the LR+PS deal. Will purchasing this download LR to my computer?
2) How will this affect my catalog? If I choose to unsubscribe in the future, what will happen to my ability to use LR and any updates, i.e. will it revert back to the most current version within LR5?
3) I am considering moving to Mac from Windows in the next year or so. How will that affect me if I purchase under the PC setting?
4) Is it easy to transfer ownership of the software if I get a new computer (e.g. Windows to Mac)?
Thank you so much!
Great questions Jay. Here are the answers:
1) With all Creative Cloud plans, you can pick and choose which apps you want to use… You are not required to download tools that you don’t want to use at the moment. So you can continue using your current perpetual/fixed copy of Lightroom 5 as you have, or you could easily switch it over to the subscription plan and also get ongoing upgrades included. It’s your choice.
2) Answer here:
What Happens to Lightroom in CC After My Membership Ends?
3) Yes, no problem with CC:
Can You Run Creative Cloud on Both PC and Mac, on Two Platforms?
4) Yes, you can easily move the CC apps:
How to Transfer Adobe CC Between Systems, or from Windows to Mac
If that doesn’t address everything you wanted to know, feel free to follow up.
We have developed in the past some .Net code (VB.NET) for managing CS5 documents, open/save, manage contents, and so on.
One of our students has installed the CC2014 free trial in preview to ensure compatibility, and our VB.Net code no longer works as expected – it does not work at all.
Can you please forward me what has been changed on API level that can break compatibility with external tools (not addins) developed with .Net Visual Studio ?
Are there any changes we must take into consideration if we decide to switch to CC2014 from CS5/6 ?
Hello Paolo, do you mean you’re using Adobe’s Scripting API for the tools? Here are the scripting and reference guides for the different releases of Photoshop, going from CS2 to CC – you may want to take a look and see what might have changed between CS6 and CC 2014.
Can you please let me know if I can open a PDF file and convert it to DWG with Adobe Illustrator CS6?
Yes Veronica, Adobe Illustrator (CC or CS6) can read/open PDF (Acrobat) files and then convert or export them as DWG (AutoCAD Drawing) format… For more details, see:
Illustrator Help – Importing Adobe PDF Files
and
Illustrator Help – Exporting Artwork
What are compatible classes and files for
IImportFileCmdData.h,
IFrameComposer.h,
IScriptEventData.h (from cs3)
in CC
Sir, can I change the background of a video without a green screen in after effects cc, as in cs6 I can do in easily where can I change it or not using adobe after effects cc 2016
Sure, try doing Rotoscoping – or using the Roto Brush – in After Effects CC.