Next to our Adobe software direct download links, easily the most popular resource here at ProDesignTools is the set of free Adobe books that we’ve put together over the years…

So we’re pleased to announce that, with the recent addition of the Adobe Illustrator New Features Guide, this no-cost collection has now grown to more than 30 different titles that you can legally download and use royalty-free, forever. These eBooks comprise thousands of pages covering the CC and CS releases of all major Adobe products. So before you go and spend money for a book, you might want to check these out first!

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With the fast-growing adoption of Adobe’s Creative Cloud and the recent release of the all-new CC 2019 versions of creative applications, some readers are telling us they’re not certain if they need all the tools that are included in the complete Creative Cloud offering, or aren’t ready or able to join for US$50 a month…

The complete (or All Apps) Creative Cloud membership gives you the latest-and-greatest versions of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat, Dreamweaver, Animate (Flash Pro), Adobe XD, Dimension, Character Animator, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition, and others – together in a well-integrated suite with ongoing product upgrades included as soon as they’re available.

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With tight production and delivery schedules, the ability to repair or re-purpose a shot can make a big difference. First introduced and evolved in Photoshop, Content-Aware Fill for Video is now available to editors and visual effects artists allowing you to remove unwanted elements from video clips, such as production equipment, boom microphones, vehicles, people, signs, logos, or special effects wires that have inadvertently been included in a shot.

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“Creative Treat” to Be Part of New Accuracy-in-Naming Initiative

SAN JOSE, Calif.—April 1, 2019—Citing continued confusion over the Creative Cloud name introduced seven years ago, Adobe Systems announced today that it is relaunching its flagship product line as “Creative Treat.”

Commenting on the move, Founder John Adobe explained that too many people were still thinking Creative Cloud meant that mainline desktop tools like Photoshop and Illustrator were run­ning as online applica­tions in a web browser – something he says will never actually happen.

“Creative Suite was the old model, and Creative Cloud is the new model,” Mr. Adobe said. “And yes, it has some important cloud-based services – but now with Creative Treat, we finally have a name that represents the sweet experience you should expect as a customer when using all these great tools,” he added.

Origins of the New Name

“With the thousands of innovations added since the release of CS6, plus complete access to full versions of all our top software for an affordable price, using these delicious new creative prod­ucts is really a treat, most of all,” he explained.

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Here’s a very helpful resource out from James Wamser – a complete reference to all versions and features of Adobe Illustrator from CS6 to CC 2019… Similar to his InDesign and Photoshop handbooks, it’s called the Adobe Illustrator New Features Guide: From CS6 to CC – and this 38-page ebook is available for free download now:

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We’re on the Adobe Help Forums every day and regularly see users posting queries like “Can’t install Photoshop from the Creative Cloud” or “CC 2019 won’t download,” or “my product updates aren’t working”… It could be for the free trials or for the full paid versions.

Often the issue is related to one or the other download managers (DLM) that Adobe uses to deliver its software install­ers. Over the years and for various tools, they have used the Akamai Down­load Manager, the Adobe Down­load Assistant (ADA), the Adobe Applica­tion Manager (AAM), and now the Creative Cloud’s CC Desktop App.

Adobe employs these helper utilities because their downloads are usually large – multiple gigabytes – and download managers can help correct for unreliable Internet connections, and resume a download after it has been paused or unexpectedly broken.

But it turns out there can be interactions between the DLM and configurations of your computer, web browser, anti-virus software, Internet connection, or something else which causes it not to work. Read more…

One of the biggest strengths of the Adobe CC 2019 release is receiving a complete set of creative tools with an ongoing stream of updates included at no extra cost… We no longer have to wait years for our products to innovate and keep pace with evolving technologies; instead we receive the latest and greatest features and improvements as soon as they are ready.

Since the initial launch of CC in 2013, Adobe has regularly issued new upgrades for each individual app about once every 3-4 months, bringing new power and capabilities to all subscribers.

Normally the Creative Cloud works seamlessly with these ongoing product updates… The CC Desktop App runs quietly in the System Tray and notifies the customer that a new upgrade is avail­able for any of the included applications like Photoshop CC, and (optionally whenever desired) the user clicks one button to auto­matically download and install the update in the back­ground.

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Last October, Adobe unveiled the new CC 2019 Release, which the company says is the biggest product launch since they first introduced Creative Cloud over six years ago. Pam Clark, Senior Director for Photoshop, exclaimed, “Today is by far the largest product announcement and launch experience of my career on the Photoshop team, and at Adobe. We have never delivered so much amazing new innovation to customers on the same day. I can’t wait to see what you create!”

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With over 15 million paid members for Creative Cloud and growing, we often get this question from readers: “What’s a good book to get started with the most popular Adobe tools?” While there are a lot of great CC books for sale on Amazon, why not begin with an excellent title that’s available to everyone for free, and that you can download instantly?

Over the years, we’ve compiled a collection of over 30 free books that you can download and use for learning all of Adobe’s different creative tools… But there’s one volume that always stands out as a favorite – and even better, it has just been republished in a brand new expanded edition for the CC 2019 tools.

So if you’re just getting going with (or would like a solid primer covering) the core Creative Cloud design tools, then what better than a step-by-step guide that will teach you the essentials of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Adobe XD, and Muse from the ground up?

So here it is: the very helpful “Adobe CC Design Basics” that will give you all of this for free, courtesy of author Professor Thomas Payne… The book works by intro­ducing and explain­ing the tools in a logical way that builds upon what is previ­ously learned. These applica­tions present a vast array of buttons and gadgets that can be over­whelming to the new user. This book makes sense of it all, not showing how every­thing works, but instead giving a found­ation and a path to learn about all those controls and what they can do for you.

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Let’s face it, Adobe’s traditional product prices seemed expensive over the years, espe­cially if you’re on a student’s budget. The last perpetual version available, Creative Suite 6 from 2012, historically had full prices ranging from $399 for Dream­weaver through $999 for Photoshop Extended and on up to $2,599 upfront for the Master Collection suite, which contained all CS6 applications. As cool and powerful as this software was, it’s hard to afford when you’re in school – even after the student/teacher discount.

Adobe eventually stopped selling CS6, as the version reached EOL and end of support – but fortunately the company still offers deep discounts for education customers on the latest CC release. A few years ago, in fact, they increased the discount on Creative Cloud to up to 70% off the regular prices. And while there are a lot of misconceptions about CC, the main products like Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere, etc., still download and run on your desktop as normal.

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