Having originally launched almost eight years ago, by now you’ve heard about Adobe’s fast-growing Creative Cloud, you’ve dispelled the common myths about it, and perhaps are considering sub­scribing to CC now that over 15 million of your colleagues already have…

You probably also know that Adobe stopped development of the older “CS” releases back in 2012, and that there have been thousands of new product features, enhancements, and perform­ance improvements added to CC since Creative Suite ended, as well as integral new services.

But did you know that no matter what you do, you can sign up right now for a zero-cost class of membership that never expires and provides free benefits for life?  Anyone can have this free level currently in 83 countries worldwide, even if you still use the older tools instead, or even if you use no other Adobe products or services at all.

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Now that the Adobe CC release has become ubiquitous with over 15 million paid customers, some folks are asking us whether the new versions of the tools in the Creative Cloud can read or save older data/document/project file formats like CS6, CS5.5, CS5, CS4 & CS3…

In fact, since Adobe’s flagship creative toolset CC 2019 is now seven major releases past CS6 from 2012 (which they no longer sell), file version compatibility can some­times be an important decision point in moving forward.

In the past, new Adobe product versions have often brought different or expanded file formats to support significant new features – and customers want to know if their existing projects will easily carry forward with them when they upgrade, or if they will be able to save back to older formats for coworkers or clients who may still be running an earlier revision of the programs…

OK then, here’s how it works. Generally, your new CC tools will be able to open and use any and all earlier CS project and data files – including CS3, CS4, CS5, CS5.5, and CS6 files – with no problem or loss of information. In other words, all Adobe software is able to read or import file formats from previous versions of the same program – and it should happen seam­lessly and automatically. The only exception to this is Premiere Pro, where it’s best to open/edit projects in the same versions that created them.

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Every autumn brings MAX – Adobe’s big annual creative conference – and every recent MAX has also brought a major new release of Creative Cloud… For instance, CC 2019 was unveiled at MAX last year, and we expect this year to be no different. In fact, Adobe has already tipped this off with a new article about changing requirements for the next Photoshop and Lightroom:

Upcoming changes for MAX 2019

As we prepare for our next major releases of Camera Raw, Lightroom Classic and Lightroom at MAX 2019, we wanted to give you a heads up on upcoming changes to our System Requirements…

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Adobe has really been sweetening the pot lately for you to try out their massive Stock photo collection… These are high-quality, curated images, illustrations, vectors, graphics, templates, photos, and more from a vast collection of over 180 million assets to choose from. After acquiring Fotolia in 2015, Adobe rolled out a one-month-free offer which was nice, but it required paying for your first month up front (which would later be refunded if you canceled).

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Over the years, we’ve put together a large collection of free Adobe books that we share with our readers here… This extensive set of helpful, no-cost books has now grown to over 30 different titles that you can legally download and use royalty-free, forever.

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Ask any creative about the favorite part of their job, and it’s unlikely someone will answer “the mundane tasks.” Things like adapting a single element across hundreds (if not thousands) of assets, or going through the pains of re-working a previewed stock photo after attaining the license. And yet, those same tasks are all-too-often a habitual part of what creatives still do today – and something Adobe has worked to streamline through the capabilities in and the tight integration of Adobe Stock and Creative Cloud Libraries.

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Here’s the new and updated edition of a very handy resource from James Wamser – a complete reference to all versions of Adobe InDesign ever released… Similar to his Photoshop and Illustrator handbooks, it’s called called the Adobe InDesign New Features Guide, 1.0 to CC (2019), and this 115-page ebook is available for free download now:

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[UPDATE – See all of Adobe’s current deals & discounts!]

Here we are, it’s that time of year again – it’s back to school, and the sales that often come with it… So for a limited time, Adobe is offering a special deal for students and teachers. In addition to the regular education discount of 60+% off of the standard price for an annual CC membership, you can now also get two months free when you prepay for your first year of Creative Cloud.

And you get the complete Creative Cloud – the latest CC 2019 desktop releases of all of the tools and services contained in the collec­tion, including Photoshop CC, Illustrator CC, InDesign CC, Lightroom CC, Dream­weaver CC, Premiere Pro CC, After Effects CC, Audi­tion CC, Acrobat DC, and more. These CC 2019 versions contain thousands of new features and improve­ments compared to 2012’s CS6.

This back-to-school offer is available in North America and South America until August 30th. In the UK, Europe, and Australia/NZ, the current special gives the low prices £16.24, 19,34€, and A$21.99 per month. Read more…

[UPDATE – See all of Adobe’s current deals & discounts!]

Adobe is running a special (and rare) Creative Cloud promotion… For a limited time, you can save US$20/month – a reduction of 25% – on Creative Cloud for Teams for your first year. That comes out to under $60 a month ($80/user/month regular price) for the entire CC collection of tools and services (“All Apps”), including thousands of new features and performance improvements, as well as ongoing product updates!

This promotion is available in the United States, Canada excluding Quebec, and Mexico… The lower pricing will be activated by this link – but hurry, this coupon offer ends August 30th, 2019:

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Here’s a very handy resource from Jamie Spencer – the complete set of essential keyboard shortcut cheat sheets for every major Adobe CC application… These comprehensive sheets can save you loads of time every day by speeding up your work and allowing you to bypass the need for mouse clicks and movements, getting you to the function you need in the fastest possible way. They are extremely helpful assets to have in your arsenal – and can easily be consulted anytime as an instant reference, or printed out in high resolution and posted, or even used as desktop wall­paper. They are completely free and available for download here:

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