A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
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| Developer(s) | Adobe Systems |
|---|---|
| Initial release | September 29, 2003 |
| Final release | Creative Suite 6
/ May 7, 2012 |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows, OS X |
| Platform | IA-32 (limited), PowerPC (limited), x86-64 |
| Successor | Adobe Creative Cloud |
| Type | Digital media creation and editing |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | www |
Adobe Creative Suite (CS) is a discontinued software suite of graphic design, video editing, and web development applications developed by Adobe Systems.
The last of the Creative Suite versions, Adobe Creative Suite 6 (CS6), was launched at a release event on April 23, 2012, and released on May 7, 2012.[1] CS6 was the last of the Adobe design tools to be physically shipped as boxed software as future releases and updates would be delivered via download only.
On May 6, 2013, Adobe announced that CS6 would be the last version of the Creative Suite,[2][3][4] and that future versions of their creative software would only be available via their Adobe Creative Cloud subscription model. Adobe also announced that it would continue to support CS6 and would provide bug fixes and security updates through the next major upgrades of both Mac and Windows operating systems (as of 2013).[5] The Creative Suite packages were pulled from Adobe's online store in 2013,[6] but were still available on their website until January 2017.[7]
Applications
The following table shows the different details of the core applications in the various Adobe Creative Suite editions. Each edition may come with all these apps included or only a subset.
| Product name | Timeline
history |
Available in | Transitioned to
Creative Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acrobat | since Creative
Suite 1 |
Design Collection
Design & Web Collection Master Collection |
Yes |
| After Effects | since Creative
Suite 3 |
Production Premium
Master Collection | |
| Audition | since Creative
Suite 5.5 | ||
| Bridge | since Creative
Suite 2 |
Design Collection
Design & Web Collection Production Premium Master Collection | |
| Contribute | from Creative
Suite 3 until Creative Suite 5.5 |
Design & Web Collection
Master Collection |
Merged with |
| Device Central | Design Collection
Design & Web Collection Production Premium Master Collection |
Replaced by
desktop app | |
| Dreamweaver | since Creative
Suite 2 |
Design & Web Collection
Master Collection |
Yes |
| Dynamic Link | since Creative
Suite 1 |
Production Premium
Master Collection | |
| Encore (formerly Encore DVD) | since Creative
Suite 3 |
Merged with | |
| Fireworks | Design & Web Collection | Merged with | |
| Express | since Creative Suite 5.5 | Creative Cloud | |
| Flash Builder | since Creative
Suite 5 |
Yes | |
| Flash Catalyst | from Creative
Suite 5 until Creative Suite 5.5 |
Design Collection
Design & Web Collection Production Premium Master Collection |
No |
| Flash Professional (now Animate) | since Creative
Suite 3 |
Design & Web Collection
Production Premium Master Collection |
Yes |
| GoLive | until Creative
Suite 2 |
Premium Edition | Replaced by |
| Illustrator | since Creative
Suite 1 |
Design Collection
Design & Web Collection Production Premium Master Collection |
Yes |
| ImageReady | until Creative
Suite 2 |
Standard Edition
Premium Edition |
Merged with |
| InCopy | since Creative
Suite 1 |
N/A | Yes |
| InDesign | Design Collection
Design & Web Collection Master Collection | ||
| Lightroom | since Creative
Suite 3 |
Design Collection
Design & Web Collection Production Premium Master Collection | |
| Media Encoder | since Creative
Suite 5.5 | ||
| OnLocation | from Creative
Suite 3 until Creative Suite 5.5 |
Production Premium
Master Collection |
Replaced by |
| Photoshop | since Creative
Suite 1 |
Design Collection | Yes |
| Photoshop Extended | since Creative
Suite 3 |
Design & Web Collection
Production Premium Master Collection |
Merged with |
| Prelude | since Creative
Suite 6 |
Production Premium
Master Collection |
Yes |
| Premiere Pro | since Creative
Suite 3 | ||
| Soundbooth | until Creative
Suite 5 |
Design & Web Collection
Production Premium Master Collection |
Replaced by |
| SpeedGrade | from Creative
Suite 6 until Creative Cloud 2017 |
Production Premium
Master Collection |
Discontinued in 2017, Premier Pro contained its functionality through the Lumetri Color panel since 2014 |
| Stock Photos | until Creative
Suite 3 |
Design Collection
Design & Web Collection Production Premium Master Collection |
Discontinued in 2008,
Adobe Stock launched in 2015 |
| Story Plus | since Creative
Suite 5.5 |
N/A | CC version
never released |
| Ultra | only on Creative
Suite 3 |
Production Premium
Master Collection |
No |
| Version Cue | until Creative
Suite 4 |
Design Collection
Design & Web Collection Master Collection |
Editions
Adobe sold Creative Suite applications in several different combinations called "editions", these included:
- Adobe Creative Suite 6 Design Standard is an edition of the Adobe Creative Suite 6 family of products intended for professional print, web, interactive and mobile designers.
- Adobe Creative Suite 6 Design & Web Premium is an edition of the Adobe Creative Suite 6 family of products intended for professional web designers and developers.
- Adobe Creative Suite 6 Production Premium is an edition of the Adobe Creative Suite 6 family of products intended for professional rich media and video post-production experts who create projects for film, video, broadcast, web, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, and mobile devices.
- Adobe Creative Suite 6 Master Collection contains applications from all of the above editions.
Adobe Flash Catalyst, Adobe Contribute, Adobe OnLocation, and Adobe Device Central, previously available in CS5.5, have been dropped from the CS6 line-up. Adobe Prelude and Adobe Encore are not released as standalone products. Adobe Encore is available as part of Adobe Premiere Pro. Adobe InCopy, a word processing application that integrates with Adobe InDesign, is also part of the Creative Suite family, but is not included in any CS6 edition.
In March 2013, it was reported that Adobe would no longer sell boxed copies of the Creative Suite software, instead offering digital downloads and monthly subscriptions.[8]
History
Creative Suite 1 and 2
The first version of Adobe Creative Suite was released in September 2003[9] and Creative Suite 2 in April 2005.[10] The first two versions (CS and CS2) were available in two editions.
The Standard Edition included:
- Adobe Bridge (since CS2)
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InCopy
- Adobe InDesign
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Premiere Pro (since CS2)
- Adobe ImageReady
- Adobe Version Cue
- Design guide and training resources
- Adobe Stock Photos
The Premium Edition also included:
- Adobe Acrobat Professional (Version 8 in CS2.3)
- Adobe Dreamweaver (since CS2.3)[11]
- Adobe GoLive
Creative Suite helped InDesign become the dominant publishing software, replacing QuarkXPress, because customers who purchased the suite for Photoshop and Illustrator received InDesign at no additional cost.[12]
Adobe shut down the "activation" servers for CS2 in December 2012, making it impossible for licensed users to reinstall the software if needed. In response to complaints, Adobe then made available for download a version of CS2 that did not require online activation, and published a serial number to activate it offline.[13][14][15] Because there was no mechanism to prevent people who had never purchased a CS2 license from downloading and activating it, it was widely thought that the aging software had become freeware, despite Adobe's later explanation that it was intended only for people who had "legitimately purchased CS2".[16][17] The later shutdown of the CS3 and CS4 activation servers was handled differently, with registered users given the opportunity to get individual serial numbers for offline activation, rather than a published one.[18]
Creative Suite Production Studio
Adobe Creative Suite Production Studio (previously Adobe Video Collection) was a suite of programs for acquiring, editing, and distributing digital video and audio that was released during the same timeframe as Adobe Creative Suite 2. The suite was available in standard and premium editions.
The Adobe Production Studio Premium edition consisted of:
- Adobe After Effects Professional
- Adobe Audition
- Adobe Bridge
- Adobe Encore DVD
- Adobe Premiere Pro
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe Dynamic Link (Not sold separately)
The Standard edition consisted of:
Since CS3, Adobe Production Studio became part of the Creative Suite family. The equivalent version for Production Studio Premium is the Adobe Creative Suite Production Premium.
Macromedia Studio
Macromedia Studio was a suite of programs designed for web content creation designed and distributed by Macromedia. After Adobe's 2005 acquisition of Macromedia, Macromedia Studio 8 was replaced, modified, and integrated into two editions of the Adobe Creative Suite family of software from version 2.3 onwards. The closest relatives of Macromedia Studio 8 are now called Adobe Creative Suite Web Premium.
Core applications from Macromedia Studio have been merged with Adobe Creative Suite since CS3, including Flash, Dreamweaver, and Fireworks. Some Macromedia applications were absorbed into existing Adobe products, e.g. FreeHand has been replaced with Adobe Illustrator. Director and ColdFusion are not part of Adobe Creative Suite and will only be available as standalone products. The final version of Macromedia Studio released include:
- Macromedia Studio MX Released May 29, 2002, internally it was version 6 and the first incarnation of the studio to use the "MX" suffix, which for marketing purposes was a shorthand abbreviation that meant "Maximize". Studio MX included Dreamweaver, Flash, FreeHand, Fireworks and a developer edition of ColdFusion.
- Macromedia Studio MX Plus Released February 10, 2003, sometimes referred to as MX 1.1. MX Plus was a special edition release of MX that included Freehand MX (replacing Freehand 10), Contribute and DevNet Resource Kit Special Edition in addition to the existing MX suite of products.
- Macromedia Studio MX 2004 Released September 10, 2003, despite its name, it is internally version 7. Studio MX 2004 included FreeHand along with updated versions of Dreamweaver, Flash and Fireworks. An alternate version of Studio MX 2004 included Flash Professional and a new interface for Dreamweaver.
- Macromedia Studio 8 Released September 13, 2005, Studio 8 was the last version of Macromedia Studio. It comprised Dreamweaver 8, Flash 8, Flash 8 Video Converter, Fireworks 8, Contribute 3 and FlashPaper.
Creative Suite 3
Adobe Creative Suite 3 (CS3) was announced on March 27, 2007; it introduced universal binaries for all major programs for the Apple Macintosh,[19] as well as including all of the core applications from Macromedia Studio and Production Studio.
Some Creative Suite programs also began using the Presto layout engine used in the Opera web browser.[20]
Adobe began selling CS3 applications in six different combinations called "editions." Design Standard & Premium and Web Standard & Premium began shipping on April 16, 2007, and Production Premium and Master Collection editions began shipping on July 2, 2007. The latest released CS3 version was version 3.3, released on June 2, 2008. In this version Fireworks CS3 was included in Design Premium and all editions that had included Acrobat 8 Pro had it replaced with Acrobat 9 Pro.[21] Below is a matrix of the applications included in each edition of CS3 version 3.3:
