Adobe Creative Suite · Lablypedia

The Creative Suite product line replaced several earlier "collection" bundles previously sold by Adobe and saw the introduction of a unified brand across its included applications.

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. Later, on May 6, 2013, Adobe announced that Creative Suite 6 would be the final version released, shifting their focus to the subscription Creative Cloud product.

Applications

Adobe sold Creative Suite-branded applications standalone, and in several different combinations called "editions". The final version, Adobe Creative Suite 6, was sold in four editions:

Design Standard containing the core applications Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Acrobat.
Design & Web Premium which was a superset of the Design Standard edition, adding Flash, Dreamweaver, and other applications for website designers and web app developers.
Production Premium, containing headline applications Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Audition, alongside other applications targeted at audiovisual media post-production.
Master Collection, which bundled all applications included in the other editions.

The following table shows the different details of the core applications in the various Adobe Creative Suite versions and editions.

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History

Creative Suite and Creative Suite 2

The first version of Adobe Creative Suite was released in September 2003, and Creative Suite 2 in April 2005. The first two versions of the Creative Suite were available in two editions.

The Standard edition included:

Photoshop
ImageReady
Illustrator
InDesign
Version Cue
Adobe Stock Photos (discontinued in 2008)
Bridge (introduced in Creative Suite 2)

The Premium edition adds Acrobat and GoLive.

Creative Suite Production Studio was a separate product line for Windows only, sold alongside Creative Suite 2. Its Standard edition consisted of:

After Effects Standard
Bridge
Premiere Pro
Photoshop

The Premium edition upgraded After Effects to the Professional edition and added the following applications:

Audition
Encore DVD
Illustrator
Dynamic Link

Following Adobe's 2005 acquisition of Macromedia, Adobe introduced a range of bundles adding various Macromedia products to Creative Suite 2 Premium and Creative Suite Production Studio Premium.

On September 18, 2006, Adobe announced Creative Suite 2.3 Premium. This upgraded Acrobat to version 8 and added Macromedia Dreamweaver; Adobe announced that it intended to replace GoLive with Dreamweaver in future versions of the Creative Suite. The Standard edition and Production Studio products were not updated as they did not include Acrobat and GoLive.

Shutdown of activation servers

Adobe shut down the activation servers for Creative Suite 2, Creative Suite Production Studio, and Acrobat 7 products in December 2012. Adobe subsequently released replacement installers and serial numbers that did not require product activation. Because the software was made available on a public web page without requiring proof of purchase or an Adobe Account, it was widely misreported that the software had become freeware. Adobe released a statement that the activation-free release was intended only for people who had "legitimately purchased" the original software.

Creative Suite 3

Adobe Creative Suite 3 (CS3) was announced on March 27, 2007.

CS3 integrated the Dreamweaver, Flash Professional and Fireworks applications from the former Macromedia Studio product line into Adobe's Creative Suite branding and user interface design. CS3 introduced OnLocation and Ultra, initially developed by Serious Magic; itself acquired by Adobe in 2006.

Adobe dropped the following programs that were previously included in CS2:

GoLive, replaced by Dreamweaver
ImageReady, partly merged into Photoshop and partly replaced by Fireworks
Audition, replaced by Soundbooth

Adobe had announced that GoLive was to be discontinued, while Audition would be developed separately. GoLive 9, the final version, was released as a standalone product on June 10, 2007. Audition 3 was announced as a standalone product on September 6, 2007; it would later become part of the Creative Suite lineup again in 2011.

For Mac users, CS3 introduced the previously Windows-only Premiere Pro and Encore to the Mac. Those two applications as well as Soundbooth only support Intel Macs. All other applications are universal binaries, supporting PowerPC G4, G5 and Intel Macs. OnLocation is Windows-only; Adobe recommended Mac users to have a separate Windows machine or use Boot Camp to access it.

Adobe sold Creative Suite 3 in six editions. All editions except Production Premium and Master Collection were released on April 16, 2007; those two editions shipped later on July 2, 2007. On June 2, 2008, Adobe released Creative Suite 3.3, a minor update adding Fireworks CS3 to the Design Premium edition and upgrading Acrobat in all editions that shipped it to version 9. The Production Premium edition did not receive this upgrade as it did not include Acrobat.

CS3's activation servers were shut down in 2017. Adobe offered activation-free replacement installers until mid-way through 2019. Unlike with CS2, Adobe required users to sign in with an Adobe Account and register their original serial number in order to access the replacement installers and serial numbers.

Below is a matrix of the applications included in each edition of CS3:

Creative Suite 4

Adobe Creative Suite 4 (CS4) was announced on September 23, 2008, and officially released on October 15, 2008. Almost all applications in CS4 feature a redesigned, unified user interface.

On Windows, Photoshop was offered as a native 64-bit application that could be installed alongside the 32-bit version. In early testing of 64-bit support in Photoshop CS4, overall performance gains ranged from 8% to 12%, due to the fact that 64-bit applications could address larger amounts of memory. After Effects CS4 and Premiere Pro CS4 included optimizations for 64-bit computers, but were not yet native 64-bit applications.

The Mac version of CS4 did not include any 64-bit applications, and was the last version to include universal binaries. Like in CS3, Premiere Pro, Encore and Soundbooth are Intel-only; After Effects newly became Intel-only in CS4. A native Mac version of OnLocation was introduced in CS4, also for Intel Macs only.

Adobe Ultra was not included in CS4, and the Adobe Stock Photos was discontinued prior to CS4's release.

Unlike prior versions, CS4 did not receive a mid-life upgrade. Its activation servers were taken offline in 2020, and no replacement installer was offered.

Below is a matrix of the applications that were bundled in each of the software suites for CS4:

Creative Suite 5

Adobe Creative Suite 5 (CS5) was released on April 30, 2010.

The Windows versions of Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 and Adobe After Effects CS5 became 64-bit only, and require at least Windows Vista. All other applications require at least Windows XP.

The Mac versions of the CS5 programs were significantly rewritten in an effort to modernize the codebase, with all applications now requiring 64-bit Intel Macs.

Adobe Version Cue was removed from the CS5 line-up, and there was no Web Standard edition.

Below is a matrix of the applications that were bundled in each of the software suites for CS5:

Creative Suite 5.5

Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 (CS5.5) was announced on April 12, 2011. Unlike previous mid-life upgrades, CS5.5 functioned as a completely separate version and added new features to several applications across the suite, with a focus particularly on newly-popular tablet computers and delivering content on the web with HTML 5, relatively new at the time.

Applications that were upgraded included After Effects, Device Central, Dreamweaver, Flash Catalyst, Flash Professional, InDesign, and Premiere Pro. Acrobat was upgraded from version 9.3 to version X, and Audition replaced Soundbooth. A screenwriting application named Story was introduced as a standalone application, not included in any of the CS5.5 editions.

Below is a matrix of the applications that were bundled in each edition of CS5.5:

Creative Suite 6 and discontinuation

Adobe Creative Suite 6 (CS6) was launched at a release event April 23, 2012, and began shipping on May 7, 2012. Alongside CS6, Adobe launched its present-day subscription service, Adobe Creative Cloud.

CS6 saw the merger of the previously separate Design Premium and Web Premium editions into one named "Design & Web Premium", and the introduction of new applications SpeedGrade and Prelude. The below matrix lists the applications included in the four editions of CS6:

On May 5, 2013, during the opening keynote of its Adobe MAX conference, Adobe announced that it was retiring the "Creative Suite" branding entirely in favor of "Creative Cloud", and making all future feature updates to its software available via the Creative Cloud subscription service; perpetual licenses were to be discontinued. Adobe's decision to make the subscription service the only sales route for its creative software was met with strong criticism.

As subscription software, customers must pay a subscription fee or they will lose access to the applications. It was noted that Creative Cloud's file formats were not entirely backwards-compatible with Creative Suite, potentially causing users who tried Creative Cloud then went back to Creative Suite to lose work.

In addition to many of the products formerly part of the Creative Suite, Creative Cloud also added services and products such as Adobe Muse and the Adobe Edge family, web-based file and website hosting, Typekit fonts, and access to the Behance social media platform.