As you’ve discovered, CS (or Creative Suite) gives you, well, a suite of products.
Yes, you can buy the latest version of Photoshop (Photoshop CS3, aka v10) seperately, but not as an upgrade from your copy of Adobe Creative Suite.
If you want to upgrade from the Suite you have, you’ll need to ugrade to another Suite.
If you still have Photoshop v5, and it was not used to upgrade to the Suite you have, I’d very quickly go a find a upgrade copy of Photoshop CS2 (aka v9) to upgrade to.
Version CS3 has only just been released, and if you buy a copy of Photoshop CS2 (upgrade or otherwise), between now and when it’s generally available, you’ll be able to get a copy of Photoshop CS3 for the cost of shipping (in my understanding).
The reason I’m recommending the upgrade to CS2 route, is that Adobe have changed the rules, and from CS3 on, you can only upgrade from three versions back (in Photoshop’s case, v7).
So if I get myslef a release forward now – looking at product choice I can get Adobe Photoshop CS2 v9
This is where confusion starts … is this Creative Suite or is this just the Photopshop v9 ? …. it has both in the title.
Your comments on the shipping only upgrade are interesting – should I get to Photoshop CS2 v9 or Creative Suite CS2 ??
Adobe Photoshop CS2 is JUST Photoshop – NOT the suite.
Tafflad,
Photoshop CS was version 8, CS2 was version 9 in effect, but both were primarily marketed using the CS and CS2 names, departing from the numbered version scheme. I think part of the reason for this was to streamline multiple products under a common version name since they also began to be distributed in software suites. That is, ignoring that I’m not attempting to recall the correct associations here, Photshop 8, GoLive 2, Illustrator 10, and so on, may have all been given new alphabetic version names of "CS" so you’d understand they presumably shared a common design theme. Under the skin they continued to be known also by their numeric version.
I suggest you ignore any numeric versions to avoid confusing yourself and go only with the software title with the alphabetic version name. You will see people here refer to Photoshop CS2 as simply CS2 and likewise Photoshop CS3 as just CS3. That is largely because we all understand, for the most part, that Photoshop is the topic. But, to be more correct, I think that any mention of "CS2", "CS3" without the individual product name or mnemonic should be construed as a reference to the complete suite.
If you only have a need for Photoshop or perhaps only Photoshop and Illustrator (Ignoring that Bridge and Image Ready are part of Photoshop), then you may find it cheaper to buy each product individually. On the other hand, if you have a need for several products that are packaged as suites, then you will likely save money buying the suite.
Keep in mind that if you buy a suite, future upgrades will only be available to you as a suite, rather than just one individual component of the suite. So, if you buy Creative Suite CS2 now, but really like all the bells and whistles of Photoshop CS3 yet could care less about upgrading the other components, then you’ll be stuck with CS2 until you purchase a suite upgrade. Conversely, if you only have Photoshop CS2 but later decided you want to upgrade to Creative Suite CS3, I think you can do so with some minimal discount…not a full upgrade discount as if you were a suite owner, but still some credit given for that you use Photoshop.
Keep in mind also that if you do intend to get Photshop CS3 (at least) and want to go to Windows Vista, you will need Vista Home Premium as a mininum requirement.
Regards,
Daryl
Up until now, you could only install an upgrade version of Photoshop if you had an earlier full version of the product. Although the upgrade eligibility has now been cut down to the previous three versions – 7, CS and CS2 – nowhere is any such restriction mentioned. So can we now upgrade from a previous upgrade?
Thanks for the Of Course! But where might this be stated by Adobe – or have you upgraded from an upgrade already?
It’s all a question of terminology.
If you upgrade from one version to another, the "upgrade" is in fact a full installation of the new version, but the installer will ask you to insert a disk of a previous version, to prove your eligibility for the upgrade price you paid.
That CD may also be an upgrade disk from an earlier version still.
Mike,
John said it well enough, but to answer your last question, I have upgraded through every version of PS since 3.0, save for 5.5 which I skipped over. My PS3 serial number was used for 4.0 and 5.0, and then 6.0 introduced a new serial number scheme so even the upgrade was issued with a new serial number. Ever since 6.0, each subsequent version has had its own serial number but, for an upgrade, you were prompted to insert the prior version’s CD (be it a full licence version or itself an upgrade) as a validation media to proceed with the upgrade.
Regards,
Daryl
Thank you for all that. When buying an upgrade in the past Adobe stated that you had to have an earlier full vesion of the program before you could install the upgrade successfully. From what you say, that was not the case. In fact, I spoke to Adobe at some trade fair or other and the guy there said that even though for CS you were told you had to have 5.5 or later, in fact the installation would accept any earlier version. I take it that is not the case now. So I can happily buy an upgrade Photoshop CS3 and place my upgrade CS2 disc in my computer and begin working. Good news.
Adobe stated that you had to have an earlier full version of the program before you could install the upgrade successfully.
As I said, each upgrade is a full version, sold at an upgrade price.
