MCHUGH Loc: Jacksonville, Texas

I am wanting to start learning and using CS6. I am not sure I understand how it works by not having a hard copy to install on my computer and using a down load from Adobe instead. How does the cloud part come into the program? Is the program actually on the computer or do you have to be on the internet for it to work. I have very slow internet service which is not always dependable. I know these are probably dumb questions but if I can't get good use from the program it will not work properly in my situation. Thanks for taking the time to enlighten this old man who still likes to learn new things.

wtompkins Loc: Northern Michigan

You download it to your computer. You do not have to be online to use it. Only if there are updates do you need to connect to internet.

MCHUGH Loc: Jacksonville, Texas

Thanks for the info. I had seen some topic about the haze feature and it was saying it was only available in the new program so I thought incorrectly that maybe it was necessary to be on the internet to use the program. It did not sense to me but with the computer being another appendage to most people's body I wan not sure. Thanks again for your help.

LarryFB Loc: Depends where our RV is parked

You also have to be on the internet at least once a month or two to make sure that Adobe has been paid the monthly fee. Failure to die that will cause most of Lightroom (but not the Library module) and Photoshop to quit working.

blackest Loc: Ireland

Basically you download the main programs and then updates when they are available. other than that it just needs to check in once a month or so to ensure your payments are up to date.

Picdude Loc: Ohio

It appears as your asking questions on a couple of packages so lets separate them out a bit. 1) Photoshop CS6 was the last non-subscription package that was sold by Adobe. There are no recurring licensing charges for CS6, but it is older software (was replaced by Photoshop CC) 2) Photoshop CC is the most up-to-date package and is a subscription license ($9.99/month).

In order to install and use Photoshop CC you only need the internet for 2 things: 1) to download and install the software. 2) For the software to check into Adobe once a month to see if your subscription is paid up. And that's all. Once the software is installed you do NOT need the internet for anything in order to operate the software. You download your pictures onto your computer where they remain unless YOU chose to move them somewhere else. Any and all pictures you edit also remain on your computer until/unless you choose to move them. No internet connection is required to use the software. You can completely disconnect the computer from the internet while you are editing and the software won't know or care. Every 30 days or so the software WILL try to connect to Adobe to see if your subscription is paid for the next month, but even then, you have a very long grace period (1-2 months) before the software stops working. And if you do stop paying the subscription, you still have all of your pictures on your computer, you can still access all of your pictures and the edits you have made on them and you are perfectly free to open them on another software package of your choice to view, edit or whatever you wish to do with them.

If your internet is slow, you will have to exercise patience during the initial download, the program is large. However, once the software is loaded the monthly check takes no time at all and you may not even notice it happening.

For your $9.99/month you get the latest Adobe Photoshop CC package and free update and software revisions for as long as you keep up the subscription. You also get the latest Adobe Lightroom software package, as well free update and software revisions. You don't have to load the Lightroom package if you do not want to, your choice, but many here will recommend you take the time to learn both, as the two packages complement each other.

MCHUGH Loc: Jacksonville, Texas

Thanks so much for your informative answer. I have PSE 9 and Lightroom 3 at this time but wanted to advance and learn more. It will be great to be up to date and stay up to date. I am sure I won't live long enough to learn all about either program but will have a great time until I can no longer take photos. Will I have to uninstall the PSE 9 and Lightroom 3 before installing the new software.

Kayper Loc: Seattle

Thank you for this. I really appreciated this information as I am considering the CC. I have Aperture 3 and am needing to make a change.

Picdude Loc: Ohio

Like you I wonder if I will live long enough to completely learn the software but it's fun trying :) . As long as there is room on your hard drive to install the new Photoshop and Lightroom, then no, you do not have to uninstall your PSE 9 or Lightroom 3. As a matter of fact, you would want to have both Lightroom 3 and Lightroom CC both loaded at least until you get your image catalog(s) transferred from Lightroom 3 to Lightroom CC. One other thing you need to look at before you commit to the software (I bring this up because of the age of your existing software) is your computer specifications. The link below shows the minimum system requirements for Photoshop CC:

http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/system-requirements.html

MtnMan Loc: ID

One clarification to picdude's otherwise excellent description. Edits you make in Lightroom do not change the stored image file. So if you access them in non-Adobe programs you will not see the edits you made.

You also won't see them in other Adobe prorams unless you choose the preference option in Lghtrrom to save as xmp. That is not the default in standalone versions of Lightroom. I don't know for the CC version.