How to Access Adobe Creative Cloud Applications
On Campus:
ln order to use Adobe Creative Cloud software at PCC, Adobe requires all users to login in using an Adobe ID. PCC does not provide automatic Adobe IDs and each user will need to sign in using their personal Adobe ID.
Students may get a free Adobe ID at https://www.adobe.com, then selecting "Sign In" and then "Create an Account." We recommend that you do not use your PCC email address for your Adobe ID, since you may want to continue using the same ID after you have left the College. At sign in, select "Personal Account," not "Company or School."
Please understand that not all lab computers at PCC are capable of hosting every Adobe software package. In particular, software that makes heavy use of video or 3d, such as After Effects, is not offered in our general-purpose labs.
Off Campus:
To use the software on a computer at home, California Community College students can subscribe at a special discounted rate through http://store.collegebuys.org/. It's currently offered at $40 for six months as of Summer 2023. Collegebuys will ask for a .edu email address and/or other proof of enrollment. You do not need a subscription to use Adobe software in campus labs, as PCC provides the device license.
Hardware Requirements:
For installing CC on your own computer, you will need (as of 2022) a machine with at least a 2019 version of Windows 10 (release 1909), MacOS 10.15 Catalina, or later. Earlier (2021) versions of CC ran on Windows 10 release 1809 and MacOS 10.13, and should continue to function, but without updates. Current versions work with Windows 11 and MacOS 12 Monterey. Adobe says you can run some programs (mainly Acrobat) with only 4gb of memory, but in our experience 8gb is the practical minimum and 16gb is much better. Photoshop and AfterEffects can benefit from 32gb or more.
*Note: Adobe ended its free "loan" of Creative Cloud to students on July 6, 2020.