Adobe will no longer support Windows 7 in the next major Creative Cloud update

August 29, 2018 by Dunja Djudjic 57 Comments

If you still run an older version of Windows or MacOS and use Adobe CC programs, we have some bad news. Adobe has announced that the next major Creative Cloud update will no longer support older versions of operating systems, such as Windows 7, 8 and even some versions of Windows 10.

In the statement, Adobe writes:

To take advantage of the latest operating system features and technologies, the next major release of Creative Cloud will not support Windows 8.1, Windows 10 v1511 and v1607, and Mac OS 10.11 (El Capitan).

If you’re running any of these operating systems, note that you will be able to run and install any current and previous versions of Adobe Creative Cloud programs. However, if you want to install the next major update, you’ll need to update your operating system first. Adobe adds that “Creative Cloud Desktop, which manages application installs, will continue to be supported on Windows 7 or later and Mac OS X v10.9 or later.”

Personally, I know lots of people who still use older versions of Windows. I myself still use Windows 7 and don’t plan to change it. So I believe this will be really inconvenient for many creatives out there who regularly update their Creative Cloud programs.

According to Adobe, focusing on more modern versions of Windows and Mac OS will allow allows the company “to concentrate on developing the features and functionality most requested by members.” It will also allow them to “ensure peak performance that takes advantage of modern hardware.”

After the last major Lightroom update, Adobe mentioned that the improvements will “scale appropriately with a customer’s investment in hardware.” But now it seems that you’ll need to update the operating system too if you want to get the best performance from the upcoming CC programs. Or to have them working at all.

Update: we have heard from Adobe about the future updates. And there is some good news for photographers: it’s only Adobe video and audio tools that aren’t supporting Windows 7. As for Lightroom and Photoshop, they will still support the OS. For more information, head over to Adobe blog.

[via DPReview, Adobe Blog]

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Tj Ó Seamállaigh

guess time to move to GIMP.
Madara

I feel sorry for anyone still using Windows 7.
- Richard Doktor
  
  Why? Win7 Users have far less problems then any others …
  Are you forced to use Win 10? Poor soul …
  - Madara
    
    I’ve used Windows 10 since beta and never had a problem. It boots quickly and just works.
    - Richard Doktor
      
      I’m sure Redmond knows …
    - Navi Samson
      
      Tool…
      - Madara
        
        Well aren’t you special. Did you come here to call names or do you have something original to contribute?
- Aegir
  
  Windows 7 will still be supported. This article is wrong.
  - Navi Samson
    
    Not supported on my Windows 7 professional machine as of 10.25.18
- MegaNickels
  
  you kidding? Windows 10 blows chunks. Updates when ever it wants. You been working on editing a photo session for 3 hours? TOO BAD! windows 10 wants to do a 6 hour update! screw your deadlines! yes that really happened. For some reason the photo viewer stopped working. I had to manually enable the old photo viewer from windows 7. I also can’t access a settings pane because it just goes to white screen and a split second later flashes away.
- Navi Samson
  
  I feel sorry for trolls with nothing better to do that stir up strife…
- Alireza Afkhame
  
  :/
Paul Anders

I have no intention of upgrading from Windows 7 until I buy a new computer, which may be some time from now. This is a load of crap from Adobe. It may just be time to dust off GIMP.
- JustChristoph
  
  Tell me GIMP isn’t still on version 2 and I’ll give it a try.
- Lee James
  
  When I get a new computer, there’s no way I would use anything other than Windows 7. As far as I can see, there is no operating system anywhere near as good as Windows 7. Windows 10 is completely untenable, in terms of privacy, and the interface, and many other things too.
Don Navarro

Aye
Darryl Palapuz

Justin Christian Quan Mok
Randy Dalton

From what I read, about half the PCs operating on the Windows OS are using 7. I don’t know many of them use Adobe CC, but the number might be significant.
- coldkissofsteel
  
  I get 7 but why also cut out Windows 8.1 and some versions of Windows 10? These better be some significant features if I’m going to go to the trouble of purchasing and installing Windows 10. Especially when I got it for free when it first came out and rolled back because it sucked!!
  - Navi Samson
    
    Again Microsoft, Apple, and Adobe need to install the latest telemetrics and spyware on your computers, so you need to upgrade to the latest os for them to capture more revenue….
John G Schickler

Typical. Try Affinity Photo. All Photoshop features for a one-time fee.
- Adam Śmigielski
  
  Thee are a lot more apps included in Adobe CC. Not only Photoshop…
Tobias Weygint

Can’t expect a company to continue to waste time on outdated OS’s
If you want Windows 7 stick with the old software.
- Kaouthia
  
  While still paying for the new. Makes me glad I stuck with CS6. 🙂
Anki Sandinge

When will this happen? I have windows 8 on my computer at work and hope to get PS CC but reading this somewhat crushes that hope. Good that I read this article then!
- Aegir
  
  Probalbly in october. You can still upgrade to Win10 for free using this tool https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10
Aegir

This article is not correct. The Adobe press release actually says: “the next major release of Creative Cloud will not support Windows 8.1” and later “Creative Cloud Desktop, which manages application installs, will continue to be supported on Windows 7”. So Windows 7 will stiill be supported.
- Kaouthia
  
  Oh, it’ll be supported by the app that installs the apps you can no longer use. Gotcha. 🙂
Ódor Richárd

I still run XP.
- JustChristoph
  
  Then you should disconnect your machine from the internet now and make a point of telling nobody.
  - Navi Samson
    
    Yes, how dare he not slavishly follow the masses and the social engineering designed by our overlords!
    - JustChristoph
      
      Your thinking is compromised by your desire not to be compromised.
      - Navi Samson
        
        You speak good duckspeak; “doubleplusgood,” as Winston would say….
      - Navi Samson
        
        Your thinking is weak because you are without conviction….
      - Navi Samson
        
        a real pooh-bah
- Navi Samson
  
  Good for you!
Stef

I just like to see the idiots that pay subscription fees getting what they deserve.
- JustChristoph
  
  Doh! Stupid me.
- coldkissofsteel
  
  What is the alternative if you use the software to make a living? Adobe took that option away. Please enlighten me since you are so intelligent.
  - Lee James
    
    The alternative is to use old versions of the software, most of which still work well.
    
    Another alternative might be to use a pirated version of their latest release and make a one-off donation to Adobe for the amount you might have paid a few years ago to buy it outright.
    
    I believe in paying what is fair for a fully working product, however CC releases are full of bugs, so I don’t think they’re worth full price. When I’ve used them, I almost feel like I’m a beta tester and Adobe should be paying me!
    
    For example, one bug which hasn’t been fixed in about 10 years – in Photoshop you can’t scroll the screen left while dragging a selection, as the screen scrolls incredibly slowly. I don’t think Adobe even care about this.
    
    Another very common bug which never seems to go away is when you can’t select any tools because it gets ‘locked’ into the menu, so every time you press a key for your tool, the menu opens. This hasn’t been fixed since about CS6.
Adwb

stuff ’em, bunch of thieves any way with the monthly rip off.
- Sean
  
  Really, spoken likes someone who does not uses PS/LR for a living. I used to think the subscription model was bad and like most petulent children stomped my feet, called them names, etc. Hell, I remember when Windows came out I was like “Hell, I’ll never leave DOS 6.0…Stupid MS just wants more money from me”. But you know what, the subscription model costs me LESS then when I was buying it directly ever couple years and I don’t need to wait years for new features, only weeks. Wait till MS goes subscription model for Windows…:)
  - coldkissofsteel
    
    Please explain how $708/yr is cheaper than the $700 or so I was spending every 2-3 years when it actually was worth upgrading. I pay $708/yr now for minimal new features that aren’t worth the price of an upgrade. I’ve been using PS since 1995 and there hasn’t been a substantial new feature in at least 5 years maybe longer (still running CS6 on one of my machines and I can do everything I do in 2018, except CS6 has better performance! You sound like you work for Adobe…
  - Lee James
    
    It’s not about money, it’s the principle. I want to OWN my software, not hire it. Perhaps you just understand the reason why people pay to own things. Ownership is important to many people.
- Lee James
  
  I too HATE the subscription model, and I don’t use it. I refuse to. It’s not about money at all, it’s about the fact that I absolutely HATE not owning the software on my computer. I want to know that I OWN everything on my computer and it will last forever.
  
  My computer is very personal to me. It is MINE and I want to OWN what is on it. I hate the thought that I don’t own it forever, and I have to keep paying to use it. That’s just an absolutely HORRIBLE notion to me.
  
  It’s like looking at your bookshelf and knowing that you don’t actually own half the books, but you have to keep paying to read them. It’s horrible!
  
  It’s like looking in your wardrobe and seeing that some of the clothes will vanish unless you pay your subscription. It’s HORRIBLE!
Aegir

Does noone here actually read the press release from Adobe?
Aaron Hoffman

That seems like a mistake. I very much dislike forced upgrades. Even Apple’s practice of locking out certain hardware lost me as a customer. I know why they did it, but let me determine if the performance is poor on the older hardware, don’t try and force me to spend a couple grand. It’s made a few of my perfectly viable older Macs completely useless since I can’t even update my web browser. These are all problems I have with Apple, not Adobe, but they’re heading down the same path.
Sean

I love all the whining going on. No one said your current versions of PS/LR will stop working, only that if you want to take advantage of the newer features you’ll need to invest in upgrading your old 15yr old PC’s to something that can handle the features of the newer versions. They are not doing it to punish you, as much as you would like to believe that. And no one is FORCiNG you to upgrade your versions of PS. If you choose to drive a Yugo you can’t bitch because it doesn’t perform like a Ferrari. Grow up. Adobe had discountined full product purchase long time now. Subscription models are here and other software vendors, including MS, will soon follow. I’m all for them dropping legacy code that is required to support crappy old OS’s if it means making the CC products run faster and more stable. Don’t be cheap. $10/mo is not a lot of money. And if you can’t afford that then you should ask yourselves why you even use Adobe. There are other products out there that are free.
- JustChristoph
  
  To be fair, the message (as I received it) was delivered in a negative way, something along the lines of ‘If you don’t have Windows 10 you won’t get the latest functionality’. I think the intended message was meant to be more like ‘Adobe CC is now able to take advantage of newer services that the latest version of Windows 10 exposes to give you some extra functionality’.
- Navi Samson
  
  Sean’s right…. after all, how are these software companies like Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, etc., going to install their telemetrics and spyware on your computers? Please, for the sake of the compassion of Big Brother do not complain or think for yourselves!
Navi Samson

These “upgrades” really benefit the software and os developers — NOT the consumers. I can still do more things faster on my old Windows XP Pro box than I can with either of my Windows 7 or Windows 10 machines…
TheChairman

Adobe needs to re-think their attitude before they step in the Windows 10 fecal pile created by MS.

Adobe ‘devs’ should focus on fixing all the half-ass dysfunctional features (bugs) in CC 2015, 2017…

If I were to nominate a major software company for “most software bugs”, Adobe would top the list.
- Lee James
  
  I agree. Every release of CC Adobe software has had serious bug after serious bug. The bugs just never seem to end.
  
  If the software didn’t have all these major bugs, I might actually find all the new releases exciting and interesting. But as it is, when I hear about new releases is wondering if any of the bugs have been fixed yet, and how many new bugs will be introduced with the new release.
  
  This isn’t the way to release software. First, you get the software to run STABLY and THEN you think about adding new features.
  
  I also hate all the background programs Adobe have started adding. I want each program to be ONE INDEPENDENT PROGRAM. Things running in the background creep me out.
stewames .

I have read this post and am surprised no one has a problem with all the numerous glitches, just one of them being a total crash at print queue. Since my business involves a huge amount of large format printing on VERY expensive printers, which I am not about to replace at this time, I say Adobe is pathetic. We have had customer service reps on the phone for 4 hours plus. They have blamed everything from Microsoft, to the drivers, to my files, to my network!!! They don’t know what they’re talking about, and then promise that “their engineers” will fix this by the next update. Nah, it got worse.

When CC crashes, it does not save my work, or retrieve ANY recent files. We found that older files must have some irregular or unreadable meta-data if they have been printed on previous versions of photoshop. This came from in use research, and there is nothing I can do but open a file, place it into a brand new file, flatten, save and send to print. Then I DO NOT re-save that file, so it has no print queue meta data saved to it. HAH. I fixed the problem. I still HATE PS CC, and cringe each time they update.
Lee James

Windows 7 continues to be the world’s most popular operating system, with more people using it than any other operating system. Why Adobe would ignore the MAJORITY OF USERS is beyond me!

For many people, Windows 10 is simply not an option. It’s a VAST step backwards in terms of privacy, and the interface is so ugly that there’s no way I would even consider using it. It is absolutely hideous, and I could spend hours talking about all the things I hate about it. I absolutely HATE it.

Besides which, Why should anyone be forced to change their operating system if it works perfectly well? I paid for Windows 7 and I like Windows 7. Windows 7 is an excellent operating system that has nothing wrong with it at all.

The only “advantages” offered by Windows 10 are things that apply to very specific types of users, such as people who own touch-screen monitors. That is irrelevant to most people. No one in the creative industry uses touch-screen monitors, we’re not going to spend all day waving around our outstretched arms – we need serious controls that work, not silly gimmicks.

I won’t be switching from Windows 7 for a very long time. If I do upgrade my operating system, it certainly won’t be to anything made by Apple (as I hate Apple with a passion), nor will it be anything by Microsoft, because I no longer trust Microsoft. What they have created with Windows 10 is, frankly, nightmarish and deeply sinister in terms of privacy.
Kattern

Adobe Illustrator CC 2018 and 2019 is so slooooow everywhere, this is pointless…
newuser1980

Big company use forced update to obsolescence old hardware and software to push econmony, all those big company works together to keep you spending, this is why they don’t want you to stay with some old software and hardware

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