Adobe Installation and Licensing

Note: There was no post last week due to me being ill and out of the office multiple days. Given the fact that comments have become less common here I may pull back to posting every other week. For the time being, though, I’ll continue to try to post every week.

Update: Changed title to be more clear.

One request we’ve received repeatedly is for a description of each payload in Master Collection CS4 and what it does. In addition, users want to know what will break if a particular payload is not deployed. Much of this information is in the CS4 Enterprise Deployment Toolkit Guide. I’ll include information from the Deployment Toolkit Guide and add to that information here. This list includes everything from the CS4 Master Collection Mac installer.

Acrobatcom-fr_FR – This payload is a dummy payload that really deploys nothing. It is used in order to conform to French legal rules that all components sold in France must be able to display using the French language. Since Acrobat.com was not localized to French in CS4, we could not install nor support that component in French installations. No point product features will break if this payload is not deployed.

Acrobatcom-mul – This is the payload for deploying the Acrobat.com feature set for all supported languages.

AdobeAcrobat9Core-mul - This is the core payload for Acrobat 9. Without this payload, Acrobat 9 will not be installed. It includes all languages supported by Acrobat on the given media.

AdobeAfterEffects9All - This is the core payload for After Effects 9. Without this payload, After Effects 9 will not be installed. It includes all languages supported by After Effects on the given media.

AdobeAfterEffects9PresetsAll - This payload contains specialized preference settings for After Effects 9. Without this payload After Effects 9 will not have all its presets loaded on the system at install time.

AdobeAfterEffects9ProtectedAll - There is some content for After Effects that must not be deployed and unencrypted without first verifying the serial number used for deployment is valid. This content generally includes royalty-bearing items such as codecs, mpeg encoders/decoders, etc. Without this protected content some primary workflows for After Effects 9 will not be supported. The installation technology will verify that a valid serial number is used.

AdobeAIR1.0 - The Adobe AIR Runtime 1.0 installer is wrapped by this payload. It actually executes the publicly available AIR Runtime 1.0 installer. Any and all behavior in the AIR installer will also occur when deploying this payload. Not deploying this payload will mean that no AIR-based products will function. AIR-based products in CS4 include only Acrobat.com and Adobe Media Player.

AdobeALMAnchorService2-mul - This payload is required to support point product provisioning. Without this payload the products will not correctly serialize or activate. Products will then cease to execute.

AdobeAmericanEnglishSpeechAnalysisModels1All - Data for speech analysis. Video and sound applications that use speech analysis will not support this feature without the data payload being deployed.

AdobeAMP-fr_FR - This payload is a dummy payload that really deploys nothing. It is used in order to conform to French legal rules that all components sold in France must be able to display using the French language. Since Adobe Media Player was not localized to French in CS4, we could not install nor support that component in French installations. No point product features will break if this payload is not deployed.

AdobeAMP-mul - This is the payload for deploying Adobe Media Player for all languages supported by AMP.

AdobeAssetServices4All - Not listed in toolkit list; but, required for Version Cue Server. This payload deploys a service that runs as a background process. It generates thumbnails and extracts metadata for the Version Cue Server. Without this payload the Version Cue functionality and the CSXS functionality will cease to function.

AdobeAUM6.0All - This deploys the Adobe Update Manager for all supported locales. Without this payload an end user is unable to seek or deploy updates automatically or through the Help menu.

AdobeBridge3All - The Adobe Bridge product installer.

AdobeCameraRaw5.0All - This payload deploys the camera raw plugin for Photoshop and Bridge. Provides the ability to manipulate still images and allows viewing and editing of camera-native format digital negatives. Without this payload the ability to read, write or edit camera raw data will cease to function.

AdobeCMaps2-mul - Character mapping tables, necessary for correct font behavior. This is required for most CS4 applications.

AdobeColorCommonSetCMYK2-mul - Color profiles for CMYK color spaces. Required for some of the CS4 applications. Without this payload critical color profiles for the print production workflow will not be available and products supporting the print production workflow may cease to function properly.

AdobeColorCommonSetRGB2-mul - Color profiles for RGB color spaces. Required for many of the CS4 applications. Without this payload critical, common color profiles will not be available and products may cease to function properly.

AdobeColorEU_ExtraSettings2-mul - Extra color profiles for the European Union region. Required for Flash, Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop.

AdobeColorJA_ExtraSettings2-mul - Extra color profiles for Japan. Required for Flash, Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop.

AdobeColorNA_ExtraSettings2-mul - Extra color profiles for all regions outside of the European Union and Japan. Required for Flash, Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop.

AdobeColorEU_Recommended2-mul - Recommended color profiles for the European Union region. Required for Flash, Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop.

AdobeColorJA_ Recommended2-mul - Recommended color profiles for Japan. Required for Flash, Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop.

AdobeColorNA_ Recommended2-mul - Recommended color profiles for all regions outside of the European Union and Japan. Required for Flash, Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop.

AdobeColorPhotoshop2-mul - Color profiles specific to Photoshop. All other products do not use these color profiles in any way.

AdobeConnect-mul - Used to provide an in-application connection to Acrobat ConnectNow. Required for most products. Without this payload the ConnectNow feature set will not function in any supporting products (Illustrator, InDesign, InCopy, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash Pro, Contribute, Fireworks.)

AdobeContribute5-mul - Payload for Adobe Contribute 5 product.

AdobeCSIAll - Creative Services Infrastructure payload. Utility used by CSXS and the Service Manager Extension and Adobe Drive for accessing CS4 online services embedded in CS4 applications. Without this payload CSXS, the Service Manager Extension and Adobe Drive will cease to function. Required by most products.

AdobeDefaultLanguage2-mul - Used to determine the default language in which to run for Bridge and Device Central.

AdobeDeviceCentral2-mul - Payload deploying the Device Central feature set.

AdobeDreamweaver10-mul - Payload deploying the Adobe Dreamweaver 10 product.

AdobeDriveAll - Payload deploying the Adobe Drive feature set. Without this payload the Adobe Drive feature set will cease to function.

AdobeDynamicLinkSupport1All - Support for the Dynamic Link feature set in video and audio applications. Required for AfterEffects, Encore, Flash Pro, Premiere Pro and Soundbooth.

AdobeEncore4All - Payload deploying the Adobe Encore 4 product for all languages supported by the given media.

AdobeEncore4CodecsAll - There is some content for Encore that must not be deployed and unencrypted without first verifying the serial number used for deployment is valid. This content generally includes royalty-bearing items such as codecs. Without this protected content some primary workflows for Encore 9 will not be supported. The installation technology will verify that a valid serial number is used.

AdobeExtendScriptToolKit3.0.0All - Development and debugging tool for JavaScript scripts. Its easy-to-use built-in syntax checker identifies problem areas in your scripts and suggests solutions. Required for Flash, Illustrator and InDesign. Optional in other products.

AdobeExtensionManager2All - The Extension Manager application payload. Without this product workflows requiring extensions will not be available. Required for Fireworks and Dreamweaver. Optional for all other products. Available freely online from Adobe Exchange as well.

AdobeFireworks10All - Payload for Adobe Fireworks 10 product.

AdobeFlash10-en-ExtensionFL30 - Adobe Flash Lite extension for Flash Pro. Without this payload the Flash Lite workflows in Flash Pro will cease to function. English version.

AdobeFlash10-es-ExtensionFL30 - Adobe Flash Lite extension for Flash Pro. Without this payload the Flash Lite workflows in Flash Pro will cease to function. Spanish version.

AdobeFlash10-fr-ExtensionFL30 - FlashLite - Adobe Flash Lite extension for Flash Pro. Without this payload the Flash Lite workflows in Flash Pro will cease to function. French version.

AdobeFlash10-others-ExtensionFL30 - Adobe Flash Lite extension for Flash Pro. Without this payload the Flash Lite workflows in Flash Pro will cease to function. All other languages version.

AdobeFlash10-mul - Adobe Flash Pro 10 product installer.

AdobeFlash10-STI-en - Flash Player 10 plugin/extension, English version.

AdobeFlash10-STI-es - Flash Player 10 plugin/extension, Spanish version.

AdobeFlash10-STI-fr - Flash Player 10 plugin/extension, French version.

AdobeFlash10-STI-other - Flash Player 10 plugin/extension, all other languages version.

AdobeFontsAll - Collection of bundled Adobe fonts. Required for some CS4 Applications. InDesign will not execute without it. Optional for Photoshop.

AdobeIllustrator14mul - Adobe Illustrator 14 product installer.

AdobeInDesign6AppBase-mul - Adobe InDesign 6 product installer.

AdobeInDesign6AppFSet-Japan - Adobe InDesign 6 product installer, Japan-specific resources. InDesign will not execute in Japanese without this payload installed.

AdobeInDesign6AppFSet-Roman - Adobe InDesign 6 product installer, Roman glyph-based languages resources. InDesign will not execute in all Roman-glyph based languages without this payload installed.

AdobeInDesign6CommonBase-mul - Adobe InDesign 6 product installer required payload. InDesign will not execute without this payload.

AdobeLinguisticsAll - Spelling and hyphenation data files used by the linguistics library. Required for Contribute, Flash, Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop. Without this payload core, text-based features will fail to function properly.

AdobeMasterCollection4-mul-trial - Data required for trial installations.

AdobeMotionPicture2-mul - Color profiles specific to After Effects workflows. Required for After Effects primary workflows to function properly.

AdobeOnLocation4All - Adobe On Location 4 product installer.

AdobeOutputModuleAll – Export functionality for many products. Without this payload the Export feature will fail to function properly in many products and will fail to function at all in After Effects.

AdobePDFL9-mul - PDF Library files for in-application support of the PDF format. Required by most CS4 applications. Without this payload PDF support will not be available in products.

AdobePDFSettings9-ja_JP - Utility for creating, editing and managing specialized PDF creation settings. Required for Flash Pro, Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop. This is the Japan-specific version.

AdobePDFSettings9-mul - Utility for creating, editing and managing specialized PDF creation settings. Required for Flash Pro, Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop.

AdobePhotoshop11-Core - Adobe Photoshop 11 product installer.

AdobePhotoshop11-Support - Hardware accelerator payload required by Photoshop in order to execute. Without this payload Photoshop will not run properly on some platforms.

AdobePremierePro4AllM - Adobe Premiere Pro 4 product installer.

AdobePremierePro4FCAll - Functional content for Premiere Pro. Without this payload the functional content will not be deployed for Premiere Pro. Critical workflows will no longer be fully-features without this content.

AdobePremierePro4ProtectedAll - There is some content for Premiere Pro that must not be deployed and unencrypted without first verifying the serial number used for deployment is valid. This content generally includes royalty-bearing items such as codecs, mpeg encoders/decoders, etc. Without this protected content some primary workflows for Premiere Pro 4 will not be supported. The installation technology will verify that a valid serial number is used.

AdobeSearchforHelp-mul - In-application access to online help search service. This is required by most CS4 applications. Without this payload the help search functionality will not function in-application.

AdobeServiceManager-mul - Provides an in-application connection to your account with Adobe online services. Without this payload the CSXS functionality will cease to function.

AdobeSGM3 - Adobe SING Glyphlet Manager. Used only with Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese and Korean versions of InDesign and InCopy. Without this payload users will be unable to view characters of these languages.

AdobeSING2-mul - Smart Independent Glyphlets. Required for InDesign, InCopy and SING Glyphlet Manager. It provides management of Asian characters. SING is required for InDesign and InCopy in all languages to open and modify documents containing embedded asian glyphlets.

AdobeSoundbooth2All - Adobe Soundbooth 2 product installer.

AdobeSoundbooth2CodecsAll - There is some content for Soundbooth that must not be deployed and unencrypted without first verifying the serial number used for deployment is valid. This content generally includes royalty-bearing items such as codecs. Without this protected content some primary workflows for Soundbooth 2 will not be supported. The installation technology will verify that a valid serial number is used.

AdobeSuiteSharedConfiguration-mul - Flexible serialization and BridgeTalk group information are both contained in this payload. Without this payload the products will fail to activate and no longer execute.

AdobeTypeSupport9-mul - Type support required by most CS4 applications in order to accurately display fonts. Without this payload most applications will fail to execute.

AdobeUtilities2-mul - Language resources for localizing the folder name of the Utilities folder on the Mac platform. Without this payload the ExtendScript Toolkit functionality will not function properly.

AdobeVersionCue4All - Payload enabling Version Cue funcitonality. Required by InCopy, InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash Pro. With this payload Version Cue functionality will fail to execute.

AdobeVideoProfilesAE2-mul - Color profiles specific to After Effects.

AdobeVideoProfilesCS2-mul - Color profiles specific to video workflows in Photoshop. Video workflows in Photoshop will continue to work without these profiles; but, will not have useful color profiles available.

AdobeWinSoftLinguisticsPluginAll - A variant on AdobeLinguisticsAll specific for Middle Eastern, North African and Central European languages.

AdobeXMPPanelsAll - This payload installs the XMP metadata read/write/edit feature set in most point products. Without this payload none of the UI for supporting XMP metadata will be available. This payload is require for most products; but, optional for Soundbooth.

aifsdk-mac - This payload includes the Adobe Pixel Bender toolkit, an IDE for working with the Pixel Bender image and video processing infrastructure.

AMEAdditionalExporter1All - The payload for the Adobe Media Exporter application extensions used with Flash Pro, Premiere Pro, and After Effects. Without this payload the Adobe Media Exporter will fail to execute.

AMECore1All - Payload continuing the Adobe Media Exporter application, used in common workflows with Flash Pro, Premiere Pro and After Effects.

AMEDolby1All - There is some content for the Adobe Media Encoder that must not be deployed and unencrypted without first verifying the serial number used for deployment is valid. This content generally includes royalty-bearing items such as codecs, mpeg decoders, etc. Without this protected content some workflows for the Adobe Media Encoder will not be supported. The installation technology will verify that a valid serial number is used.

AMEExporter1All - There is some content for the Adobe Media Encoder that must not be deployed and unencrypted without first verifying the serial number used for deployment is valid. This content generally includes royalty-bearing items such as codecs, mpeg decoders, etc. Without this protected content some workflows for the Adobe Media Encoder will not be supported. The installation technology will verify that a valid serial number is used.

AMEImporter1All - There is some content for the Adobe Media Encoder that must not be deployed and unencrypted without first verifying the serial number used for deployment is valid. This content generally includes royalty-bearing items such as codecs, mpeg encoders, etc. Without this protected content some workflows for the Adobe Media Encoder will not be supported. The installation technology will verify that a valid serial number is used.

FPPluginMac_STI - The web browser plugin for Adobe Flash Player. This is required by Flash Pro for critical user workflows.

kuler2.0-mul - The kuler CSXS extension payload. Without this extension point products should continue to function properly but without the kuler functionality.

Posted by Eric Wilde at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Today David Johnson from Adobe Customer Care discusses some of the happenings for installers and licensing from the customer care point of view. David's experience with customers and input from the Adobe Creative Suite 3 installation problems helped us fix the bugs that were causing retail customers the most problems in CS3. This helped significantly reduce customer support calls for CS4 installation issues. David also goes through some of the tools to help users help themselves when installation failures occur. --Eric

With the release of every product, inevitably customers will encounter some problems. Adobe Customer Care strives to provide support for current issues and to ensure that problems are addressed in future releases of our software. I am a member of the Technical Response Team, and we are the liaison between tech support agents around the globe and the engineering teams. We handle escalations, collect and analyze call trends to provide feedback to product teams on top issues.

With the Adobe Creative Suite 4 products, we greatly improved messaging around installation errors. If an installation wasn’t completely successful, you will see a dialog box with the error message encountered during the installation. The error message allows you to search for solutions in our Knowledge Base, http://www.adobe.com/support/. We are constantly creating and updating support documentation on the latest issues.

We also introduced a new tool with the Adobe Creative Suite 4 products that increases your ability to find resolutions to installation problems. In the ‘More Information’ dialog at the end of a failed or partial installation you can click Get Support. The Get Support option directs you to a tool called the Adobe Support Advisor (ASA), http://www.adobe.com/go/loganalyzer . The ASA tool is designed to analyze Adobe Creative Suite 3 and 4 logs on your machine and to display any known technical support documentation for your issue. This allows you to find solutions to your installation problem without having to search the support site or contacting Adobe Customer Care.

We recognize that we have not documented every installation problem (yet), but the ASA tool has a ‘Package for Support’ option that allows you to upload a package to Customer Care which can help us identify the source of your installation failure. The package contains your installation log file, the search results we found (which includes information on unknown issues), and a basic system information file. This information is assigned a unique token that only Adobe employees have access to.

When you exit the ASA tool you are also prompted to report the found issues to Adobe. If you click okay to accept, a small file containing statistical data about the failures you encountered during the installation process is submitted. The statistical data in that file cannot be linked to an individual machine and is intended to provide us with information on common failures.

The Technical Response Team is updating the ASA tool frequently to provide solutions for the issues we are seeing. Both Eric Wilde’s engineering team and the Technical Response Team are committed to eliminate known installation failures and the Adobe Support Advisor is a great tool that can get us there.

David Johnson
Technical Response Team

Posted by Eric Wilde at 9:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)

Tonight the Experience Designer lead for the next iteration of our installers will post some thoughts about the challenges of creating a good experience with complex installers. In addition, she touches on a bit of the design philosophy she uses in her work.

--Eric Wilde

***

Installer design is a special treat for an experience designer - the best user experience is no experience at all. It’s usually unfamiliar; it’s putting bits on your system and words like “fear” come up routinely. No matter what you’re installing or how technical you are, retail customers go through the same series of steps in the same order. Then it might take time; and, btw you have insufficient RAM. We know.

Much of the installation frustration is about how long it takes. As designers, we’re focused on most everything else - working towards easy and clear - and designing a more responsive UI and workflow. As users, we’re focused on getting through the installer quickly and getting to the product. How do we keep the installer out of sight and facilitate a safe installation?

In the CS4 and past install experiences, the installer asked that some applications and browsers be closed, right away. So it’s technically safer, but a more intrusive user experience. Opening those apps during the actual installation step could actually lead to problems… (resource files and other shared components get used and sometimes locked by other apps.)

This balance sits right between back-end facts and an optimally designed workflow. In the end you need both - successful installation, positive experience.

***

In CS5, one of our design principles is to Be Respectful. It’s your machine, after all. The design focus is shifting to allow work to continue, and the installer gets a little smarter about sharing with other applications.

The design challenge is clearly messaging about what comes up, options, or when to close another application if it’s unavoidable. From a design perspective, the error prevention and handling model has been a key focus.

As much as possible we promote more system self-sufficiency in error management… things go wrong. I believe that feedback shouldn’t criticize you. Did you actually make a mistake by using Word? Do people err? When is the right time to communicate system requirements? When we have to indicate something isn’t right, the focus should be on instructive information. To that end we can display messaging inline, contextually.

***

Showing the right amount of information on the custom options screen - but only what’s relevant - is a key design challenge. The interface should enable quick scanning and choosing what you want to install. Not hiding info on one hand, but not bothering you on the other. And which pieces really matter? Showing the information that matters in clear, honest ways goes right to trust - and installation is the 1st Adobe experience with whichever product you just got.

This single configuration screen shows which products can be installed, where they are going on the HD, how much room they take up, just for starters. And then there is the how much to show, by default - a question we’ve been working on with research and testing. Seeing components shared between some apps, with varying degrees of dependence just brings up more questions. On the flip side, not displaying those details means you dig around, wondering.

Except for system administrators, it’s a 1st experience for most people. Because of that key fact, I return to the definition of intuitive as familiar, in brainstorming and reviewing this screen.

In revisiting the configuration screen (much discussed on YouTube), one idea stands out: nobody wants to configure. The strategic goal here is to be up-front but not overwhelming. At the tactical level, it’s an easy, explicit interaction. It’s honoring the no-configure idea by avoiding expand/collapse arrows or pull-downs, using any tools available to reduce the effort it takes to unselect or see more.

All the UI stuff - text and controls - should support the user making an informed decision, simply and accurately. It’s a tough challenge. Accurate just isn’t that simple.

***

The XD process has included going through feedback, user testing with users and going through more installs than my computer ever asked for. Figuring out how to best represent the various parts and their relationship - or not - has left us with an interesting gallery of non-working designs along the path. Since the install experience is workflow driven, we work closely with development to have a shared understanding of that flow.

Getting to that balance between safe and invisible, we try to tilt the whole notion of installing towards a successful experience. If it’s positive, you might just notice it less.

Posted by Eric Wilde at 9:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (21)

I would like to introduce a new segment on the blog, dedicated to the latest and greatest methods for deploying your Creative Suite software. Please look for future tips covering all aspects of deployment and updating.

My name is Chris Hohman and I have been a Product Manager with Adobe for the last 2.5yrs. Working on improvements to the enterprise deployment experience since I began, I am now fully indoctrinated into the land of OOBE. It was speaking with customers like you that inspired the creation of the Adobe Creative Suites 4 Deployment Toolkit (CSDT). Hey it is a start, and there will be more to come.

Let me also introduce the CSDT if you are not familiar with it. The CSDT is an efficient, easy-to-use, and reliable application that configures Adobe Creative Suite 4’s installers for silent deployment. It’s Adobe AIR-based (Adobe Integrated Runtime) interface allows you to create a remotely deployable install package without laboriously hand-editing configuration files. More information can be found at http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/openoptions/cs/deployment_toolkit.html

Setting up multiple distribution points using Microsoft SMS 2003 /SCCM 2007 and the Adobe CS4 Deployment Toolkit

On a recent customer visit, our team was able to address an issue relevant to many of you that set up multiple distribution points spanning across more than one server.

Here’s what you need to know:

Microsoft SMS/SCCM provides the ability to deploy from a common shared file. Here are the details straight from the MS website, “At installation, SMS assigns the distribution point role to the site server. You can create additional distribution points to reduce the load on the site server and provide access to all client computers in your site. If software distribution in your SMS system includes multiple sites, specify a distribution point in each site to ensure access by client computers and to distribute the load.”
“If you use the common SMS package shared folder on distribution points, when the first package is sent to a distribution point, the distribution point is given the share name \\computername\SMSPKGdriveletter$ on the NTFS drive that contains the most available space.”

The CSDT requires an absolute path to the source install location in the AdobeUberInstaller.XML and AdobeUberUninstaller.XML files and this causes problems with the share location.
Load distribution can be achieved by changing the UNC install location path of the UberInstaller to the local parent directory of each DP server.

This is accomplished as follows:
1. Use the CSDT to create a package normally.
2. Open the AdobeUberInstaller.xml in an editor and replace the UNC parameters with a “/.” to indicate that it needs to refer to the parent drive of the server. Please note that the usual value of the "InstallerLocation" parameter is taken from the same "Media Path" which you selected in the first screen of the CS Deployment Toolkit.
3. Repeat for the AdobeUberUninstaller.xml.
4. On the source server, place the full adobe installer including all payloads and extensions along with the two modified XML files and the two executables created by the CSDT.
5. Use this source location to set up the SMS/SCCM packages
6. Repeat this process across all servers used for load balancing

This process can help you set up SMS using the CSDT. It has worked for two customers and counting. If you know of an alternative way to accomplish this same task, please share.

Feedback is always appreciated.

Cheers until next time.

Chris
chohman@adobe.com

Posted by Chris Hohman at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (26)