EasyCatalog-upgrades in the Adobe® Creative Cloud

Until the introduction of Adobe's® "Creative Cloud" (CC) in 2014, the customer could determine the upgrade cycles in the then "Creative Suite" (CS) according to his or her own preferences. Every upgrade of the Adobe programmes - here, especially InDesign is meant - was purchased and required a paid upgrade of EasyCatalog. With the introduction of the Creative Cloud and the associated subscription model, nothing has changed in principle, but the process is new.

Even with CC upgrades, e.g. from CC 2014 to CC 2015, an EasyCatalog upgrade is also necessary, since a certain EasyCatalog version was always purchased with regard to a certain InDesign version. What is new here is that the upgrades are partly imported automatically by the CC system and do not have to be paid for explicitly due to the subscription model. Depending on the subscription version, a monthly contribution is usually made and the upgrade then comes "at some point" and apparently free of charge. At exactly this point, the dedicated user is surprised that his EasyCatalog panel can no longer be found. The EasyCatalog licence is simply not available for this (new) InDesign® version and must be ordered for a fee. Recently, we have received many enquiries from irritated customers regarding the described connections, which should also be clarified by this article.

Adobe's® product policy does not fundamentally change the upgrade relationship between InDesign and EasyCatalog. However, it seems that Adobe's® upgrade cycles are becoming shorter (once a year) and do not have to be explicitly "triggered" by the cloud integration. Due to the subscription model, the InDesign upgrade initially appears free of charge, whereas the EasyCatalog upgrade is chargeable. Depending on the subscription option and the CC package chosen, however, the Adobe® price for the old CS variant is about a third higher, while the EasyCatalog prices have remained constant. There is no obligation to upgrade in the Adobe® Creative Cloud. Upgrades can also be reversed there, so that full functionality is given with the existing EasyCatalog plug-in. Of course, Adobe's® subscription must still be paid, even if no upgrades are made.

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For further questions on the subject of "Upgrading EasyCatalog" and all other questions on "Database Publishing with EasyCatalog", please do not hesitate to contact us at any time.
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A critical summary of two years of Adobe Creative Cloud
http://www.cleverprinting.de/Cleverprinting-Newsletter_2015_04.html