I recieved my copy of Adobe CS Standard this past tuesday. I payed for expedient shipping, and I sure did not get it, as I know others who got their boxes 3 to 4 business days before I got mine. I am just glad to finally have it, I am really looking forward to the new features in all the new apps (sans GoLive, I am a Dreamweaver type of person).
PRINTED MANUAL?
If you buy the new Adobe CS applications separately, you will get the printed manual in the box. If you get the Adobe CS Standard or Premium, you do not get printed manuals. You get a 92 page booklet that has 2 pages of "what's new" content, and a bunch of lessons such as "how to make a brochure." All I have to say is WTF?
I guess Adobe thinks it would make the CS suite too expensive to include the manuals, yet they are available from the Adobe Store. This is total BS. There are reports on MacInTouch about the printed manuals. Some people called Adobe Customer Support about the lack of manuals, and they got the line that I just described.
You see I like having the printed manuals. Apparently I am not the only one. Having a PDF manual is nice to be able to do a keyword search on, but for all intents and purposes, I would much rather read about things in a book, I burn out my retina enough as it is.
Hey Adobe! You made a bad choice here. Why include the manuals in the single application boxes and not the entire suite? If I pay $1,229.00 for a suite of apps, I expect printed documentation, and not 2 pages of "what's new" and a stupid bunch of tutorials. I also like the tri-fold Quick Reference Card with all the tools, palette options, and keyboard shortcuts. I cannot see how printed materials are too expensive for someone like Adobe.
Odd thing though, I got a different story when I called the Adobe Tech. line. I was also told the manuals ship with the single application boxes, but they were not yet available for purchase. Also they would cost $50 a piece. This is not true at all. They cost $30 a piece, and are available for purchase right now. They are also available in a Standard and Premium bundle for $49 and $59 respectively. I have half a notion to call back and hope I get a different tech. on the phone to see if I get a different answer, the correct answer. Other people have been told they can buy the manuals online, after all.
Article comments
1 - visualsimplicity
Hey, thanks for the review. The new stuff seem pretty neat. Makes me want to dive in and give it a whirl sometime. It's always handy to read about the negatives of a program. Looking forward to your next continued review.
2 - Pauline
If you like your keyboard shortcuts, don't buy this program. None of the Windows function shortcuts (Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+S, etc.) work.
3 - Ken Edwards
Huh? Control+S works just fine! A friend owns the PC version, and it does, in fact work. Why those standard ones would not work is beyond me.
Well actually it is not beyond me. I know that if you decide to install on of the PC kracks for the Adobe CS suite, you loose a lot of keyboard shortcut functionality. I have read this on a couple message boards.
I don't want to point fingers, but I do want people to know this is not a flaw with the applications. The first pdx crack out basically disabled the control key.
Wow, isn't google a good friend ;)