Adobe Creative Cloud: Sign in to Install and Activate Adobe Creative Cloud Apps

To install and activate Adobe Creative Cloud apps for a VIP (Volume Incentive Plan) license, follow the steps below.

Note: This article is for signing in to Adobe Creative Cloud to use Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Dreamweaver, InDesign, etc. If you are creating or editing .PDF's, please follow Sign In to Adobe Acrobat Pro.

Sign In to Adobe and Install Creative Cloud

  1. Go to adobe.com.
  2. Click Sign in in the upper right hand corner.

Main Adobe.com website showing Sign In in upper right side of page selected

  1. Enter your UMN email address (which is your Adobe ID). Note:
  • If you have not previously created an Adobe Personal Account that uses your umn.edu email address, select Create an account and supply the requested information.
  • IMPORTANT: DO NOT select Facebook, Google or Apple.
  • When you have created an account, sign in using your umn.edu email address.

Adobe Sign in page, shows sign in with UMN email address. Added text says First create an account if needed.

  1. If asked to select an account, select Personal. DO NOT select Company or School Account

Select an account screen showing UMN email address and Personal Account option chosen

  1. Enter your unique Adobe password. If you have an Adobe ID but forgot the password, select Reset your password.

Enter your password screen showing signing in with a Personal account.

  1. Click Continue. 
  2. If asked to select a profile, select the profile for Office of Information Technology Master VIP Agreement.

Select a profile screen showing Office of Information Technology Master VIP Agreement option chosen

  1. A Welcome screen appears. Click the Open Creative Cloud button to see your Creative Cloud applications.

Adobe.com Welcome back screen shows a large Creative Cloud symbol and welcome message, and beneath that is highlighted the Open Creative Cloud button link

  1. To get started, install the Creative Cloud (CC) Desktop app first. 
  • Use the CC Desktop app to install and manage your Creative Cloud apps.
  • Apps listed as available in your plan depend on which licenses you purchased.

Creative Cloud Application screen that shows applications available in your plan, with the Creative Cloud application highlighted and the added text, Install this first.

You do not need to sign out from either the CC Desktop app, or from individual CC apps. If you do sign out, you will need to sign in again to use these apps. To sign in, start the CC Desktop app and sign in from there (use your umn email, and "Personal" account and  VIP Agreement Profile as shown in steps 2-6 above).

Additional Information

Creative Cloud licenses and Acrobat

  • Full Adobe Creative Cloud Suite license holders should use Acrobat through their Creative Cloud Suite package.
  • Single Adobe CC app license holders who also use Acrobat need to sign in to the CC app using a "Personal" account as above, but will need to sign out and then sign in to Acrobat with a "Company or School" account to use our umn Acrobat Pro DC Enterprise license.
  • Acrobat-only users should sign in to Acrobat with a "Company or School" account to use our umn Acrobat Pro DC Enterprise license.

Purchase Creative Cloud

Adobe Creative Cloud requires purchase of a license. If a faculty, staff, or student needs a license then their Department needs to buy a license for them, or they need to purchase their own license. See purchase options for the University of Minnesota.

System Requirements

To view system requirements, go to: Creative Cloud system requirements  

Requires latest C++ distributable, or Adobe apps will not start up. See the latest supported Visual C++ .

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