Adobe Software on Campus

Sign In

Account Info: Once you enter your SMU email address, you will be redirected to the Sign In page. When prompted, select "Enterprise ID."

Adjunct instructors may sign in using their sponsored account ID and smu.edu. For example, SPNID@smu.edu.
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Adobe Creative Cloud is a collection of 20+ apps for photography, video, design, web, UX, and social media — plus integrated essentials like color palettes, font families, and the power to collaborate with anyone, anywhere.

Benefit-eligible employees can authenticate to the Adobe Creative Cloud and download the latest Adobe applications to their office computer and one home device, such as a laptop, as part of our "Named User Licensing.".

Our "Shared Device License" allows us to install the latest versions of the applications in computer labs and on instructor stations. Adjunct faculty, instructors, temporary staff, sponsored users, and currently-active students can use the software on any campus computer with a "Shared Device License."

Getting Started

From the Creative Cloud

The Adobe Creative Cloud application facilitates self-service workflows for users to download and install applications within the Adobe Creative Cloud suite and provides automatic updates to those applications. For users with the cloud services, signing in also enables access to Creative Cloud services, such as activating fonts from Adobe Fonts, getting personal storage, and sharing and gathering feedback on Behance.

From the Application

Upon launching an application within the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite, a sign-in screen will display. End-users can sign in with their credentials to license the app. If a user is not entitled to that particular application, it will launch in trial mode but will stop working once the trial period expires.

User Entitlements Matrix

Role Default Spark with Premium Features
for Higher-Ed
Shared Device Licensing		 Default All Apps Plan
Named User Licensing
Adjunct Faculty Yes
Benefit Eligible Employees
Yes
Instructor Yes
Temporary Staff Yes
Sponsored Users Yes
Active Students Yes

Changes to Adobe Licensing include:

  • Requirement for all users to sign in with an Adobe account (All users will use their SMU ID and password)
  • Benefit Eligible Staff and Faculty will be assigned Named User licensing

Adobe Licensing for SMU

Employees

Benefit Eligible Employees are licensed under the Named User Licensing. The Named User Licensing ties the usage of Adobe apps and services to an individual user. Computers must connect to Adobe servers for initial activation, and then at least once every 99 days. End users can sign in with their credentials to access the apps and services.

Named User Details:

  • Named licenses require periodic Internet connectivity.
  • Computers must connect to Adobe servers for initial activation, and then at least once every 99 days.
  • End users can sign in with their credentials to access the apps and services through Single Sign-On
  • Users can install/activate Adobe Creative Cloud software on up to 2 Devices simultaneously

Named User Licensing, provides:

  • Access to World-class creative & productivity apps: Including the latest cloud first applications such as Adobe XD, Lightroom CC and Adobe Dimension. These applications are not available with any other licensing method.
  • Access to Adobe Cloud services: Jump-start projects with anywhere, any-device access to assets in Creative Cloud Libraries, and font collections from Adobe Fonts.

Students

Students are licensed under the Shared Device License (SDL). The Shared Device License is a huge leap forward in the experience that students have when accessing Adobe products in shared-device environments. Students will be able to:

Documentation and Training

  • Adobe Education Exchange
    Created by educators for educators, the Adobe Education Exchange is a free learning platform offering instant access to professional development, teaching materials, and other tools designed to ignite creativity in the classroom.
  • Adobe MAX
    Adobe's free online conference. Recordings of sessions are available online.
  • Adobe for Education YouTube Channel
    Watch livestreams with community members and expert guests, and a full library of tutorial videos.
  • Learning Adobe Creative Cloud (LinkedIn Learning)
    In this introductory course, Instructor Chad Chelius explores all the suite has to offer. He shows how to upload, download, and manage files in the cloud, and reviews the sharing and collaboration workflow. Then he demonstrates how to store and share reusable assets in CC Libraries. Finally, he shows how to use the Creative Cloud and other Adobe mobile apps to take your work anywhere your creativity leads.

FAQs About Adobe Software

Yes. Students will login using a Federated ID. This allows all campus users to login using their SMU ID and password to access Adobe Creative Cloud Applications.

No. Shared device licenses are not available for home use.

Students can log in and out of unlimited lab computers. Shared device licensing only works on lab computers so they will not be able to use Shared Device Licenses outside an SMU lab or Public workstation.

They will need to create their own free Adobe ID in the sign-in page to access Creative Cloud Apps on a public computer.
Yes. Users will have to login to the computer and then re-enter their credentials when any of the Creative Cloud Applications are launched on the computer. If no Adobe Creative Cloud applications are launched, no additional sign-in will be required.
Yes. To use a Creative Cloud application, users will need to log in each time on a public computer.
Just one login to Creative Cloud will unlock access to all other apps.
Staff and faculty will use Named User Licensing.