Adobe recently released an updated Creative Cloud app (CC App) that replaces the original one. They have been rolling this out gradually and many have now received the update. If you haven’t yet, it will automatically update soon.
Since everything’s moved around, let’s take a look at the different options and how it works. To access it, click on the Creative Cloud icon in the System Tray (Windows) / Menubar (Mac). Click on the Apps tab and you’ll see the following screen:
The main differences to the original are in the layout, and as you’ll see from the above screen, the options are laid out and accessed slightly differently.
The apps are divided into sections. At the top of the Apps page, Installed lists the programs already installed on your computer. They have a button either to Open the app or Update (if there is an update available). To see all apps that may have outstanding updates, click Updates in the top left corner. To the right of each app is a More button (…) which allows you to see other versions or the Uninstall. To see how to roll back to a previous version of Lightroom Classic, see this blog post.
The next section on the Apps page is Available in your plan. These apps are part of your subscription and are available to install, if you wish to use them.
The final section is Trials. These apps are not included in your subscription but you can install on a trial basis (generally 7 days). This allows you to try the full version before adding them to your subscription. If you know you want the app, simply click Buy Now.
The Categories section in the left pane sorts apps by the chosen topic. So, Photo will show all relevant apps, this time divided into the sections of Popular for photography / Edit photos on the go / Assets and inspiration / Organization and enhancement / Showcase your work. The options above are combined here, so you can Install or Open Desktop apps, launch the web versions of products that are in your subscription plan or send a link for installing a mobile app to your device. The mobile link can be sent via SMS to your mobile or to the email address registered to your Adobe account. The other Categories work similarly but concentrate on Design and other apps Adobe offer.
In the top right corner, there are further icons. Click on your avatar icon in the top right to access and update your CC App Preferences, such as the install location. This also allows you to sign in or sign out, deactivating or reactivating all of your subscribed apps. The cloud icon shows the cloud space used and current file sync status. This doesn’t tell you whether Lightroom has finished syncing, as the Creative Cloud file sync is separate (and works more like Dropbox).
For extensive information on Lightroom Classic, see Adobe Lightroom Classic – The Missing FAQ.
If you have the Photography Plan, then as well as Classic you have access to the Lightroom cloud ecosystem including the mobile apps and web interface. For more information on these apps, see Adobe Lightroom – Edit Like a Pro.
Note: purchase of these books includes the first year’s Classic or cloud-based Premium Membership (depending on the book purchased), giving access to download the latest eBook (each time Adobe updates the software), email assistance for the applicable Lightroom version if you hit a problem, and other bonuses.
We also have a special bundle offer for the two books. This includes Premium Membership for the first year as described above for the whole Lightroom family!
How does it work for me? Poorly. It is lit up with a “New update” for Acrobat DC, which I do *not* have on my MB Pro. So instead of “Update Now” it says “Try.” I can’t get rid of this message.
Post a screenshot on the forum (link in the menubar) and we’ll help you figure out what’s going on. Try is offering you a trial, you can ignore that if you don’t want to try it.
I am having some difficulty with this new CC App. It is too cluttered and confusing. When I ran it a version 20.0.6 was offered and when I clicked on the UPDATE button it did nothing except show that the update was “waiting….”. I waited – but nothing happened. I don’t follow the logic of this. The Photoshop App was the only one offering an update, yet the word “waiting….” appeared below all versions of the apps included in the Photography plan. One could wait until hell freezes over.
It could be high demand on the Adobe servers. However, if you still have the issue try logging out of your Adobe account (in the CC App) then back in again, this has helped quite a few with issues.