Customer Reviews

Adobe Photoshop Extended CS4 Upgrade [OLD VERSION]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

PSCS4 is an incredible product. The extended edition offers 3D and other editing options that reach far beyond the standard version and, therefore, may not be what the average user wants or needs. But that is not what this review is about. This review is about...

...the upgrade process. I own PS7 that was upgraded to PSCS2 that was upgraded to PSCS4 Extended edition. The bad news is, you can't do it without a call to their tech services department. Prepare to be placed on hold for a few minutes (seems longer, though). Once you make contact with a person (in Mumbai), the process if fairly painless and, once all the shenanigans are complete, you have a fully operational product.

So, bottom line...coming from PSCS2 this is a worthwhile upgrade. Coming from PSCS3 extended...maybe not so much...but there is a difference of opinion on this depending on who you read. No doubt though, once I got it working, it was well worth the effort.

The software is great, but good luck getting it activated. I have owned and upgraded Photoshop since version 3, and have had hassles before, but never like this. I own CS2, and just purchased a CS4 Extended upgrade. After installation, the software asks you for the serial number of your OLD product, to verify you have an upgradable version. Well, the only choice it gives you is to provide a serial number for CS3 Extended. I don't HAVE CS3, I have CS2 (which IS eligible for upgrade to CS4 Extended, according to the Adobe website).

I emailed a request to Adobe for instructions on how to proceed. THREE days later, I get a response that says I need to call customer service. I called customer service, and it took 3 or 4 tries to get the person on the other end to understand what the problem was. SERIOUSLY? Am I the first person to try and upgrade this software from CS2???

After he understood the issue, he said he needed to transfer me. I was on the phone for a total of 1 HOUR, 34 MINUTES (according to the timer on my phone) BEFORE I GAVE UP!

I called back, and was told by the second person that CS2 is NOT eligible for upgrade to CS4 Extended, but he would see what he could do. Again, SERIOUSLY??? I am still on hold as I write this.

That ANY company would treat its customers this way is INEXCUSABLE.

UPDATE - TWO DAYS LATER: After getting disconnected from the second person, I sent another email to Adobe Support explaining my situation and pleading for help. Next day, I get the EXACT same canned email telling me to call customer service! THANKS FOR THE COMPASSION, ADOBE!

This morning I tried again. The people on the other end of the phone are pleasant enough, but don't have a strong understanding of the English language. Again I explained the situation. And, again, I explained it a second time. Again, I was placed on hold. After about 20 minutes, I was finally given the secret magic instructions: Enter the serial number for CS2 (where it asks for a CS3 Extended serial number), ctrl+shift+double-click, and give them the secret code that appears on the screen, so they can give me another secret code to enter to activate the software.
FINALLY it works, but WHY was this so insanely difficult??? ADOBE:FAIL

There is not much that can be said wrong about Photoshop itself. It is the most advanced photo editor there is, but heed the warnings from the other reviewers here. For any eligible product for this upgrade (as seen on Adobe's website), other than CS3 Extended, you will have to contact Adobe Customer Service in order to activate. The process was relatively painless with "Chad" but nonetheless, Adobe really dropped the ball with this.

I have been using Photoshop for five years and upgraded to CS4 because of support for the Canon 5d Mark II raw files. I haven't dealt with it yet but I am looking forward to being able to edit movies with the same tools I use with pictures.

I have been a photographer shooting in RAW and editing in both Photoshop CS2 and Photoshop Elements for many years and would consider myself and Intermediate user of Photoshop. However, the nightmare of upgrading to Photoshop's 'CS4 Extended' version will be memorable for several reasons:

1. Problems Registering/Activating My New CS4 Product Upgrade: When attempting to register my product (in order to activate it), I was prompted to enter the serial number for my previous version of "Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended". Since I only have the CS2 version, and could not find any other options in the program for registering my CS2 version of photoshop, I entered my CS2 version's serial number into the serial number window. This of course was rejected by the registration program, but I was not prompted with any additional instructions on how to correct the situation! Since I read about this registration/activation problem in other CS4 product reviews (prior to my purchase), I was well-advised and prepared to go to the Adobe.com website to find a customer service phone number to resolve this activation problem(Adobe's Customer Service: 800-833-6687).

2. Additional Problems When Contacting Adobe's Customer Service:

A. After over 1 hour on 'music hold', I finally spoke with an operator (from India) with a very thick dialect that made every english word difficult to understand. I needed to ask the operator continually to speak slowly and repeat what he was saying or asking.

B. The operator told me (in error) that only the "CS3 Extended" version of Photoshop could receive the upgrade to Photoshop's "CS4 Extended" version. I told him he was completely wrong and misinformed and then asked him to read the [] website to learn that ANY CS VERSION was compatible (ie: CS, CS2, or CS3 non-extended version) with Photoshop's upgrade to the "CS4 Extended" version. He then put me on hold and later came back on the telephone to tell me that I was right and he asked me to "forgive his ignorance". I asked him why he didn't even know this most basic and elementary fact about the photoshop upgrade to CS4, he gave me no answer (new customers to Adobe: be aware of the poor product knowledge of Adobe's telephone operators).

C. The same operator told me to go to the Adobe.com website to download the "30 day trial" of the CS4 Extended upgrade and then later for me to call back another customer service phone number (800-642-3623) in order to get an "unlock code" to be able to permanently use my "CS4 Extended" upgrade.

Activation was finally resolved when I called back another customer service operator (800-642-3623),after I downloaded the entire program from the Adobe.com website "for a 30 day trial" and this second operator gave me the code to make this "CS4 Extended" version the permanent one.

In spite of all I've said so far regarding Adobe's poor customer service, this "CS4 Extended" Upgrade has many new features that makes photo editing more intuitive and easier to learn than previous versions of photoshop (especially CS2). In addition, the photo display and cateloging features really makes it a much better program for photo finding, downloading, and reviewing than CS2. I bought the "Extended" version in order to 'grow into it' if I decided to try some of the 3D effects later. With all the hassles of activating the CS4 program, I'm still glad I upgraded to CS4 from CS2 and would recommend CS4 to anyone (in spite of all the above downloading caveats and customer service warnings).

If you are upgrading from any version other than CS3 then you MUST call Customer Support. Following on the lead of the previous reviewers I got up wicked-early and placed my call into the support desk where I was on hold for less than one minute. The nice gal was quite patient with my groggy state of mind. The process is really simple (PC given for Win7 x64): 1) Start PS (I selected x64 as both versions are installed). 2) When you get past the Splash Screen you will be given two choices, the 2nd is the challenge for the Serial Number; check the second item and enter the number, click Next. 3) The next screen will have you enter the S/N for the previous version; only CS3 will display in the DropDown ComboBox; do not fret -- and do not enter or select anything. 4) On the same screen hold Ctrl and Shift keys down and double-left-click (Lefty mouse users it will be double-right ;o) 5) You will get to another screen with a 2-step challenge/response; this is where Customer Support helps. I was off the phone within 9 minutes; I probably could have completed this faster had I been more awake. Photoshop is an indispensible tool, and one that I have used exclusively since Aldus was bought out. I have no idea why Adobe chose this upgrade path; my Illustrator upgraded from CS without any issues. 4 stars and not 5 -- mostly for the install issues. Enjoy!

I've used previous versions of Photoshop but was waiting for a compelling reason to spend the big bucks to upgrade from CS2. That reason is the Viveza plugin from NIK software. I was first introduced to NIK Software's amazing U-point technology in Nikon's Capture NX. (Unfortunately Capture NX saves the U-point edits as a sidecar to it's NEF files and none of my other software reads it.) Viveza 2 takes that revolutionary technology several steps further. Image editing that used to require hours of masking can now be done in a couple of minutes ... and very cleanly. Plus, with the Smart Filters in CS4, the edits are non-destructive and completely editable. I bring my images in using Photoshop's Camera Raw and make some fundamental adjustments (e.g., strengthening, lens correction, etc.), open it in CS4, change it to a Smart Object by saying I want to use a Smart Filter, and then run Viveza. The edits are saved as a standard PSD layer and all my other imaging software takes it in stride. For me, the Photoshop upgrade price was just the price of admission for being able to take full advantage of Viveza. In CS4, Adobe has also cleaned up the user interface quite a bit.

Hi, yes its like everyone said, you have to call customer service to get it Activated if your upgrading from CS2 and below, I had to install the trial and then call customer service to get it Activated and working out of trial mode...another thing I had problems with the install; I have Windows 7 Pro 64 Bit, if you don't shut down every one of your programs including the Virus protection software you won't get this installed...I finally followed the advice of someone and shut down all start up programs and it installed without a hitch...then you get to call Customer Service...gee this is the first time I have ever waited two versions of Photoshop to upgrade and they made it hard but it works...just a pain. The program is well worth the upgrade and I'm happy I've upgraded, although I've heard CS5 is short in coming...and it will be worth it to upgrade just as well...Happy Photoshopping....futurexboy!!