Adobe CC (Creative Cloud)

There are good alternatives to Adobe products that can be used by any employee at no additional cost, and that can often be installed on private computers even after employees leave the institute.

Here are possible alternatives:

Acrobat Professional

PDF XChange Pro

Photoshop

Gimp, XnView, IrfanView

Illustrator

Libre Office, Inkscape, Scribus

Adobe Audition

Audacity

If there is nothing suitable, please write a ticket and describe to us exactly what needs to be done. We will then look for a suitable solution.

Adobe Cloud services/Adobe AI and privacy at the institute.

Please note the following when using Adobe software components in conjunction with Adobe Cloud or Adobe AI:

• There is no official approval for storage/use of institute data in the Adobe Cloud or the use of Adobe AI, neither from the MPG nor from the institute management.
• Any use must be verified by the user themselves in accordance with GDPR and Institute User Regulations.
• The user is fully responsible for the correct data protection compliant storage and use of the data.
• See statement from the MPDL below.
• IT advises against the use because of the above mentioned reasons.

Usage Instructions

Request for licenses - Registration

The new license terms of the contract between MPG and Adobe do not allow free access to the products for all employees. Instead, at the request of the department/group, a permanent (until the end of the contract in 2029) rental license must be activated for each individual user. If the employee leaves our institute before this date, we lose this license, but the costs continue to run until the end! Reassignment is only possible under certain circumstances and only if a new license is currently required. Therefore, please understand that license assignments are generally only made for employees who are with the institute on a long-term basis. Please understand that internal IT has no influence on the license terms, we are only required to implement them. Contracts are negotiated MPG-wide.

See MPDL - SoLi - Adobe Creative Cloud

Important! There must NOT be a private Adobe account created with the institute email address. If you have one, please delete it before applying for the institute license. Otherwise, it is not possible to use the institute Adobe software.

The licenses must please be requested by ticket and confirmed by an email to us from the supervisor, with the following information.

• User name (as for institute login).
• First name, last name

Please note: The right to use the software expires at the end of the respective employee's contract with the institute. Login via the MPG services should then no longer be possible.

Instructions for logging in

At the Adobe User Portal

• https://account.adobe.com/
• Log in with company account!

At the Software

Example at CentralWindows

FAQ

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What is the MPDL statement on privacy and Adobe Cloud services?

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Question

"... How is the 100 GB Document Cloud included in the "Adobe Creative Cloud Complete CC ETLA" to be evaluated in terms of data protection. Are institute documents allowed to be stored/used/processed there and if so up to which data protection class..."

Answer

"...We have concluded an AV with Adobe in accordance with EU standard contractual clauses which also covers the use of the Creative Cloud. Against the backdrop of the current ECJ ruling („Schrems II“ (Case C-311/18)) and the discussions about the consequences of this ruling, according to which the client is clearly under an obligation to deal with the legal situation of the third country in question in each case, it will however be necessary to examine whether and to what extent it may still be necessary/capable of readjustment here. For this reason, we can not really recommend the use of the cloud functionalities currently..."

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What Adobe CC components available on CentralWindows?

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• Adobe Acrobat DC
• Adobe Illustrator
  (Unfortunately, Adobe Illustrator will no longer be available on CentralWindows from 2026, as Adobe no longer supports our current server platform.)
• Adobe Photoshop
• Creative Cloud Desktop Application

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What are the access requirements?

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• Employee of the institute
• Valid, current contract with the institute
• Ticket for license request and OK from group leader/responsible person
• Registration of the user by IT in the Adobe portal
• Login at the software or Adobe user portal with the institute email address (username@cbs.mpg.de) and the MAX or OHB password (if not known, please request).

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Is Adobe Sign included in our Adobe CC package?

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No.

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