Keeping our programs always updated is very important if we want to avoid problems in our day to day. Some programs (like browsers) update automatically while we use them so that we always have the latest version. Other programs show us a warning and force us to go to the official website to download the new versions and install them. And others, like Photoshop and other Adobe programs, have a program in charge of controlling all the software (Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop) from where we can download the new versions and all the updates very easily to keep our software up to date.
Adobe often releases new minor updates for its programs from time to time. Among them, for Photoshop. A minor Photoshop update is one that usually includes stability, performance, and security fixes and improvements but does not bring new features or functions. These are typical maintenance updates for all programs. Of course, these minor updates are completely free for all users.
In addition to these updates, each year more or less Adobe usually releases new versions of its programs. New versions are those that do bring new functions and features to Creative Cloud programs. In addition, these new versions, as long as we have a current subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud , are completely free. That is, as long as we pay month by month, or year by year, we will always have the right to download the latest versions of programs, such as Photoshop, without having to pay anything else.
However, despite these updates, there are users who do not always download them. What should we consider before updating Photoshop , or any other Adobe program?
When to update or not to update Photoshop
Generally, the new versions of Photoshop, usually bring a lot of improvements. We cannot deny that. However, depending on the type of update in question, in practice we may encounter some problems.
First let’s talk about minor updates, maintenance patches. These patches focus on bringing internal fixes and improvements to the program without altering its operation. They usually correct errors, fix vulnerabilities, or improve program stability, performance, or resource consumption. These updates should always be installed as they only do the program good.
Secondly we are going to see the new versions. As usually happens in most programs, when changing from one version to another many things change. For good and sometimes for bad. New versions of Photoshop, Premiere or any other Adobe program may introduce changes to the functions or the interface that some users may find annoying. There may even be compatibility issues with projects created in older versions. Therefore, these updates must be installed with caution , it is always preferable to do it when we do not have any important project open and checking, once installed, that everything is in place and we will not have problems to continue working.
If we use Photoshop, Lightroom or Premiere for personal use, we can update Photoshop, or whatever Adobe program is, almost always without problems, since there will be no changes that will cause us headaches.
How to update Photoshop (or other Adobe programs)
Adobe centralizes everything related to its software within its Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop program . From this software we will be able to control our subscriptions and access all the programs that are part of them. In addition, here we will also find all the services that come associated with our Adobe account, such as Fonts, Stock and much more.
Within this program, in the left panel, we will find a section called “Updates”. Within it we will be able to see everything related to the updates that are available for each installed program.
As we can see, here we will see the programs that have a new version, with the text “Update”, and the recently updated programs, at the bottom, with the ” Recently updated ” category.
If we keep a previous version of one of the programs (such as Adobe Premiere Pro 13, the 2019 version), this software will offer us the possibility to install, on the one hand, minor updates to this program (maintenance patches), and on the other, make the jump to the latest version which, in the previous screenshot, would be Premiere Pro 14, the 2020 version that appears labeled “new”.
We can update the programs by clicking on the “Update” button in each of them, in case we want to install experimental updates, or by clicking on “Update all” to install all the updates of all the programs at once.
Turn on automatic updates
If we want our programs to be always updated and we do not want to be aware of these new versions, we can choose to activate the ” automatic updates “. To do this, we must click on the gear-shaped button that appears at the top of the Adobe Creative Cloud window, and in the “Applications” section we will find the possibility of activating automatic updates.
By activating this option we will no longer have to worry about updating Photoshop or the other programs of this company. From now on, Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop will be in charge of always updating all our programs to the latest versions, so we can always be up to date. Of course, we must make sure that this software is configured to run at Windows startup. If we have disabled the automatic start directly it will not work.
Try Adobe “beta” programs
Adobe has a beta version testing platform. Thanks to it, users can test new features and functions before they arrive as a major update, and at the same time, users help Adobe detect and correct errors and bugs before they reach all users in a timely manner. stable.
These beta versions can be found in the ” Beta applications ” section that we can find in the left panel of Creative Cloud Desktop. Here we will see a list with all the programs that have a beta version available to test. Photoshop, for example, does not have a public beta version for now.
If our Adobe subscription includes these programs we can install them directly. If we do not have such subscriptions we can download the trial versions of these beta versions that we can use for free for a few days.
Adobe “beta” programs are installed independently of stable programs. This means that we can be using the stable version of a program, for example, Premiere, and have the independent beta version, with its own configuration, at the same time. Thus, testing the “betas” does not mean having to give up stability.