User Guide Cancel

Create packages with device licenses

  1. Adobe Enterprise & Teams: Administration guide
  2. Plan your deployment
    1. Basic concepts
      1. Licensing
      2. Identity
      3. User management
      4. App deployment
      5. Admin roles
    2. Deployment Guides
      1. Named User deployment guide
      2. SDL deployment guide
    3. Deploy Creative Cloud for education
      1. Deployment guide
      2. Integration with Canvas LMS
      3. Integration with Blackboard Learn
      4. Configuring SSO for District Portals and LMSs
      5. Kivuto FAQ
      6. Primary and Secondary institution eligibility guidelines
  3. Set up your organization
    1. Set up identity
      1. Identity types | overview
      2. Set up organization with Enterprise ID
      3. Set up organization with Federated ID
        1. SSO overview
        2. Setup Azure Connector and sync
          1. Set up SSO with Microsoft via Azure OIDC
          2. Add Azure Sync to your directory
          3. Azure Connector FAQ
        3. Set up Google Federation and sync
          1. Set up SSO with Google Federation
          2. Add Google Sync to your directory
          3. Google federation FAQ
        4. Generic SAML
          1. Set up SSO with other SAML providers
          2. Set up SSO with Microsoft Azure ADFS
          3. SSO Common questions
          4. SSO Troubleshooting
        5. Education SSO
          1. Configure SSO for District Portals and LMS
          2. Common questions
          3. Dovetail
      4. Verify ownership of a domain
      5. Add and manage domains
      6. Link domains to directories
      7. Use directory trust to add pre-claimed domains
      8. Migrate to new authentication provider
    2. Asset settings
    3. Authentication settings
    4. Privacy and security contacts
    5. Console settings
    6. Manage encryption
  4. Manage products and entitlements
    1. Manage users
      1. Overview
      2. Administrative roles
      3. User management techniques
        1. Manage users individually   
        2. Manage multiple users (Bulk CSV)
        3. User Sync tool (UST)
        4. User management API (UMAPI)
        5. Microsoft Azure Sync
        6. Google Federation Sync
      4. Change user's identity type
      5. Manage user groups
      6. Manage directory users
      7. Manage developers
      8. Migrate existing users to the Adobe Admin Console
      9. Migrate user management to the Adobe Admin Console
    2. Manage products and product profiles
      1. Manage products
      2. Manage product profiles for enterprise users
      3. Manage self-service policies
      4. Manage app integrations
      5. Manage product permissions in the Admin Console  
      6. Enable/disable services for a product profile
      7. Single App | Creative Cloud for enterprise
      8. Optional services
    3. Manage Shared Device licenses
      1. What's new
      2. Deployment guide
      3. Create packages
      4. Recover licenses
      5. Migrate from Device Licensing
      6. Manage profiles
      7. Licensing toolkit
      8. Shared Device Licensing FAQ
  5. Manage storage and assets
    1. Storage
      1. Manage enterprise storage
      2. Adobe Creative Cloud: Update to storage
      3. Manage Adobe storage
    2. Asset migration
      1. Automated Asset Migration
      2. Automated Asset Migration FAQ  
      3. Manage transferred assets
    3. Reclaim assets from a user
    4. Student asset migration | EDU only
      1. Automatic student asset migration
      2. Migrate your assets
  6. Manage services
    1. Adobe Stock
      1. Adobe Stock credit packs for teams
      2. Adobe Stock for enterprise
      3. Use Adobe Stock for enterprise
      4. Adobe Stock License Approval
    2. Custom fonts
    3. Adobe Asset Link
      1. Overview
      2. Create user group
      3. Configure Adobe Experience Manager 6.x Assets
      4. Configure and install Adobe Asset Link
      5. Manage assets
      6. Adobe Asset Link for XD
    4. Adobe Sign
      1. Set up Adobe Sign for enterprise or Teams
      2. Adobe Sign - Team feature Administrator
      3. Manage Adobe Sign on the Admin Console
    5. Creative Cloud for enterprise - free membership
      1. Overview
      2. Getting started
  7. Deploy apps and updates
    1. Overview
      1. Deploy and deliver apps and updates
      2. Plan to deploy
      3. Prepare to deploy
    2. Create packages
      1. Package apps via the Admin Console
      2. Create Named User Licensing Packages
      3. Adobe templates for packages
      4. Manage packages
      5. Manage device licenses
      6. Serial number licensing
    3. Customize packages
      1. Customize the Creative Cloud desktop app
      2. Include extensions in your package
    4. Deploy Packages 
      1. Deploy packages
      2. Deploy Adobe packages with SCCM
      3. Deploy Adobe packages with ARD
      4. Install products in the Exceptions folder
      5. Uninstall Creative Cloud products
      6. Use Adobe provisioning toolkit enterprise edition
      7. Adobe Creative Cloud licensing identifiers
    5. Manage updates
      1. Change management for Adobe enterprise and teams customers
      2. Deploy updates
    6. Adobe Update Server Setup Tool (AUSST)
      1. AUSST Overview
      2. Set up the internal update server
      3. Maintain the internal update server
      4. Common use cases of AUSST   
      5. Troubleshoot the internal update server
    7. Adobe Remote Update Manager (RUM)
      1. Use Adobe Remote Update Manager
      2. Channel IDs for use with Adobe Remote Update Manager
      3. Resolve RUM errors
    8. Troubleshoot
      1. Troubleshoot Creative Cloud apps installation and uninstallation errors
      2. Query client machines to check if a package is deployed
      3. Creative Cloud package "Installation Failed" error message
      1. About Creative Cloud Packager
      2. Creative Cloud Packager release notes
      3. Application packaging
      4. Create packages using Creative Cloud Packager
      5. Create named license packages
      6. Create packages with device licenses
      7. Create a license package
      8. Create packages with serial number licenses
      9. Packager automation
      10. Package non-Creative Cloud products
      11. Edit and save configurations
      12. Set locale at system level
  8. Manage your account
    1. Manage your Teams account
      1. Overview
      2. Update payment details
      3. Manage invoices
      4. Change contract owner
    2. Assign licenses to a Teams user
    3. Add products and licenses
    4. Renewals
      1. Teams membership: Renewals
      2. Enterprise in VIP: Renewals and compliance
    5. Purchase Request compliance
    6. Value Incentive Plan (VIP) in China
    7. VIP Select help
  9. Reports & logs
    1. Audit Log
    2. Assignment reports
    3. Content Logs
  10. Get help
    1. Contact Adobe Customer Care
    2. Support options for teams accounts
    3. Support options for enterprise accounts
    4. Support options for Experience Cloud

Creative Cloud Packager is no longer in development and no updates will be provided. Also, Creative Cloud Packager cannot be used to create packages that include Creative Cloud 2019 apps or later. Learn More.

We recommend that you use the create package workflows provided in the Adobe Admin Console.

See how to create Named User Licensing packages and Shared Device Licensing packages.

Creative Cloud for education: Device licensing

  • Licenses for each computer, rather than each user, with rights to install on one computer per license
  • Choice of complete set of Creative Cloud applications or single-app option
  • Online services and storage not included
  • Available through the Adobe Value Incentive Plan (VIP)
  • Online offering, computers must connect to Adobe servers for initial activation, and then at least once every 99 days
For more information and other licensing options, see Find the right licensing plan for your institution.

Creative Cloud for education device licenses provide the ability to license software to a specific machine instead of a named user or with a serial number. Users never have to sign in or enter a serial number to use the software. Licenses are tied to machine deployment pools, which are created automatically when you order products.

Creative Cloud for education customers must place a VIP order with an Adobe Authorized Education Reseller for device licenses. Adobe then creates a deployment pool for the products ordered. For example, if you purchase 100 Creative Cloud Complete licenses and 50 Photoshop licenses, two deployment pools are created.

Device licenses for education: Overview

Device licenses are an online offering. After installation, the package will attempt to activate online. If activation is not possible at deployment time either due to no Internet connectivity or proxy configuration, the packaged apps will continue to run. Apps attempt silent activation for seven days before they cease to function. After initial activation, the computers need to connect to Adobe servers once every 99 days. For information about the ports and sites accessed, see Port information.

Use Creative Cloud Packager to create licensed packages to deploy apps. Sign in to the Admin Console and download Creative Cloud Packager from the Deployment Tools section.

For more information on using Creative Cloud Packager, see the following:

Deploy Creative Cloud apps

Deploy Adobe Acrobat

Create Device License Packages

  1. Start Creative Cloud Packager and choose Creative Cloud for education, and then sign in with the Adobe ID associated with the VIP membership.

  2. Click Create Package to create a new package. 

    Creative Cloud Packager

  3. In the Package Details dialog, enter the information as described below:

    Package name

    Enter the name of the package that will be created.

    Save to

    Enter the location to which you want to save the package you create. You can click the Browse icon to locate the destination folder, or enter the absolute path.

    Select Organization

    Select the name of your organization.


    In Windows, choose 32-bit or 64-bit processor support. You must make
    64-bit machine.


    This option is only available if you are using a Windows OS.

    License type

    Select Device License. If you don't see Device License as an option, sign out and back in with a Creative Cloud for education account. It creates a package with a valid license. Use this workflow to deploy a product or group of products containing updates to client machines in a licensed state. No further validation is required on the client machine.

    Package configurations

    The settings for package configuration include options such as whether to ignore conflicting processes during installation. To review or change the package configuration settings, see Modify package configuration.

    Creative Cloud Desktop Application

    Adobe Creative Cloud for desktop is the central hub for Creative Cloud activity and allows the users to view applications and updates.


    Do not enable this option. Adobe recommends that you keep this option disabled for Device License packages. 


    Show Applications and Updates via the Apps panel

    This option is applicable only when Creative Cloud Desktop Application is enabled. When disabled, this option hides the apps panel in Creative Cloud desktop application for end-users.

    Selecting or deselecting this option results in the following changes to the options in the Advanced Update Manager Behavior section of the Advanced configurations dialog:

    User selection

    Admin users update via Adobe Update Manager

    Adobe Update Manager is disabled (IT manages update distribution)

    Enable Adobe Update Manager

    Disable Adobe Update Manager

    Select Show Applications and Updates via the Apps panel





    Deselect Show Applications and Updates via the Apps panel





    Select Show Applications and Updates via the Apps panel and Use internal update server





    Deselect Show Applications and Updates via the Apps panel and Use internal update server






    Selecting or deselecting this option overrides the updater behavior that you may have changed in the package configurations.. It is recommended that you verify the package configuration updates before proceeding.

    Elevated Privileges

    This option allows users to manage applications and updates even when they do not have Administrator privileges. To allow your users without Administrator credentials to manage applications and updates, select this option.

    Once you have deployed a package with elevated privileges, to revoke the elevated privileges later, you need to create a Creative Cloud desktop app-only package with Elevated Privileges deselected and deploy it. Similarly, to grant elevated privileges to existing users, you need to create a Creative Cloud desktop app only package with Elevated Privileges selected and deploy it.

    The Elevated Privileges option is available only when you have selected Show Applications And Updates Via The Apps Panel.


    You need to relaunch the Creative Cloud desktop Application for this change to take effect.

  4. Click Select to open the Select a Deployment Pool screen. Click a Deployment Pool and click Select.

    A deployment pool is simply each individual product ordered grouped by quantity. For example, if you purchase 100 Creative Cloud Complete licenses and 50 Photoshop licenses, one deployment pool is created for Creative Cloud Complete and one for Photoshop.

    The Deployed to field in Creative Cloud Packager will display the number of licenses deployed. In the Package Details screen, click Next.

  5. The Applications and Updates screen displays the list of applications associated with the Deployment pool. Select the apps and updates, and click Build.

    When you package an update for the latest version of some of the applications, you can apply the package to a system that does not already have the base version of the application installed. You can identify such apps with the icon ().  For a list of such applications, see Applications that can be deployed without their base versions.

    For example, the update of Photoshop CC 2015.0.1 could be installed on a client machine that already had base version of Photoshop CC 2015 installed. The latest version of Photoshop update can be installed on a machine that may not have the Photoshop base version. So while creating a package, you can choose to package only the update version for the apps that can be deployed without their base versions.

    You can package archived versions of software as well. Select the Show archived versions check box to display the list of supported previous versions, if any. If the product or update that you selected has already been downloaded to your machine, a Down Arrow appears next to its name.

    The summary screen displays when package is built.


    For more information, see Create packages.

    After you've created the package, you'll need to deploy the package. For information, see Deploy packages.

Uninstall packages

Caution: Conventional uninstall does not release the license back to the deployment pool.

If you use the conventional uninstall process to uninstall an individual Creative Cloud app, such as Photoshop or Illustrator, from a client machine, it does not release the uninstalled license back to the deployment pool. The number of available licenses in the deployment pool does not increase. 

To release the uninstalled device licenses back to the deployment pool, do the following:

  • Windows: Uninstall using the same package (<packagename>.msi) that you used to for installation. You can do this by right-clicking and selecting Uninstall or running from command line msiexec /x <packagename>.msi /q
  • Mac OS: Uninstall using the uninstaller package (<packagename>_Uninstall.pkg) created alongside the installation package (in the same folder).

Migrate from existing licenses to device licenses

If you have existing Adobe software deployed and are migrating to device licenses, use the Create License Package workflow to migrate previously deployed named user or trial packages to device licenses. You can deploy a license package to apply a license to already deployed apps, without needing to repackage the apps. See the applicable section below:

Migrate from named-user licenses

If you have an existing deployment of Creative Cloud, use the following workflow to use device licenses instead of named users:

Step 1

Create a license package for device licenses. For more information, see Create license pacakge.

Step 2

End users must sign out from Creative Cloud to unlicense existing software. Users can sign out from Creative Cloud app or any other installed product.

  • Creative Cloud app: Choose  > Preferences > Account, and then click Sign out from Creative Cloud.
  • Installed product: Choose Help > Sign out.

Step 3

Deploy the license package to the end-user machines, and execute the AdobeSerialization executable file with administrator privileges. This file is created when you create a license package.

Migrate from Enterprise Education Agreement

Existing Enterprise Education Agreement (EEA) deployments use serial number-based licensing. To migrate to a device licenses, use the following workflow:

Step 1

Create a License file for device licenses. For more information, see Create license file.

Step 2

To unlicense the currently installed applications, run the RemoveVolumeSerial executable file with admin privileges, on the end-user machine. This file is created when you create a license package.

Step 3

Execute the AdobeSerialization executable file, created in step 1, with administrator privileges. Users can then launch and use Adobe apps without signing in.

More like this

Adobe logo

Sign in to your account