What is the serial number and authorization code for all Adobe software?

Where Is The Serial?

It should be located on the CD case or may be in your documentation (booklet) that came in the box. You will know it is your serial number because it is a long mix of numbers and letters separated by dashes that seem to make no sense at all, usually 16 characters. Each Adobe product has its own serial number - unless you have a Creative Suites in which case there will be one serial number for the whole suite - and each buyer will have a different serial number than another buyer.

Online Purchases: Older programs and suites prior to CS2 will have SN's on the email invoice. CS3 programs and up will have the SN's on the invoice, and in your online Adobe Account Download Manager.

NOTE: While earlier CS versions (CS1 and 2) had a Master Serial, CS3 and CS4 contain a Master Serial and individual program serial numbers for certain programs and suites packages. It is more typical in the Master Collection.

Install Without Serial

This serial number is necessary to install the retail version of your software. When installing the software, follow the on screen instructions. There will come a box that asks you for your serial number - this is where you will enter the number - and installation will continue. You can't use the software without installing it with a serial number.

NOTE: Beginning with the release of Adobe CS3 programs, all serial numbers must now be Registered and each program Activated online at the Adobe site via the user's online Adobe account, and no more than 2 registrations per program/user will be allowed (2 system installation, e.g., notebook and desktop). If you wish to move a registered program from one system to another, you must first deactivate it from within the program (Help - Deactivate), install it on your new system, then re-activate it on the Adobe site again. Program Activation is necessary to complete the installation of all programs CS3 and above. See "Activation" below.

What To Do If You've Lost Your Serial

If you have lost your serial number, you will need to contact customer support services at Adobe. They will instruct you on how to obtain a new one if possible. You will probably need to have proof of purchase, such as a scan of the UPC code on the box or a copy of your original receipt from the purchase.

If you are a registered Adobe site customer/user, and have purchased products or registered them on the Adobe site (something you should always do) then you can obtain your product serials from your Adobe online account. Login, go to your Account, and select Product Serial Numbers. For previous Macromedia customers, you will have to call Adobe for old serial numbers as they don't those online.

What Is The Activation Number?

Adobe's Program Activation feature has been implemented by Adobe to put a halt to widespread piracy of its programs. By rendering programs useless until registered and activated on the Adobe site, it makes it difficult, if not impossible, for the type of piracy experienced in the past. Those of us who spend thousands on their Adobe programs also benefit as Adobe can use money saved by this feature to put into program development.

Activation numbers are different from program Serial Numbers in that Serial Numbers are in effect the product's legal license number identification. Activation numbers are used to activate and enable the program for use on a user's system. The program will not function unless properly activated using the correct number, and only 2 activations of the same program license (Serial Number) are allowed at any given time. This means you can have 2 copies running on separate computers, but if you want it to run on another one you have to deactivate one (from the Help Menu in the program), Uninstall it from the system and then reinstall it on the new system you wish to use it on. The program must also be activated again on the new system in order for it to work.

The activation number that is generally asked upon the first time running an Adobe product is gathered by following the on-screen instructions. You can choose to get the activation by Internet, phone, or mail**. Internet is the quickest and easiest way to activate. For phone activation: there will be a phone number that is toll-free you must call, provide your serial number and the activation code in the box on your screen. You will then receive the activation key that you need to enter into the next box. You only have to do this procedure once for each Adobe product you installed, or once for all Adobe software in a purchased Creative Suite.

**NOTE: As of the release of Adobe CS4 Applications, all Adobe Software programs are now required to be activated online via a registered Adobe User Account. Only older applications will continue to be supported by other methods of activation.

For Downloaded program delivery, the Activation code is in your Email Receipt. For Boxed delivery by shipping, the code is on your invoice. If you lose the invoice, you'll need to contact Adobe with some proof of purchase - invoice or transaction number, etc. Since Adobe customers are assigned a number and your order history is recorded, it's usually not a problem. For those who are not the original owner, unless the original owner transferred the serial numbers of the program/s to you, you will not be able to obtain the code.

Transferring Adobe Program Licenses

Adobe allows the transfer of single or volume product licenses from an individual or business to another individual or business. There is a formal process that must be completed in order to complete the transfer. See the attached link, "Transferring Adobe Product Licenses"

More Info

WikiAnswers does not provide serial numbers or for full version retail software. This is a form of piracy if you did not purchase the software and thus do not have a serial number to install the software. It is also illegal to obtain one from the Internet if you legally purchased your software but lost your original serial number (see above for contacting Adobe for a new one). It is also a form of piracy to use key generators (keygens) to create a serial number and cracks to bypass the need to use a serial number or to remove the time limit for trials. It is also illegal to download the software on the Internet anyway - except for the Trial versions offered on their site - in which case you still have to purchase a serial number to continue using it.


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First answer by ID1147304513. Last edit by TSD -RAVEN-. Contributor trust: 43 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 179 [recommend question]