Participant

Question

Updates padded with disruptive features

Forum|Forum|15 hours ago
February 5, 2026
3 replies
64 views

Adobe is padding updates with AI and other “features” - your description, not mine. These are causing crashes and freezing and generally disrupting the users’ workflow, which is counter productive. Given the cost of Creative Cloud it is inexcusable that users are losing time and money trying to work this nonsense. Designers are quite capable of deciding what that want to do with their documents without Adobe forcing buggy options into our work. Kindly STOP this practice - or perhaps Adobe is prepared to pay us for lost time.

If you’s like examples, simply read through the MANY posts detailing these issues.

Barb Binder

Community Expert

I hear you as well. FWIW, this is a user-to-user forum and you are mostly interacting with other users. We are here to explain features and provide workflow tips on a volunteer basis.

As a workflow tip, I agree with @Eugene Tyson. I install new versions as they are released, but keep the old ones until I am ready to make the move. You can disable auto-updates in the CC Desktop app, and when you manually update, you have the option to disable the checkmark to remove old version.

~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training

Peter Spier

Community Expert

I’m another late adopter of new versions, usually waiting for the second patch if I can, and I NEVER move the workflow to a new version until it is well tested and reported stable here. I also never remove an old version from my system as long as I’m able to keep it running on the hardware. You never know when you might want to do a revision in the original version, and it also means I can work with clients who haven’t got the latest.

Mike Witherell

Community Expert

You can switch off the Generative AI alt-text stuff by visiting Preferences > Generative AI (if you have the 21.2 patch).

Mike Witherell

CTK YonkersAuthor

Participant

I do, and I did, but I’m finding I have to do it again every time I reopen the document.

Mike Witherell

Community Expert

Really? I was certain that is an application preference.

Mike Witherell

E

Eugene Tyson

Community Expert

I get the frustration, updates can feel disruptive if they introduce things you don’t need. But nothing is forcing anyone to use the AI features: you can disable them, turn off auto-updates, or stick with a previous stable version until you’re ready to upgrade. AI tools can be very useful for some workflows, and irrelevant for others, it’s really a choice, not a requirement. In my experience, the updates themselves don’t slow down the program if you’re not using the new features. I personally stick with 2023 for most work and only move to 2024 after testing it thoroughly (then I’ll move to 2025 and so on), so I know it won’t interfere with deadlines.

You can roll back to a previous version and/or turn off auto-update.

Personally, I install the latest versions of the software, keep my old ones, and only use the new versions when absolutely necessary.

CTK YonkersAuthor

Participant

Part of my issue is that Adobe’s rush to release AI features that aren’t ready is causing major problems. They should be something that the user chooses to activate - they should not be applying themselves AND disabling them should be a simple in-app process. The most recent update has cost several hours of wasted time as new ‘features’ apply themselves (the user should ACTIVATE them, not spend time deactivating them). If I am forced to use a 3 year old version to have it function then I should be paying 2023 prices.

E

Eugene Tyson

Community Expert

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a version of the software where individual features were optional installs. InDesign has always included tools that some people use and others don’t animations and ePub features, for example. I don’t use them, but they don’t affect performance or my workflow, so I just ignore them. I see the AI features in the same way: they’ll be useful to some users and irrelevant to others, but their inclusion doesn’t really change how the software works for me.

Turn off the Auto Update, and turn on the option to keep the previous version installed. That way you can install the latest version and use it if you need to.

But I think everyone so far agrees in the thread - it’s not good practice to switch software versions mid-projects.

I’d tend to take smaller projects in the newer version, see what issues there are, and if there are issues, then moving back to the previous version is easier than with a larger project.

Seems to be the workflow most adhere to.

Again, if you don’t like a feature, don’t use it, minimal impact.

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