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R
romtin
Participant
September 7, 2012
Answered

Do CS6 files run in CS5/5.5

  • September 7, 2012
  • 1 reply
  • 53301 views

Just bought the CS6 Design & Web Premium package at school for my desktop at home. We have CS5 in class (it might actually be 5.5, not sure) and I'm just wondering if I'll be able to run my CS6 Photoshop and Dreamweaver files there.

Someone wrote the following online and I was wondering if it's pretty accurate. If so, awesome:

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"OK then, here’s how it works.  Your new CS6 tools will be able to open any and all earlier files no problem (including CS5 and CS5.5 files), with no loss of information.

Going the other way, when using CS5 to open a file saved from a CS6 application, it depends…

In Photoshop, it is almost never an issue as the .PSD format is pretty backwards compatible.  To ensure this, make sure that “Maximize PSD File Compatibility” option is set.

In Illustrator, when you save a file it asks you which version you want to save it as.  Instead of CS6, you can choose a “Legacy Format” like Illustrator CS5, but be aware that you may lose some newer features and attributes when the document is read back in to the prior release.

With InDesign, there is no way to “downsave” a project like in Illustrator.  However you can Export your document as IDML (InDesign Markup Language).  IDML files can be read into earlier versions like InDesign CS5.5, CS5, or CS4 – but again there is the potential to lose newer features that aren’t supported in older versions.

Bonus answers:

In Flash Professional, you can save in XFL or FLA format for CS5.5 or CS5, although you may lose some newer features.

In Premiere Pro there is not an official save-back-to-old-version option (and it’s technically not supported) but some customers report fairly good success doing so anyway.

With After Effects you can Save a Copy As CS5.5, again with the caveat that new functionality in CS6 won’t transfer.

So that pretty much sums it up, and hope it helps – if you have any further questions then just post back!"

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thanks in advance,

romtin

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer conroy

    Today, I've noticed that it's as effective and "safe for CS5" to disable the CS6 stroke by setting its type to "No color" - white with red diagonal line.

    That seemed to be an unsafe alternative to weight zero before the 13.0.1 update. Maybe it was safe and I was mistaken, though.

    Anyway, you have a choice:

    set stroke weight to zero, or

    set stroke type to "No-color".

    1 reply

    conroy
    conroy
    Participating Frequently
    September 7, 2012

    Photoshop CS6 files generally will be read by CS5.x without problem. One thing to know is that CS6 Shapes have a new stroke attribute which cannot be read by CS5.x, so if you want to create stroked Shapes in CS6 then set their stroke weight to 0.0 px and use Layer Style Stroke instead.

    R
    romtinAuthor
    Participant
    September 8, 2012

    thank you so much, conroy. as it turns out im working on a project right now with 6 and have been using a bunch of shapes with stroke weights using that new feature. imma go back and set those to 0 and use the layer style menu like you said now   you've saved me a headache in the long run,  so bigggg thanks man!

    conroy
    conroyCorrect answer
    Participating Frequently
    September 8, 2012

    Today, I've noticed that it's as effective and "safe for CS5" to disable the CS6 stroke by setting its type to "No color" - white with red diagonal line.

    That seemed to be an unsafe alternative to weight zero before the 13.0.1 update. Maybe it was safe and I was mistaken, though.

    Anyway, you have a choice:

    set stroke weight to zero, or

    set stroke type to "No-color".

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