Catalina and Adobe Photoshop CS6 Install Version - Help?

[Melinda0D45]

Hi. 

This has definitely been asked before; however, I'm honestly not seeing any real help/guidance pertaining to this topic. Years ago, I purchased an install-version of Adobe Photoshop CS6, which ran close to $900 CAD. I used this software of my Macbook Pro 2011, which eventually died on me in 2018. I've been using a Macbook Air 2018, which did not have the processing power to run Photoshop. This week I decided, two years later, to purchase an iMac, a $1500 computer, largely with the intention of diving back into graphic design and running PS. 

This is a new computer and it came pre-installed with Catalina. I purchased a disc drive to run PS. When I went to install the software, Apple informs me of the 32-bit/64-bit issue. My version of PS is 32-bit. Catalina requires 64-bit. They advise to contact Adobe. 

I do this. An agent informs me of three solutions: 

1. Downgrade my Apple OS. I don't want to do this. It came pre-installed and everybody knows that eventually Apple will force you to upgrade by slowly making things less and less accessible on your devices unless you continue to upgrade. 
2. Switch out to Elements. This is not the same as PS, obviously. 
3. Move to Creative Cloud. How is this even an option? I spent hundreds of dollars on this program and now they expect me to pay upwards of $50/mo for the same software? 

This feels like a gigantic scam to me, but I don't know what else to do here. Has anyone found a workaround? How about Adobe refunds me the amount for a program which they have decided is no longer supported (so that everyone can move to the subscription-based version)? Or they switch out serial numbers, cancel my 32-bit version, nullifying it to ensure it cannot be downloaded again, for a 64-bit version? Or how about they at the very least offer their CC versions at a reduced rate? 

[John T Smith]

Your problem is because APPLE did not maintain backward compatibility when creating new operating systems

Adobe did nothing to make your CS6 stop running... you simply must have a compatible operating system

[Manan Joshi]

Hi Melinda,

As you already know that CS6 won't run on Catalina and this is not because of Adobe but because Apple decided to drop support for 32 bit applications. Now your thought of thinking that a 64 bit CS6 app would do the trick is not right, CS applications did have pieces that were 32 bit even for 64 bit applications, for example the licensing framework was 32 bit. To be precise anything below CC2019 won't work on Catalina. I understand your point here, but you need to understand that no company big or small supports such a dated software let alone giants like Apple and Adobe who are pioneers in their field to push innovations ahead. In any case Apple is to blame for this not Adobe, as per Adobe there is no restrictions so far even on such a dated software provided that you use the supported versions of software and hardware. The rule is simple, if you want to use an old piece of software you need to preserve the infrastructure that runs it. You can't on the one hand use the latest hardware/software and then want to use your old installations as well, it does not work this way anywhere in softwares. I hope you understand the problem here and the only option that you have, i.e. downgrade to a supported OS.

-Manan

[Black25419569sh0s]

It's been two years, now, but still I will express my opinion.
Concerning the two answers you got:

It is shamefull to say "it is Apple's fault, not Adobe's". It is half lie, too. Because, as greedy as Apple can be, Adobe knew what would happen with CS6, and simply didn't care. Or maybe cared, in the sense of forcing people into the CC thing, which mean, plainly put, "more money". 
Adobe knew what would happen to her customers, who had already paid for CS6 and did not care. 
Same goes for Apple, in general. At some point, they just do not care. 
Shame on you for taking the side of the one or the other company's policy. They both care for their customers, until the day they decide to not care. Cut the crap.

[Test Screen Name]

You can subscribe to a Photoshop alone for around US$10 per month (yearly commitment). You also cannot go back to an older OS in a new Mac. Make no mistake, Apple made sure you could only run new apps, so you need to pay for a subscription now.  There were discounts in CC for a couple of years, but you are now many, many years overdue for upgrading. Your situation eould be just the same without subscriptions; you'd need to be buying CS14 or whatever, at full price; that's around six years worth of subscriptions...