Two user accounts on same Mac

[vzaliva]

I am using two different accounts on my Mac: one for work and one for personal projects. How can I use my CreativeCloud apps on both (using the same Adobe ID).

I can see CC updater icon with shortcuts to the apps on Mac menubar in one of my accounts, but not another one.

Vadim

[John T Smith]

I don't think what you want to do is possible

When you log in as A you may use what A owns

You then need to log out of your A account and log in as B to use what B owns

[vzaliva]

I am afraid I have not phrased my question correctly. I do not need to share the data between the accounts. But I would like to be able to run, say, Photoshop from either account to edit local files for each user.

In other words, I want to have Adobe applications installed via my Creative Cloud account to be available for both users A and B.

[Nancy OShea]

Then combine everything into one computer user account.

[vzaliva]

Nancy. Thank you for your suggestions on how to organize my work on my computer. I found it more convenient to keep separate work and personal accounts, as they use different AppleIDs, email accounts, etc. I also want to keep my work files separate from my personal ones.

Given that I do not want to change all that, my question still stands: Can I use Adobe products I've purchased via Creative Cloud subscription on both my accounts?

[Nancy OShea]

Sharing data among multiple Mac user accounts is a question for Apple, not Adobe.

How to share programs between users on sa… - Apple Community

[John T Smith]

My answer is the same, and has nothing to do with data, only running programs

If your A account has Photoshop but your B account does not, B will not be able to use Photoshop

[vzaliva]

John, thanks. Can I install Photoshop on both accounts using the same Adobe ID? It would be a little strange to keep two copies of Photoshop installed but I can live with it.

If it is a regular Mac app installed into /Applications folder it would be instantly available to all users. However Creative Cloud programs are installed via Adobe installer which is tied up to a subscription and I am not sure how that would work with multiple accounts.

[John T Smith]

>Can I install Photoshop on both accounts using the same Adobe ID?

My understanding of how your ID works is that the answer is, again, no

You login to account A with your Adobe ID for that account

Account B has a different Adobe ID

[vzaliva]

OK, now I am slightly confused.

I have Adobe Id, say U. This is Adobe account I used to purchase my CreativeCloud subscription.

I have two accounts on my Mac: A and B. These are Apple accounts which have nothing to do with Adobe.

Right now I logged on my Mac as a user A and installed Creative Cloud apps. When prompted for Adobe account I've provided U.

Now, if I switch to account B on my Mac, can I use already installed apps from A? If not, (for example because they are installed in user A home folder not in the system directory), can I install it again using my U credentials?

I know for sure that would not be a problem if users A and B are on different Macs: On how many computers can I use my Creative Cloud subscription?  But would it work on a single Mac?

Thanks!

Vadim

[Test Screen Name]

A general idea, if I understand it right, is like this:

Apps on the Mac are global, available to all users. The Creative Cloud app might not know about apps installed by another user, but they should be available in Applications in the usual way.

Each Mac user who wants to use Creative Cloud needs to sign in. This is fundamantal to Adobe's "single human license" policy for Creative Cloud.

So, it seems plausible that each Mac user could be signed in to a different Adobe ID.

Definitely worth a try.

[John T Smith]

You are asking something that I don't know... I have ONE account on my computer

Since it "sound" like you are not able to do what you want with your second Apple account, I'm going to guess no

But I really don't know

[John Waller]

Now, if I switch to account B on my Mac, can I use already installed apps from A?

This should be possible and will probably be counted as a separate sign in by the Adobe Cloud activation server since your Adobe ID is tied to you as an individual, not the device itself.

I believe separate user accounts on the same computer are counted the same as if they were on separate computers, one per person.

Have you tried it?

To really test the concept, you could set up a 3rd user account on your Mac and try signing in with your Adobe ID again. You should see a screen saying you are about to exceed your activation count and asking you to sign out of one or all of them.

[jane-e]

vzaliva  wrote

Can I install Photoshop on both accounts using the same Adobe ID? It would be a little strange to keep two copies of Photoshop installed but I can live with it.

I don’t see why you would need to install PS twice if both A and B include PS in their plans. I occasionally have to use PS on a computer that once belonged to a family member who subscribed under their own Adobe ID, and their plan has now lapsed. I simply sign in with my ID and use PS which is already installed, then sign out again.

In your case, I think it would be simpler to have two administrative accounts on your Mac and log in to one or the other or both. You can use the switch screen in the upper right to switch quickly between the two accounts and use a shared folder for files you want to use on both accounts.

The applications only need to be installed once for the computer, not for each login or for each Adobe ID. The dock icons need to be setup for each login.

~ Jane

[Abambo · Accepted solution]

Programs need only to be installed once. When you sign out of one account and sign in into the other, you can continue using the programs that are licensed for this Adobe id.

The "only" problem is cloud file synchronisation, as each id has it's own cloud space.

[02GEEK]

One Desktop Computer - Can Multiple User Accounts access CC?

One computer, multiple users

[Andrew Bruner]

It blows my mind that Adobe doesn't allow multiple account login. It is 2019 afterall and we know it should be well within the technical realm of possibility. I also have 1 personal account I use for photgraphy, and 1 employer provided work account for Acrobat and such; i.e: two different email addresses. Logging in and out of each account is cumbersome and also runs me into issues of cloud syncing. It is also limiting from being able to work in multiple apps at one time. Can we just get back to the old ways and be able to log into each app independently vs. signing into all apps via the CC app?

[Nancy OShea]

I would be inclined to use 2 separate devices.  One for personal and another for professional work.

[JeanfromArgovia]

Same for me. One Mac mini  with personal Adobe ID that I use for  personal Photography purpose will now get an employer provided Adobe ID /subscription for Video postprocessing on top. This thread indicates that this is going to be a challenge.. Do no expect employer to spring for an additional Mac.

[jwildman16]

Agreed. This is an awful experience. Often times, freelance workers use their own equipment (e.g., a MacBook) for contract work and for personal work. If I use Photoshop and Lightroom for my personal work, I still need to be able to access the paid Acrobat subscription provided by an employer. It's ridiculous that I can't sign into both accounts and use all apps at the same time. I've got licenses for all three and the current situation restricting access to some of the apps is absurd. 

[norlab111]

Totally agree that this is technology built totally wrong for who their customers are.  Most designers have work accounts and probably personal accounts.  Why would the Adobe programmers make it so that programs have to be completly reinstalled when switching betweeen user accounts????  Oh...it took me two seconds to realize that they are trying to pull more subscription dollars out of our pockets.  

If they just make it so frustrating....then people will sign up out of necessity and not make life easy or cheaper for us.  Sorry guys, Adobe just cares about how much money they get from us now.

[ed22CCnotNICE]

Me too. Hours upon hours with tech support shows that it cna't be done. Basically. Ive tried everything including workarounds.

[Subtrax]

Not sure if this is still releveant but yes you can.

I have two accounts on my Mac. One is my work account as I work from home two days a week and the other account is my personal account. I use my Adobe ID on both accounts and it's works fine, when you log off one Mac user account and login to another Mac user account it will ask you to sign back in to Creative Cloud. Everything syncs fine. 

People saying merge both accounts into one account or use a separate machine for your work account  are really not helpful and not a solution.

[WildWanderer]

I disagree; this does not work fine. If you have an Acrobat subscription through work and a personal Photoshop subscription, you can't use them both at once. 

[Test Screen Name]

Jwildman, what you say is indeed poor, but it’s the exact opposite of the problem everyone else has been discussing.