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lynneb26552762
lynneb26552762
Participant
September 26, 2017
Answered

CS4 with Mac High Sierra

  • September 26, 2017
  • 13 replies
  • 62700 views

I've been using CS4 Creative Suite for several years and with every system upgrade I worry that I won't be able to continue using it.  (I don't use it regularly but I have important documents that I need to access periodically).  I just updated my MacBook Pro to the latest OS, High Sierra.  During the installation, I was prompted to upgrade Java to be able to use InDesign which I did and that installation was successful.  Today, I tried to open an InDesign doc.  In Design opened (finally) but the doc did not open (the name shows up at the top of the window, but nothing else is visible.

Correct answer Bill Silbert

You should be aware that even current software will (and in the Case of CC 2017 InDesign DOES) have potential problems running on the first version of a new OS. CS4 has not been supported for at least two versions of the Mac OS so the only probable way that you'll be able to fix this is to roll back your OS (I think Yosemite was the last version to support CS4 but I could be wrong about that).

13 replies

T
Test Screen Name
Legend
October 20, 2018

Well, obviously it’s Adobe’s fault. Because when Adobe announced the only bus in town was subscriptions, and the bus left, Adobe didn’t wait for their loyal customers who paid their fare for a different bus 10 years ago.

    T
    Test Screen Name
    Legend
    October 20, 2018

    Well at least we can be absolutely sure it won’t work in Mac OS 10.15 (next year). Apple have promised it.

    BobLevine
    Community Expert
    BobLevineCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 20, 2018

    And everyone will blame Adobe.

    bryana63532991
    bryana63532991
    Participant
    August 29, 2018

    The advice in this thread is misleading. I've used Photoshop CS4 in every version of OS X since I bought it. I was having problems with High Sierra, but Apple fixed the bug in the OS. It works fine for me in High Sierra 10.13.6.  In previous versions of 10.13 it was working too but it crashed when trying to save a file.

      BobLevine
      Community Expert
      BobLevineCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      August 29, 2018

      And what exactly does Photoshop working have to do with InDesign working?

      Two completely different applications with completely different code bases.

      T
      Test Screen Name
      Legend
      January 5, 2018

      You are going to struggle once Apple remove support for 32-but apps, sometime soon.

      B
      black_n_white
      Participant
      January 5, 2018

      I can't comment on the entire CS4 suite, but I was able to install Photoshop CS4 on a fresh install of MacOS 10.13.2 just now. I downloaded the MacOS installer, copied it onto an external USB drive, booted from that drive, then ran the installer. It took two tries, but that got 10.13.2 onto the MacBook Pro 17 inch, early 2011. I verified that the 250Gb internal SSD had been upgraded to the new APFS using the Disk Utility. I used a CD with the Photoshop CS4 installer copied onto it. I had to install the trial version because the installer would not accept the registration code. On first launch of Photoshop, I got a dialog telling me that I'd also need to install a legacy version of Java, and a link to it. Here's the link:

      Download Java for OS X 2017-001

      The download and install of the legacy Java went fine, and when I relaunched Photoshop, it behaved normally. It opened a dialog box that allowed me to enter the registration number, which was accepted. I created a new file, opened an existing gif file, resized it, blurred it, cropped, then "saved it for web" at a different resolution, and all went fine. No blank windows, no hangs, no other alterations to Photoshop or system settings.

      Photoshop CS4 is the only app I don't intend to upgrade, primarily because I only use it for a few simple operations and I don't want anything to do with Adobe's new Cloud based services. There's also the cost factor.

      Hope this helps somebody else out there...

        batnert
        batnert
        Participant
        December 8, 2017

        I just got a brand new iMac 2017 with HighSierra pre-installed. I had a minor annoyance installing Photoshop CS4 but managed to get everything installed and running perfectly fine.

        tojohnso
        tojohnso
        Participant
        December 8, 2017

        What version? I have 10.13.2 and get a message the license has stopped working Error 150:30. from what I read, try to reinstall. So I downloaded CS4 again. Got a message the file system in the DMG file was not compatible in this operating system.

        batnert
        batnert
        Participant
        December 8, 2017

        I have 10.13.2 as well. The setup was the only issue I ran into. You just have to Right click on the setup and select "Show Package Contents" and from there navigate into Contents > MacOS and run the setup file.

          rob day
          Community Expert
          rob dayCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          November 13, 2017

          To use legacy applications on recent versions of OSX you have to install the legacy version of Java. Here's the legacy download page for High Sierra:

          Download Java for OS X 2017-001

            J
            joesickspack
            Inspiring
            November 19, 2017

            It is not necessary to install the (insecure) legacy version of Java. CS4 asks for it but, AFAIK, doesn't actually use it. You can trick CS4 into thinking it's installed by creating empty folders as per this in-depth discussion and instructions (scroll down to Workarounds section):

            https://www.macstrategy.com/article.php?135

            See also:

            Adobe Illustrator CS6 with Java 8? - Ask Different

            Which includes  instructions for making a symbolic link to a newer version of Java if you have it installed. I haven't bothered trying this, as there doesn't seem to be any need for Java with CS4.

            Here's what you should end up with (deploy.bundle is a folder. OS X just thinks it's a bundle because of the extension):

            L
            likota39
            Participating Frequently
            November 12, 2017

            I have an MacBook 2010, and CS4 was running on it with Snow Leopard. Then, I did a few upgrades—NOT CLEAN INSTALLS—first to Mountain Lion, than El Capitan, and finally to Sierra.

            All my CS4 suite apps are working without a hitch.

            In short, Sierra should be fully compatible with CS4. There is no need to go to down to Yosemite.

            However, I would not upgrade to High Sierra right now, and will follow this thread to monitor when is safe to do it.

            BobLevine
            Community Expert
            BobLevineCommunity Expert
            Community Expert
            November 12, 2017

            You’ve tempted fate up til this point and gotten away with it. Despite that, there is no way you can assure anyone else that it will work.

            I have no dog in this fight but lurkers need to be warned. The chances of getting CS4 to work on anything beyond Yosemite get smaller and smaller with each new Apple update.

            L
            likota39
            Participating Frequently
            November 13, 2017

            Fair enough.

            I just wanted to point out my own experience using upgrades instead of clean installs. Seems that upgrades up to Sierra are reasonable suggestion that may cause less headaches later for CS4 users.

            eriknokc
            eriknokc
            Participant
            October 7, 2017

            CS4 is not useable in High Sierra. All you get is blank screens and you can't edit anything and/or certain menus that don't work. For those of you that use Photoshop and Illustrator, there are 2 programs called Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer that are very comparable and are available in the macOS App Store for $50 each. They also support PSD and AI file import. Both of the apps are available for Mac and Windows, and Affinity Photo is available for iPad with Pencil support. I have found them to be great replacements for Photoshop and Illustrator. I haven't found a replacement for InDesign. Thankfully, my layout needs are not very extensive, so I am using Pages until I can find something better that's not pricey.

            P
            patrickp57108470
            Participant
            February 15, 2018

            I have no problem with CS4 in High Sierra. The software was installed before upgrading the system. But now I'm trying to change my computer and if the DVD install works well in High Sierra, the serial number printed on my DVD box is considered as incorrect.

            BobLevine
            Community Expert
            BobLevineCommunity Expert
            Community Expert
            February 28, 2018

            Happily I purchased a new iMac with Sierra OS after my older (2008) iMac's video-board died a very flashy death (literally! with other issues as well) a month after installing High Sierra. Do not know if its demise had anything to do with the High Sierra OS upgrade. Now that I'm back to Sierra on my new iMac I can install InDesign and Illustrator. Whew! Blissed out with the speed as well.

            I can't imagine that whatever is causing the ID and AI problem won't be addressed and fixed in the future by Adobe. Keep your eyes open, I don't believe they'll let us down.


            Your optimism is misplaced. CS4 will NEVER see another update…EVER!

            T_Garrett
            T_Garrett
            Participant
            October 3, 2017

            My experience too, though Dreamweaver seems ok. ID files opened but nothing visible in the palettes. I've more or less gone across to Scribus for my dtp – it works surprisingly well for something that's free – and it's surprisingly quick to rebuild documents once you've got the hang of it! There's a utility called ID Util that previews ID files and allows you to copy text (£20 fee for the full thing but free trial) which might ease your pain. ID did work ok with Sierra but the CS4 programs are dropping one-by-one...

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