Thankful for my old stand-alone Photoshop!

[MoxieCheryl]

When Adobe decided it was for "our good" that they reach into our pockets every month for a tool we use in our business, leaving us at the mercy of their bugs and updates, I decided to make sure my old CS5 was still on my computer. It saves me every time. First, a few years ago, all my actions disappeared one day. Adobe customer service dug around but couldn't find them (then I discovered in an article how they lost photographers' images from Lightroom about the same time. hmmm..) but they chided ME for not doing a backup (which I did have for the most part) and I canceled Adove and used other resources for what I needed. Recently thought I'd try again. NOW, suddenly I have an update. Ok, cool. Except that, my portrait plug-in isn't to be found. NOW it's on ME to troubleshoot and figure out how to reinstall it! What a waste of time and energy when I have a big job due right now. CS5 to the rescue! Amen. Maybe time to suspend it again since time is money and it's up to me to do the work and make my workflow, flow again.  Great job, Adobe. not.

[Kevin Stohlmeyer]

Hi @MoxieCheryl First there are some basic understanding that third party plugins are not under the control of Adobe Photoshop. Its up to the plugin author to release updated versions compatible with current Photoshop builds or ensure compatibility.

Second, to be completely fair, no one is forcing you to update - you control your upgrade cadence via the Creative Cloud desktop app where you can disable auto updates. That would allow you to do basic research to see if needed plugins have compatibility with an update before you run them.

Third, you don't have to go back to CS5 - you can also install the previous version of an application in the CC Desktop app as well thereby allowing you to continue using these plugins.

Lastly, as for your original complaint - If you do not save your actions and presets, they are temporary and would disappear if a fatal crash or reset occurs. Backing up is always a good idea, but moreso to save them in the first place. This doc may help.

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/preset-migration.html

[D Fosse]

Right. That about covers it.

Just one more thing: if you do the math, you'll find that the total cost of Photoshop is actually lower now. Yes, Adobe has profited, but that's because the customer base has exploded.