Technical Communication Suite FAQ
Product information
Adobe Technical Communication Suite gives you four cutting-edge products that transform your technical, eLearning, and business content into exceptional experiences. Boost productivity as you work on long, complex XML and non-XML content with Adobe FrameMaker. Deliver highly personalized Help, policy, and knowledgebase content experiences with Adobe RoboHelp. Create responsive eLearning content with Adobe Captivate and transform presentations to enable on-demand learning with Adobe Presenter. Collaborate in real time using shared PDF reviews with Adobe Acrobat*.
Adobe Acrobat desktop and online services is only available under subscription buying programs with Named User Licensing (NUL) deployment.
Adobe Technical Communication Suite combines Adobe FrameMaker, Adobe RoboHelp, Adobe Captivate, and Adobe Acrobat *.
*Acrobat is available for subscription buying programs only.
Yes, users with a valid subscription license of Technical Communication Suite can access the new release of Captivate.
As of July 2023, the new release of Adobe Captivate isn't included in the Technical Communication Suite.
We will ship the new release of Captivate as a part of the Technical Communication Suite bundle once Update 1 of Captivate is released. In the meantime, you can download and install the new Captivate from the Download Adobe Captivate page or Trial downloads page.
The new release of Captivate (v12) will be included as a part of the Technical Communication Suite bundle once Update 1 of Captivate is released. In the meantime, download and install the new Captivate from the Download Adobe Captivate page or Trial downloads page.
Adobe Acrobat license available with Technical Communication Suite subscription supports all services such as PDF editing, exporting, and reviewing. However, it does not include Adobe Acrobat Sign Solutions.
No. If you already have Adobe Photoshop installed on your machine, you can leverage the native cross-product integration among Adobe tools to work seamlessly with Photoshop.
No. If you already have Adobe Illustrator installed on your machine, you can leverage the native cross-product integration among Adobe tools to work seamlessly with Illustrator.
Adobe Technical Communication Suite is ideal for technical communicators, information architects, designers, developers, instructional designers, Help authors, eLearning professionals, policy and procedure documentation specialists, knowledgebase experts, user assistance designers, engineers, web developers, and other complex documentation specialists who want to single-source technical content; enrich it with multimedia, and publish it to multiple channels, formats, and screens.
Yes. Adobe Technical Communication Suite runs on Microsoft Windows 11 or 10.
Adobe Technical Communication Suite is available only for Windows.
No. Effective November 01, 2021, Presenter Video Express will be discontinued, and no longer be available as a part of Adobe Technical Communication Suite.
For more information, see Adobe Presenter Video Express End of Life (EOL) FAQ.
No. Effective June 01, 2022, Adobe Presenter will be discontinued, and no longer be available as a part of Adobe Technical Communication Suite.
For more information, see Adobe Presenter End of Life (EOL) FAQ .
Independent suppliers of commercially available 3rd party extensions may provide support and maintenance directly to the customer as per their terms and conditions. Customers will be governed by terms and conditions accepted directly between customers and such 3rd party extension providers. Adobe would not be providing any support for such 3rd party extensions or be involved in licensing terms for such extensions.
Yes, there are many 3rd party extensions from independent suppliers that are compatible with Adobe FrameMaker, provided minimum system requirements are being met. You can learn more about these 3rd party partner extensions on the Adobe Tech Comm Partner Portal.
S1000D Functionality
The functionalities supporting S1000D standard has been a part of FrameMaker since release 10. The various features in FrameMaker that have S1000D support are called out in the following document:
https://help.adobe.com/en_US/framemaker/pdfs/Fm-application-pack-for-s1000d.pdf.
There could be additional features in FrameMaker (over the recent releases) that may not be supported with the S1000D Application pack, such as HTML output and others. There are 3rd party partner extensions that can be purchased indipendently, which offer more advanced features and functionalities related to S1000D/ATA in FrameMaker releases. You can learn more about these 3rd party partner extensions on the Adobe Tech Comm Partner Portal.
Adobe FrameMaker includes out-of-the-box support for a significant range of S1000D issue 4.0 document types. You can create, manage, and publish data modules and publication modules using an intuitive project‐based interface. Since out-of-the-box S1000D support was originally added in version 10 of FrameMaker and has not been upgraded post that, many of the new features/functionalities in FrameMaker across subsequent releases may not have out-of-the-box S1000D support. For more details on what features of FrameMaker have out-of-the-box S1000D support, refer to the following document: https://help.adobe.com/en_US/framemaker/pdfs/Fm-application-pack-for-s1000d.pdf. In case you need more information, please reach out to techcomm@adobe.com.
There are 3rd party partner extensions that can be purchased independently, which offer more advanced features/functionalities related to S1000D in FrameMaker. One such commercially available 3rd party extension is from the Adobe partner Mekon (also provides S1000D/ATA consulting). More details can be found here: https://partners.adobetechcomm.com/mekon-ltd.
In case you plan to use one of the 3rd party extensions for S1000D or ATA support that are compatible with FrameMaker, you may be governed by the terms and conditions of such 3rd Parties. We encourage you to review the terms and conditions imposed by such 3rd parties and their licensing agreements. In case you need more information, please reach out to techcomm@adobe.com.
A user can add support for any XML standard by building an application with FrameMaker. More details can be found here: Build a Structured Application.
There are independent 3rd party partners who have built extensions for Adobe FrameMaker and provide extensive support for ATA and other military XML standards. One such commercially available 3rd party extension is from the Adobe partner Mekon (also provides S1000D/ATA consulting). More details can be found here: https://partners.adobetechcomm.com/mekon-ltd.
In case you plan to use one of the 3rd party extensions for S1000D or ATA support that are compatible with FrameMaker, you may be governed by terms and conditions of such 3rd parties. We encourage you to review the 3rd party terms and conditions and their licensing agreements. In case you need more information, please reach out to techcomm@adobe.com.
Pricing and purchasing
Full license of Adobe Technical Communication Suite is no longer available for purchase. For individual needs, you can opt for subscription plans via adobe.com.
For enterprises, SMBs, Education and Government segments, one can opt for volume licensing plans like Enterprise Term License Agreement (ETLA) and Value Incentive Program (VIP).
To explore all the buying options, visit the Buying guide page or write to us at techcomm@adobe.com.
The latest version of Adobe Technical Communication Suite is available on subscription for US$69.99/month per user (annual commitment). Visit the Buying guide page to explore all the buying options.
Adobe does offer educational pricing for Adobe Technical Communication Suite, but only via volume licensing and not via retail. Learn more about special education pricing.
You can find an Adobe Technical Communication Partner to assist you in your country or region by visiting the Partner Portal.
You can access free learning assets and training material for your Adobe Technical Communication software here.
Support information
For any customer service questions, write to us at techcomm@adobe.com.
For any technical support questions, visit the customer support page.
Activation is a mandatory process that requires the software to connect to Adobe servers via the Internet and associates the products you have bought from Adobe with the computers on which you use those products. Activation helps protect your computers and environment from malicious code by ensuring you are using genuine Adobe software.
Adobe does not gather, transmit, or use personally identifiable information during activation, other than the computer’s IP address.
The machine with Adobe Technical Communication Suite installed must connect to the Internet at least once within 30 days of the first launch of your product.
Activation occurs silently in the background after installation when the system detects an Internet connection. You don’t have to do anything proactively to activate.
The product must connect to the Internet at least one time within 30 days of the first launch of your product. If the product has not been activated after 30 days, the application does not launch until an Internet connection is detected and the software can be activated.
The software silently tries to connect to the Internet to activate for the first 7 days after the first launch of your product. If the software has not activated within the first 7 days, you receive a reminder for the next 23 days on every launch that the machine must connect to the Internet and activate the software. As soon as the software detects an Internet connection, it silently activates the product.
In case of Feature Restricted Licensing (FRL)* the activation method is different. Please visit this page or contact support.
* Feature Restricted Licensing (FRL) is recommended for organizations that have very specific needs to control data flow in and out of locked down or restricted network environments.
No. Activation of the product via the Internet is required for Adobe Technical Communication Suite. If your system is connected to the Internet and you receive an activation reminder, contact your local Customer Support for assistance. Customer Support, however, cannot activate your software over the phone if you don’t have an Internet connection.
If your system is connected to the Internet and you have received a reminder asking you to activate your product, contact Customer Service.
Yes. All users of Adobe Technical Communication Suite need to activate their product. If your company has firewall restrictions that prevent the machines from connecting to the Internet, have your IT administrator contact Customer Service.
In case of Feature Restricted Licensing (FRL)* the activation method is different. Please visit this page or contact support.
* Feature Restricted Licensing (FRL) is recommended for organizations that have very specific needs to control data flow in and out of locked down or restricted network environments.
Yes. Every computer that has Adobe Technical Communication Suite installed must activate to continue using the software.
If your company has firewall restrictions that prevent the machines from connecting to the Internet, have your IT administrator contact Customer Service.
In case of Feature Restricted Licensing (FRL)* the activation method is different. Please visit this page or contact support.
* Feature Restricted Licensing (FRL) is recommended for organizations that have very specific needs to control data flow in and out of locked down or restricted network environments.
Activation of the latest version of Adobe Technical Communication Suite is required via the Internet to continue use of the product. Activating your product helps protect your computer and your environment by ensuring that you are using a genuine Adobe product. Activating your product has other benefits. Visit the activation page for more information. The machine with Technical Communication Suite installed must connect to the Internet at least once within 30 days of the first launch of your serialized product or the product stops working. If you work in a company that has a firewall that prevents your system from connecting to the Internet, have your IT administrator contact Customer Service.
In case of Feature Restricted Licensing (FRL)* the activation method is different. Please visit this page or contact support.
* Feature Restricted Licensing (FRL) is recommended for organizations that have very specific needs to control data flow in and out of locked down or restricted network environments.
No. Activation of Adobe Technical Communication Suite is required via the Internet. Each machine with an application installed must connect to the Internet at least once within 30 days of the first launch of your serialized product to continue using the product.
In case of Feature Restricted Licensing (FRL)* the activation method is different. Please visit this page or contact support.
* Feature Restricted Licensing (FRL) is recommended for organizations that have very specific needs to control data flow in and out of locked down or restricted network environments.
For details on Adobe return policies in your region, go to the Return, cancel, or exchange an Adobe order page.
No. Activation is a mandatory process that requires the software to connect to Adobe servers via the Internet and associates the products you have bought from Adobe with the computers on which you use those products. Activation helps protect your computers and environments from malicious code by verifying that you have genuine Adobe software. Registration is an optional process that gives you access to a wide range of benefits and options, including access to support, notification of product updates, newsletters, special offers, and invitations to Adobe events.
Registration and activation are completely different.
Activation is a mandatory process that requires the software to connect to Adobe servers via the Internet and associates the products you buy from Adobe with the computers on which you use those products. Activation helps protect your computers and environments from malicious code by verifying that you have genuine Adobe software.
Registration is an optional process that gives you access to a wide range of benefits and options, including access to support, notification of product updates, newsletters, special offers, and invitations to Adobe events.
Contact Adobe Tech Comm Customer Support at tcssup@adobe.com or write to techcomm@adobe.com.
Subscription information and pricing
A subscription is a new, more flexible way to get technical communication software. It gives ongoing access to the software for a low monthly fee, as well as access to all upgrades at no additional charge as long as your subscription remains active.
The subscription plan requires an annual commitment, billed monthly or prepaid. There is no month-on-month subscription plan.
The following Adobe technical communication software are available by subscription:
- Adobe FrameMaker
- Adobe RoboHelp
- Adobe Technical Communication Suite
No, there are no differences in the functionality or in the system requirements between the two. However, if you suspend or cancel your subscription, you cannot use the software.
Subscribing is a great option to consider if:
- You always want to benefit from the latest capabilities and updates of the latest version.
- You haven’t upgraded your software in years and want to move up to the current version at an affordable price.
- You have never used Adobe technical communication software and want to try it.
The software installs locally on your computer. It's unnecessary to be online to use your subscription. Access to the Internet is required during installation and licensing of your software and once every 30 days thereafter. The software alerts you when a connection to the Internet is required for a license status check. You have access to the software as long as your subscription is current.
Adobe Technical Communication software subscription plans are available exclusively through adobe.com or respective product websites (in select countries).
Yes, you can convert the 30-day trial version of Adobe Technical Communication Suite into a subscription by purchasing a license from adobe.com. For any queries, you can reach us at techcomm@adobe.com.
No. When you purchase a subscription on Adobe.com, you immediately receive an email that contains a link to the electronic download of the software.
Your subscription includes access to current and future versions of the Adobe technical communication application as long as your subscription remains active.
Adobe Technical Communication software are available only via the one-year subscription plan. One-year plans have lower monthly payments and require that you remain a subscriber for at least a year.
For more details, visit the buying guide.
If you live in a region where you purchase from the Adobe Store with a price quoted in U.S. dollars or euros (but you receive credit card statements with charges stated in your local currency), you could see different amounts charged from month to month. Changes in the currency exchange rates from one billing date to the next affect the charges.
No. Adobe.com Subscription pricing will not increase.
Subscription fees vary by product, plan, and your country of residence. Visit Adobe.com or the online Adobe Store in your respective country for pricing information.
FrameMaker Publishing Server and RoboHelp Server are not available for Subscription via Adobe.com or online Adobe store.
Under an annual plan, paid monthly, you’ll be charged the rate stated at the time of purchase, plus applicable taxes (such as value added tax when the stated rate doesn’t include VAT), every month for the duration of your annual contract.
Under an annual plan that is prepaid, you’ll be charged the annual rate stated at the time of purchase as one lump sum, plus applicable taxes. Your contract will renew automatically, on your annual renewal date, until you cancel.
See terms and conditions for more details.
No, only individual subscription editions are available, and only on adobe.com. For volume licensing needs, kindly request a call back.
Education customers are eligible to discounted prices if they meet the eligibility requirements. For more details, write to techcomm@adobe.com
Adobe FrameMaker, Adobe RoboHelp, and Adobe Technical Communication Suite subscriptions are available in English, French, German, and Japanese.
Getting started with a subscription is fast and easy: Go to our buying guide and choose your product and plan, and then complete the purchase. Immediately after purchase, check your email for a message from Adobe with your serial number and a link to download your software. After you download the product, double-click the installer and follow the onscreen instructions to install your product and start your subscription.
Download and install the trial build from here. Once you have downloaded and installed the software, activate the software using your Adobe credentials.
Your subscription begins as soon as your payment is processed.
Visit the Troubleshooting download problems page, where you can find information about typical software download issues. You can also reach out to us at techcomm@adobe.com for any queries.
During your purchase and installation, you are asked to create or enter an Adobe ID. An Adobe ID is simply your current email address with a password you create. Learn more about the benefits of an Adobe ID.
No. You can use the same Adobe ID with all your Adobe products, including subscriptions.
See subscription terms and conditions.
