Administrators can use Shared Device Licensing (SDL) to deploy and manage Adobe applications across shared computers and managed environments. This FAQ answers common questions about licensing lifecycle, packaging, app compatibility, and license recovery.
If your students and educators use shared device licenses, they won't be able to access the Firefly features, as shared device licenses don't include services - only desktop apps. You must assign a named user license or an Adobe Express license to provide them with Adobe Firefly generative AI features.
If your institution has renewed or updated the Adobe plan, you'll need to redeploy the licenses to the machines. To do this, follow the steps:
Create a Shared Device Licensing package.
Learn how to create Shared Device Licensing packages.
Deploy the package to the machines. Learn how to deploy packages.
To recover a license from an inoperable machine, you'll need to reset the licenses of all machines of that product profile.
However, to recover the license from a machine to which you have access, you can deactivate the license on that machine itself.
Staff and faculty can use Named User Licensing.
No. Only lab machines are available for shared device license deployment. All other home and BYOD devices require a Named User License assignment.
Share Device Licensing does not require you to assign licenses to students. When a shared device license package is installed on a lab machine, it's automatically registered and activated.
Students only need an Adobe ID, not a Share Device Licensing entitlement. Learn how to create an Adobe ID.
The terms of your licensing agreement with Adobe remain the same. So, if you have full coverage of your lab devices, that continues with shared device licenses.
The number of device licenses in your contract is determined during the contract process. It depends on the contract of your institution with Adobe.
If you have been able to use serialized deployment for your lab machines, then those same lab machines can use shared device licenses.
Once deployed, the shared device license is tied to a machine. If the machine is reimaged, redeploy a shared device license package to it.
No, you can deactivate and re-license it with the licensing toolkit.
When you run the device license to shared device license migration workflow, all your device licenses are migrated to shared device licenses. For teams subscriptions, after you create and deploy the shared device license packages on the devices in your labs, the legacy device licenses stop working in 30 days after migration.
You can use either method. If you are working from a cloned image, use the licensing toolkit to re-register the clone.
Shared Device Licensing v1.0 must be updated to the latest environment (currently Shared Device Licensing v1.5) to provide new features, such as independent access policies and association by Package affiliation.
To redeploy the latest environment, apply a shared device license only package to the machines with the older environment. You don't need to reinstall the applications.
Yes, there is no difference between the Shared Device Licensing and Named User Licensing versions of applications. So, deploying a Shared Device Licensing package and then using Named User Licensing install techniques for applications works. Installing some CC 2019 applications in the Shared Device Licensing package and others using Named User Licensing also works.
Look for the OperatingConfigs folder on your machine, it exists only for Shared Device Licensing installs.
Windows: C:\ProgramData\Adobe\OperatingConfigs
MacOS: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/OperatingConfigs
The Adobe License Decoder is a command-line tool that lists all shared device licenses on a computer. This tool examines globally-installed license files and provides the following information:
The apps associated with each license file
The packages the apps have been installed from
When the apps were installed and their corresponding license expiry dates.
Use the GitHub repository to download the tool and for detailed documentation.
Beginning in September 2023, the Creative Cloud Shared Device Access entitlement no longer includes access to Adobe Express for higher education institutions.
Lightroom (CC) was originally included in error in the device packager and we were made aware of its inclusion through an increase in calls from customers with confusion. Lightroom (CC) requires cloud services that are not available in SDL and was therefore never supported in lab environments.
Beginning in December 2022, we began removing Lightroom (CC) from Shared Device License (SDL), and admins will now see this error fixed in the packager workflow. Users have been able to and will continue to be able to use Lightroom Classic.
No, the stand-alone Creative Cloud Packager does not work for shared device license packages. You must use the web-based Creative Cloud Packager located in the Admin Console. Learn how to create shared device license packages.
No, Shared Device Licensing only allows launching desktop applications. It does not provide a user's Adobe account with licensing for cloud-based services.
Some services are available for free with an Adobe ID account. However, some require a product purchase. The same Creative Cloud services, which your user account is already entitled to, can be used with the installed shared device license.
For Enterprise IDs and Federated IDs, the Admin Console will soon have a basic font and Creative Cloud service access, similar to the free services entitlement through the Adobe Express for Higher Ed Product.
Know more about what you get free with your Creative Cloud membership.
No. Shared device license packages cannot be installed on virtual machines.
