How to activate Adobe photoshop CS6 on high Sierra Mac Pro

I have to back up a bit. It's been quite a while now since I've even seen a full version box. Lots of upgrade boxes I eventually sold though that most definitely said Upgrade on them. As would be necessary in the days of purchasing software in a store so you knew which version you were grabbing.

And a correction. You have the standard version. The Extended version is on the left.

But no big deal. The 3D modeling was rather rudimentary and slow. Also hardly what you use an image editing app for. You aren't missing anything.

Given you can't find any note that says upgrade, or otherwise, then it should be a full version copy. Most of this code is easy enough to parse:

PHSP,CS6<MAC,RET,UE 001,DV

Photoshop, CS6 < Mac, Retail (not sure what UE 001 is), DVD

And RET (Retail) should be the giveaway it's a full retail copy and not an upgrade. But it may be a good idea to call Adobe and verify.

What did you get? A full version copy, or an upgrade? If it's a full version copy, that's all you need.

If it's an upgrade, the seller must also provide you with the original full version license, and all other upgrades in between (such as from CS4 to CS6) so you can legally own and use the upgrade. Why, you may ask? Because in Adobe's world, the original license is the one that counts. All upgrades purchased after that, no matter how many, are tied together as a single ownership all the way back to the original full version purchase. The seller cannot keep an older version for themselves and only sell you an upgrade.

In either case, the person who sold you the software must transfer ownership to you, or it will remain under their Adobe user ID as the owner.

1. They must deactivate the software on their end.
2. If you don't already have an Adobe account, you must create one and send the seller the email address you are using as your account name. The seller and Adobe need this to complete the following.
3. The seller must fill out this form. Click on the Get File button to see the transfer PDF.
4. The seller fills out the PDF form twice. Once as the seller (Transferor) with their name in the signature box. And again for you (Recipient) with your name in the signature box. All serial numbers and versions back to the full version copy must be on both forms.
5. The seller calls Adobe (or through a chat session) and lets them know they are transferring ownership of the software to you. Adobe creates a support case under their Adobe ID.
6. Once that's ready, the seller saves both completed PDFs as a JPEG. Don't ask me why Adobe won't accept uploading the filled in PDFs, but they won't. The seller then uploads both completed JPEGs to the page so Adobe can transfer the license(s).
7. The seller will see that title and its associated serial number(s) disappear from their list of purchased software, and it will then appear under your ID.
8. Only after this is done should you try to activate the software.

Yes, it's kind of complex, but it's the only way to get that serial number legally under your Adobe ID so you can activate it with you as the owner.

Yes, it's confusing because Adobe originally named versions by number, starting at the obvious 1.x through version 7.x.

Then came the Creative Suite series. They started over with the numbering, sort of. The first was simply called CS, not CS1. But after the first CS series, then they numbered them. CS2, CS3, CS4, CS5 (CS5.5 was another separate cost upgrade) and CS6.

If you checked the "About" choice in these version menus, CS would report itself as version 8, since it came after the last numbered version 7. CS2 would call itself version 9. And so on.

CS6 dead ended the perpetual license versioning and the Creative Cloud subscription versions took over. But even then, the software itself still kept, and keeps a version number going. Such as, the current Photoshop CS 2024 is version 25.

The artwork you describe for CS6 is correct. That part number means it's the Extended version, which adds 3D modeling capability over the standard version.

I'm not having much luck finding out if that's a full version copy or upgrade. But it will say one or the other right on the box. I hope you have a full version copy, because if it's an upgrade copy, you won't be able to activate it without a previous full or upgrade version serial number, which it will ask you for during the activation process.

Version 7 is useless to you. Your Mac can't run a version of OS X old enough to install or use it.

Adobe shut down the activation servers for CS6 at least two years ago.

What will happen when you try to activate the install is you will get an error message about not being able to complete the activation (paraphrasing all of this as I can't remember the exact error dialogue).

You do the auto activation something like three times and you'll eventually get an oops! message that includes a web link to do a manual activation.

Once you complete that, then it's likely any updates available to apply will also fail. If they do finish, then lucky you. 🙂 Otherwise, you'll need to call Adobe and have them help you through applying the updates.

A truly unopened, full version copy of Photoshop CS6 will have sold for a large amount of money. They are not easy to come by.

There's no such thing as Photoshop CS7, if that's what you're thinking you have. Literal version 7 would be from 2002 and is five versions older than CS6. It won't even run on the Mac you have.

CS6 was the last perpetual version of anything Adobe sold - with the exception of being able to get stand-alone perpetual licenses of Acrobat Pro up to the 2020 version. Everything else after CS6 is the subscription only Creative Cloud stuff.

It has to be there somewhere. Or at least, should be. I've owned every version of Photoshop since version 3 (actual version 3, not CS3), and multiple versions of the Design and Production suites. Every box said whether or not it's a full or upgrade version.

I'll have to try and find images of the box when I have time later today. It's times like this where I kind of wish I still had my boxed copies, but I sold all of my older, perpetual license titles a year or so ago.

It's normally on the side panel in somewhat small text. It will say Full Version or Upgrade Version.