Last time we covered file management and sharing opportunities afforded by your Office365 subscription. Today we take a look at the collaboration and sharing capabilities of the second most important tool in your presentation development toolbox, The Adobe Creative Cloud Suite.
Both software suites boast cloud services and productivity tools that can make collaborating intuitive and simple.
This is not a side-by-side comparison of each offering. Each has their own audience. Office365 is more conducive to collaboration with presenters and their handlers while Adobe’s file sharing capabilities are geared toward artists and designers.
OK Adobe, what do you have to offer the presentation specialists in your life?
For this review I’m using the most current install of the Adobe CC Suite. With a Creative Cloud subscription I can install ANY Adobe product in the suite, on two machines. They can NOT run simultaneously. The nice part for me is the ability to install on multiple platforms. I have Adobe Creative Cloud installed on multiple machines on both Windows7 and Mac OSX. I authorize and deauthorize as necessary.
This is just a basic review I encourage you to explore these tools in-depth on your own.
Without further ado, my five favorite tips:
-
Store and sync files simply
Yes you use Hightail and Dropbox and you FTP like a champ, but what if you had some space set aside for design files specifically? What if all of your current design files, PSDs or AI files, resided in one place? What if they were consistently synced across devices? Your CC subscription gives you that folder and keeps it tidy and in sync. Your storage quota depends on your Creative Cloud membership.
The CC sync folder appears in your computer’s file explorer for easy use
You can view your storage status from the Files tab under Assets panel of the Creative Cloud for desktop app or on the Settings page of the Creative Cloud Activity page.
Storage status on Settings page
How would I use this?
I use my synced CC folder for all design assets during production, it’s always up-to-date and at my fingertips inside the cozy Adobe eco-system
-
Share a file or folder
Creative Cloud Assets lets you send public links to the following types of assets: files, Folders, libraries, library elements, mobile creations.
Using public links, you can gather feedback on assets and work more efficiently with others. Accessed using a unique Adobe.ly short URL. The person that receives the link can view a high quality preview of the assets in their web browser without having to install Creative Cloud apps or sign in to the website. Since it’s in a browser these files can be viewed on any device any platform. Link recipients can also write comments or download copies of the files (if you granted permission).
Assets arrive with a set of automatically generated color swatches and a space for comments
This method provides complete control over your content. Recipients get read-only access to your files, which means they cannot update or delete them. The shared assets are that you send via email or copy/paste to send. At any time, you can turn the URL off to revoke access.
How would I use it?
- Sending files (from anywhere there’s an internet connection) for approval to client or creative director, no Photoshop necessary for them!
3) Use your familiar tools anywhere
With Adobe CC you can easily use your Adobe tools across platforms and machines. Open a PC Illustrator file on your Mac with no hesitation. All of the design tools in the suite are available on any desktop, Mac or PC and anywhere you and your tablet/smart phone are. Not quite anywhere. If you don’t use iOS you’re at a disadvantage on this one. While many applications in the suite are cross-platform including portables like tablets and smartphones, there is a far larger number of supporting mobile apps available on the iOS platform. As an Android user the basics for my needs are met though through the Android version of Creative Cloud and Adobe Brush CC.
How would I use it?
Work on a PowerPoint template on your tablet (from the beach)
4) Share libraries and library assets
Creative Cloud Libraries offer a way to keep all of your frequently-used assets in one place. Libraries can include colors, text styles, brushes, graphic assets, and images. Libraries can also include assets from Adobe Stock or the Creative Cloud Market.
Save layer styles and character styles into libraries for easy sharing
Libraries are also used with Adobe’s mobile apps, like Shape, Brush, and Draw. You can organize design assets into multiple Creative Cloud Libraries based on projects or types of assets.
Photoshop layer styles are currently reusable only in Photoshop which is probably OK for this audience.
A library can contain up to 1000 assets, there are no limits to the number of Libraries you can create, and is not limited to desktop applications only.
How would I use this?
This one could use its own post in at a future date but the possibilities are stunning. When collaborating on design elements like templates and masters, this capability allows everyone involved in the design of an event to use the same layer style on that photo border, or that same font treatment on the award winner’s names
5) Collaborate on folders and libraries
Put all of these tools above together with the ability to collaborate inside the Adobe environment and you have number 5 on our list. You can collaborate with other users and share a folder or library from your Creative Cloud account with specified Creative Cloud users. All invited users can then work cooperatively with the assets in the shared folder or library. Collaborators can view, edit, rename, move, or delete contents of the shared folder or library.
Looking for more info?
To share public links to files and folders with others (share assets with read-only access), see Share files and folders.
For more information about libraries in Creative Cloud, see Creative Cloud libraries.
PPTX Hint
A nice accompaniment to the color swatches sent along with Adobe Files, the PPTXtreme Colorpicker selection window can grab colors from anywhere on your desktop. Once selected the HEX value of that color is automatically copied to your system clipboard.
Check out pptXTREME to see how you can revolutionize the way you create your next PowerPoint presentation.