"Whilst I can't begin to give you an answer, I can suggest that you put your question directly to the specialists whose pictures and ids appear on the right at the top of the forum: they must be Adobe people, and must, one presumes, be in possession of the facts you need."

They are not Adobe employees. They are DW users, volunteers and forum regulars. They've just posted a lot to this forum and provided invaluable help on technical issues over a period of time to many here.

The Adobe Community Expert tag recognises them as valuable, long standing volunteers with lots of good technical product knowledge.

Licensing issues should really be referred to Adobe Customer Service for a definitive reply.

if a friend comes up to me and asks me to create a website for him for a group he created I cannot do it because it would be commerical work?

 

Does anyone know the price to upgrade to commerical from the student?

It depends where you live. According to the Student Version FAQ, you can use it for commercial purposes if you are in North America. If you live elsewhere, you're out of luck:

Do the Student Editions have restricted functionality?

       

Adobe Student Editions give the end user all the features and functionality of the commercial versions. The software may be used only on a privately owned computer, and the end user may not transfer or resell ownership of the Adobe Student Edition license.

       

Is there a time limit on using the Student Editions?

     

No, there is no time limit on using the Student Editions.

       

Can a Student Edition also be used for commercial purposes?

       

In North America, Student Edition software can be used for commercial purposes. Outside North America, Student Edition software is for noncommercial purposes only.

The student FAQ for North America says this:

The software may be used only on a privately owned computer

It doesn't say you must be the owner of the machine. However, it goes on to say:

the end user may not transfer or resell ownership of the Adobe Student Edition license

In other words, the student who gets the licence is the only one allowed to use the software. So, it could be on your family computer, but you're the only one allowed to use the Adobe software.

Perhaps most importantly:

A Student Edition can be used on only one computer. This is ensured through a product activation procedure, which is performed online.

You need to make sure that you install it on a computer that's going to be available to you at all times. Unlike a full retail licence, you cannot install it on two computers (many people have one version on a desktop and the other on a laptop). So, choose where you install it with care. Technically, you can put it on a computer in a friend's house, but your friend can't use it. More importantly, neither can you unless you go round to the friend's house.

You can also buy only one copy. Sure, there are restrictions, but it's a pretty good deal when you consider the cost of the full retail version - and that students outside North America are not allowed to use it for paying projects.

No.  Yes.  Respectively.

Yes, Help > Deactivate is the best way to move your software from one computer to another. Of course, it's not always possible. If you suffer a catastrophic hard disk crash or your computer is stolen, you can't deactivate. In those circumstances, you can do it through Adobe customer support (as long as you have registered your copy). But I'm told it's a much more complex process. Using Help > Deactivate usually takes less than a minute, but you must be connected to the internet at the time.

You're a student. Do what students always do: experiment. If it works, fine. If it doesn't, you've found out the limitation of your licence.

Of course, you could deactivate and reactivate. I have no idea if Adobe places a limit on the number of times you can do so, but if you're constantly activating and deactivating, Adobe might view it as suspicious activity and suspend the licence.

If you don't want the hassle, just buy the full retail package.

I do not reccomend calling adobe about the

problem when I attempted to do it that way I got nowhere (though it was the

weekend).

Yes, that's what I had in mind. Doing activation by phone is reported to be a major hassle.

If you go onto their live chat they can decrypt your registration

serial number and then help you. Via internet chat it takes less than 5

minutes well at least for me it did.

That's useful to know.