Do CS6 files run in CS5/5.5

[romtin]

Just bought the CS6 Design & Web Premium package at school for my desktop at home. We have CS5 in class (it might actually be 5.5, not sure) and I'm just wondering if I'll be able to run my CS6 Photoshop and Dreamweaver files there.

Someone wrote the following online and I was wondering if it's pretty accurate. If so, awesome:

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"OK then, here’s how it works.  Your new CS6 tools will be able to open any and all earlier files no problem (including CS5 and CS5.5 files), with no loss of information.

Going the other way, when using CS5 to open a file saved from a CS6 application, it depends…

In Photoshop, it is almost never an issue as the .PSD format is pretty backwards compatible.  To ensure this, make sure that “Maximize PSD File Compatibility” option is set.

In Illustrator, when you save a file it asks you which version you want to save it as.  Instead of CS6, you can choose a “Legacy Format” like Illustrator CS5, but be aware that you may lose some newer features and attributes when the document is read back in to the prior release.

With InDesign, there is no way to “downsave” a project like in Illustrator.  However you can Export your document as IDML (InDesign Markup Language).  IDML files can be read into earlier versions like InDesign CS5.5, CS5, or CS4 – but again there is the potential to lose newer features that aren’t supported in older versions.

Bonus answers:

In Flash Professional, you can save in XFL or FLA format for CS5.5 or CS5, although you may lose some newer features.

In Premiere Pro there is not an official save-back-to-old-version option (and it’s technically not supported) but some customers report fairly good success doing so anyway.

With After Effects you can Save a Copy As CS5.5, again with the caveat that new functionality in CS6 won’t transfer.

So that pretty much sums it up, and hope it helps – if you have any further questions then just post back!"

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thanks in advance,

romtin

[conroy]

Photoshop CS6 files generally will be read by CS5.x without problem. One thing to know is that CS6 Shapes have a new stroke attribute which cannot be read by CS5.x, so if you want to create stroked Shapes in CS6 then set their stroke weight to 0.0 px and use Layer Style Stroke instead.

[romtin]

thank you so much, conroy. as it turns out im working on a project right now with 6 and have been using a bunch of shapes with stroke weights using that new feature. imma go back and set those to 0 and use the layer style menu like you said now   you've saved me a headache in the long run,  so bigggg thanks man!

[conroy · Accepted solution]

Today, I've noticed that it's as effective and "safe for CS5" to disable the CS6 stroke by setting its type to "No color" - white with red diagonal line.

That seemed to be an unsafe alternative to weight zero before the 13.0.1 update. Maybe it was safe and I was mistaken, though.

Anyway, you have a choice:

set stroke weight to zero, or

set stroke type to "No-color".

[Noel Carboni]

For what it's worth, I hadn't noticed any compatibility issues with 13.0.0 and the setting, which is the out-of-box default I believe.

I have a document I was testing between versions that I created in the time of 13.0.0 and it has a stored stroke with of 3 px with the above stroke setting, and it read okay in Photoshop CS5.

-Noel

[conroy]

Seems most likely that I made a mistake back when I checked Shapes in v13.0, or a mistake in recollecting the situation.

My recollection was that a weight greater than zero (regardless of stroke type) in v13.0 would result in CS5.1 using the raster representation of the layer when the file had been saved with Maximum Compatibility.

[Noel Carboni]

I didn't figure the Maximum Compatibility setting into my post above...  I have been running with it off for some time.

But there's no need to speculate; I still have a test Windows 8 system with 13.0.0 on it.  From what I can see, either way files open okay into Photoshop CS5 with the shapes recognized as fill layers with vector masks.

Here are copies of the two files saved from 13.0.0 with the stroke set to the red line (no color) and the width 3px, and with the Maximize Compatibility setting either way:

http://Noel.ProDigitalSoftware.com/ForumPosts/Shapes_13.0.0_Max_Compatibility_ON.psd

http://Noel.ProDigitalSoftware.com/ForumPosts/Shapes_13.0.0_Max_Compatibility_OFF.psd

-Noel

[conroy]

Yes, it seems that Shapes saved from 13.0 and 13.0.1 don't differ. So, to repeat an earlier post, either of the following choices are safe:

set stroke weight to zero, or

set stroke type to "No-color".

[romtin]

awesome, thanks again conroy. also, thanks for the input and files Noel.  here's to one less thing to worry about this semester:)

[conroy]

You're welcome. Have fun!

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Edit: I just realized that there are new Type features in CS6. I generally don't use text in Photoshop so, hopefully, someone else can advise you about compatibility.

[Guest]

Am I the only one who finds this extremely unfortunate? The vector stroke is a PHENOMENAL new feature to Photoshop CS6. Unfortunately not everyone we work with (coworkers, vendors) can upgrade to the latest version of Photoshop. It would be awesome if saving with compatibility would take care of that issue or convert it to an FX stroke. Minimally it would be nice to have something like a pre-flight from InDesign that identifies potential issues in plain English instead of cryptic error messages. Another idea would be to highlight the "offending" layers or effects.

I work with Website PSDs that literally have hundreds of layers and smart objects so even using the new layer search it is very tedious. I always save my master version with full editing capabilities, but then have to hand off a dumbed down version. So then you can get into nasty versioning issues.

Seems the compatibility could use a little improvement.