Technology

Which Adobe License Do I Need?

For many members of the University, Adobe Acrobat Reader will provide the functionality needed for daily work. This product is available to everyone. This article will explain the differences between the Adobe Acrobat Pro* and Adobe Creative Cloud for Enterprise to help you determine which license best meets your needs.

* Note: The University has acquired Foxit PDF Editor + for those with a need for advanced PDF editing capabilities. Foxit licenses will be automatically granted to those with a pre-identified academic or business-related need. A request process will be available in the near future for those who have not been pre-identified but believe they have such a need. There are a very limited number of Adobe Acrobat Pro licenses available on campus, and these will be reserved for those with a demonstrated need that Foxit cannot fulfill.

Adobe Acrobat Pro and Adobe Creative Cloud for Enterprise licenses are in limited supply. Please request these licenses only if your job responsibilities or coursework require the advanced PDF features or Creative Cloud applications they provide. All Illinois State University faculty, staff, and students automatically receive access to Acrobat Reader, which meets the needs of many common creative and PDF tasks.

Which Adobe License Do I Need?


All Illinois State University faculty, staff, and students will automatically receive access to Adobe Acrobat Reader. If your work requires advanced PDF editing or Adobe Creative Cloud applications, you may request a Foxit PDF Editor + license, an Adobe Acrobat Pro license (very limited) or an Adobe Creative Cloud for Enterprise license.

Students who require Adobe Creative Cloud applications for academic coursework should request an Adobe Creative Cloud for Enterprise license.

If you are a Graduate Assistant (GA) or student employee using Adobe to perform University job responsibilities, review the information below to determine whether a Foxit PDF Editor +,license, an Adobe Acrobat Pro license, or an Adobe Creative Cloud for Enterprise license best meets your work-related needs. 

Faculty and staff should also review the information below to determine which Adobe license best meets their needs.

  • You may need an Adobe Acrobat Pro License if your work requires you to:

  • Edit text or images within an existing PDF 
  • Convert PDFs to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or image formats
  • Organize, reorder, or combine multiple PDF files
  • Perform Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to make scanned PDFs searchable.
  • Redact sensitive information from PDF files
  • Password-protect PDF files
  • Compare two versions of a PDF document

For more information regarding Adobe Acrobat Pro, see Adobe Acrobat Pro

Illinois State University has acquired Foxit PDF Editor+ as our PDF Editing software, which is available to Illinois State University faculty, staff, and students.

If your work only requires advanced PDF features and you do not need other Adobe Creative Cloud applications, either a Foxit PDF Editor + license or an Adobe Acrobat Pro license (in limited supply) is likely the appropriate choice.


  • You may need an Adobe Creative Cloud for Enterprise License if your work requires:


  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe InDesign
  • Adobe Premiere Pro
  • Adobe After Effects
  • Adobe Audition
  • Other Creative Cloud desktop applications required for your course work or job responsibilities

For more information regarding Adobe Creative Cloud for Enterprise, see Adobe Creative Cloud for Enterprise.



If you are unsure which license is needed, review the feature comparison below or contact the Technology Support Center.

Feature Comparison

I need to...Free Adobe Acrobat Reader**Adobe Acrobat ProCreative Cloud for Enterprise
Open and view PDFs✓✓✓
Print PDFs✓✓✓
Search PDFs✓✓✓
Comment and annotate✓✓✓
Fill Forms✓✓✓
Electronically sign PDFs✓✓✓
Edit PDF text and images
✓✓
Convert PDFs
✓✓
Organize or combine PDFs
✓✓
Perform OCR on scanned PDFs
✓✓
Redact sensitive information on PDFs
✓✓
Password-protect PDF files
✓✓

Compare two versions of a PDF


✓✓

Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, etc.



✓

*Create PDFs from Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or image files

*See note below✓✓


 * Note: The ability to create PDF files from Office products by saving/exporting into PDF format is built into Microsoft Office products, and does not require a paid version of Adobe. See: Create PDF files from Microsoft Office Applications

**Note: Illinois State University has acquired licenses for Foxit PDF Editor +, which is the preferred PDF editor on campus for those in need of advanced PDF editing features that the free Adobe Acrobat Reader will not meet. For more information about how Foxit PDF Editor + compares to Adobe Acrobat Pro, please see:

Requesting a License


All Illinois State University faculty, staff, and students automatically receive access to the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

PDF Editor Software: PDF Editor Software Request Form

Adobe Creative Cloud: Adobe Creative Cloud Request Form

Frequently Asked Questions


  • How do I request an Adobe License?

Free Adobe Acrobat Reader: All Illinois State University faculty, staff, and students automatically receive access to the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

PDF Editor Software: PDF Editor Software Request Form

Adobe Creative Cloud: Adobe Creative Cloud Request Form


  • What happens to my Adobe files if I no longer have an Adobe Creative Cloud for Enterprise license?

If you no longer have an Adobe Creative Cloud for Enterprise license, you will continue to have access to Adobe cloud storage through Creative Cloud Shared Device Access for Higher Education as long as your Illinois State University account remains active.

This entitlement includes 2 GB of Adobe Cloud storage. If your stored files exceed this limit, you can still access your files to migrate or delete them, but you will not be able to add new files or edit existing cloud files until your storage usage is below 2 GB.

If you are leaving the University or would like to keep your Adobe files in a personal Adobe account, Adobe offers a file transfer service that lets you migrate your content to a personal Adobe ID. Personal Adobe accounts include 5 GB of free cloud storage.

You can transfer your files using Adobe File Transfer:

Adobe File Transfer



  • Can I still open PDF files?

Yes. Everyone receives access to Adobe Acrobat Reader by default. Adobe Acrobat Reader allows you to:

  • Open and view PDF files
  • Print PDF files 
  • Search PDF documents
  • Add comments, highlights, sticky notes, or free-text annotations
  • Fill out and save PDF forms
  • Electronically sign PDF documents

How to Get Help

Technical assistance is available through the Illinois State University Technology Support Center at: