The new release of InDesign, 2019, is here with some great new features.
But there is one change that may be unwanted. The new InDesign comes with a new internal serial number.
Since 2012, every Creative Cloud version of InDesign retained the same serial number. This means that InDesign CS6, CC, CC 2014, CC 2015, CC 2017 and CC 2018 all shared the same serial number.
But for InDesign 2019, this has changed.
The licensing system for Id-Extras scripts is based (in part) on InDesign’s internal serial number. This means that since 2012, when the Adobe Creative Cloud was introduced, it has been possible to use Id-Extras scripts and add-ons on all versions of InDesign concurrently.
With 2019, Adobe’s change means this will no longer be possible. If you try to activate your Id-Extras script or add-on in 2019, if it has already been activated in a previous version of InDesign, the activation will fail with an error message.
(If your script has not been activated on a previous version, it will work fine in InDesign 2019!)
Summary of Available Options
What to do? A few options are available:
1. Do nothing. You can continue to use all Id-Extras scripts on all Creative Cloud versions of InDesign, or even on previous versions. But you will not be able to use them on the new Creative Cloud 2019 if you’ve already activated them on InDesign 2018 or earlier.
2. Transfer your license to 2019. A license transfer is available for $19 per license. Purchasing a license transfer means moving the product from a previous version of InDesign to the new InDesign 2019. Your product will not stop working immediately on the previous versions of InDesign, but it will stop working on previous versions as soon as InDesign preferences are deleted, or if it becomes necessary to reinstall InDesign, or if you try to transfer your Adobe account to a different computer. So in the medium–long term, your scripts will work only in InDesign 2019 and not in previous versions.
For customers who have invested in more than 3 different Id-Extras products, we are capping the license transfer fee at $47. So even if you need to transfer 8 licenses, for example, you will not pay more than $47 to transfer all your licenses to the new InDesign 2019. Please contact us if you need this option.
If you have purchased a license to an Id-Extras.com product within the last 3 months (17 July 2018), you may choose to transfer it to the latest version of InDesign (2019) at no cost. Please contact us if you would like to do so. Transferring the license means that it will work on 2019 but will stop working on all previous versions.
3. Purchase an additional license for InDesign 2019. If it is important for you to have the scripts running on previous versions of InDesign as well as InDesign 2019, you will need to purchase an additional license. Without rewriting our entire licensing system, this is the only way that Id-Extras products will work concurrently on the old and new versions of InDesign.
When you purchase a new license, you will receive a new serial number for your Id-Extras add-on.
Stop Press!
Id-Extras.com is not the only 3rd-party vendor affected by Adobe’s questionable decision to give InDesign 2019 a new serial number for all users. So some users find they are facing a hefty bill to get all their crucial 3rd-party add-ons working in InDesign 2019.
To protest, a bug report has been filed on indesign.uservoice.com.
This seems to be getting some traction (well, 6 upvotes at the time of writing). But more interestingly, Adobe have officially responded by saying that they are looking into the issue.
So who knows? Maybe this serial-number change will be reversed and the old serial numbers will be brought back.
I’m not convinced that will happen, because I understand that for the 2019 Creative Cloud release Adobe have completely rewritten their licensing mechanism, so this serial number change is likely to be a consequence of a much more fundamental change that has taken place behind the scenes. Only time will tell.
However, if Adobe do roll back to the old serial numbers, all of this is unnecessary. You may want to wait and see what happens before spending money to get old scripts working on 2019.
F.A.Q.
Do all Id-Extras products work with InDesign 2019?
So far, we have not seen any that don’t! They have not all been tested with 2019 yet, but they should work. There is no theoretical reason why not. Nevertheless, if you do notice any strange behaviour in the operation of the scripts on 2019 let us know. Any issues are likely to be minor and easily fixable.
Do I have to pay anything to continue using my Id-Extras products?
No! You can continue using them on all versions of InDesign prior to the latest 2019 without paying anything. Or, if you’ve purchased a product since 15 October 2018 and installed it in InDesign 2019, you can continue using it in InDesign 2019 without paying anything.
Can I use my Id-Extras products on both InDesign 2019 and InDesign 2018 (or earlier)?
No. You will need to either (a) transfer the products to 2019 and stop using them in InDesign 2018, or (b) purchase an additional license to be able to use them in all versions of InDesign, including 2019, concurrently.
How much does a license-transfer cost?
A license transfer costs $19 per license. If you wish to transfer all your Id-Extras products to 2019 and have 3 or more different products, the transfer fee is capped at $47 and you will not need to pay more than that to transfer all your licenses.
Click here to purchase a license transfer. If you need to transfer 3 or more licenses, please contact us.
Please note that a license transfer can take up to 2 business days.
If I transfer my license to 2019, will the scripts stop working on 2018 or previous version?
Eventually yes, they will stop working.
I need to use my Id-Extras scripts both on InDesign 2019 and previous versions. What can I do?
You will need to purchase an extra license if you need your script to work both on InDesign 2019 and InDesign 2018 (or earlier).
I only bought my add-on a few weeks ago. Do I still need to pay?
If you bought an Id-Extras add-on in the last 3 months (since 17 July 2018) and would like to transfer it to the 2019 version of InDesign, contact us and we will do so free of charge. Your product will eventually stop working on InDesign 2018 and will be permanently linked to InDesign 2019.
Does this mean that from now on I’m going to have to pay every time a new InDesign update comes out?!
I hope not, but I don’t know. It doesn’t depend on us, it depends on Adobe. Between InDesign CC (released in 2012) and InDesign 2018, every new InDesign update had the same serial number as the previous version, so our scripts and add-ons worked seamlessly. They could be installed on multiple versions of InDesign, concurrently. With 2019, Adobe changed this without warning, and InDesign 2019 arrived with a new serial number. I cannot say what will happen with InDesign 2020 and beyond. My guess? I would guess that the serial number will stay the same for future versions of InDesign. Apparently, Adobe rewrote the licensing mechanism for 2019, and I’m guessing that this is what caused the changed in serial number. It is unlikely that they will be rewriting it again soon, and so presumably the serial number will stay the same, as it did in the years 2012–2018. But this is just a guess. The answer is I don’t know!
I’ve got to have my scripts working on InDesign 2019 and I just can’t afford this license transfer fee! Can you help?
Please contact us and we will try to help.
Nick Summy
April 8, 2019 7:09 pmThis has finally been fixed in 14.0.2: https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/kb/fixed-issues.html
“Same serial number should be available per user for InDesign current and older versions”
Ariel
April 8, 2019 8:19 pmYes, indeed, that’s good news.
Laura Scott
October 17, 2018 7:42 pmDang, missed it by a week for one of them! But $19 seems quite reasonable for such value. And the 50% off is nice. I’m tempted on a couple other scripts I’ve been eyeing. I use 20 or so scripts, but the ID-Extras scripts I use on every project, often every day.
Having run a company that developed products against an always moving API, I understand the pain of unexpected changes. I’ll pipe in on the Adobe thread.
Ariel
October 17, 2018 8:12 pmThanks Laura. If it’s only a week, get in touch. I’m not planning to be strict about this whole business and the cutoff point was fairly arbitrary.
Petar
October 17, 2018 7:35 pm3 x 19 = 57, not 47.
Ariel
October 17, 2018 8:07 pmWhoops! Thanks for noticing the error. I’m going to keep the cap at $47 anyway. Just wondering now what the best way to do so is. Maybe a $10 refund…
Igor Freiberger
October 17, 2018 6:03 pmThank you very much for the answer, Ariel. Yes, this makes it more affordable.
Ariel
October 17, 2018 5:49 pmThanks for your comment Igor. The transfer fees have been capped at $47, so for more than 3 licenses it becomes much cheaper.
Igor Freiberger
October 17, 2018 5:34 pmId-Extras offers the best line of plug-ins for InDesign, with a solid history of quick updates and continuous improvement. I licensed a set of them and would be happy to pay for license transfers as this means additional work for the developer (and I also do not expect Adobe to reverse this issue). Anyway, $ 19 for each transfer seems very much to me.