This article describes a number of workarounds for some common issues with the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application that seem to occur from time to time. These issues include not being able to locate or install updates for Creative Cloud applications, including Adobe InDesign.

Cannot Manage Apps in CC Desktop App

For no apparent reason, some accounts lose the ability to manage their Creative Cloud applications. This is evidenced by a Creative Cloud alert message You don't have access to manage apps.

Workaround

The resolution to this is to modify the ServiceConfig.xml file and change the value for the visible attribute to true

<name>AppsPanel</name><visible>true</visible>

The location of the file is as follows:

Macintosh:

/Library/Application Support/Adobe/OOBE/Configs/ServiceConfig.xml
    
Windows:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\OOBE\Configs\ServiceConfig.xml

The ServiceConfig.xml file can be edited with any text editor. Note that you many need to move this file to your desktop in order to edit and save the changes (due to permission restrictions on the folder). Once you have made the changes copy the file back into the original folder location and restart the Creative Cloud desktop application.

Application Updates Not Listed in CC Desktop App

When InDesign (or other Adobe updates) are available, the Creative Cloud desktop app should recognize this and indicate that an update is available. Sometimes this feature stops working and always lists the apps as being Up to Date. Another symptom of this is that when attempting to check for updates via the Help menu in Adobe InDesign, an error message is displayed indicating that the system has not been configured to allow access to updates.

Workaround

Delete the file AdobeUpdaterPrefs.dat in the following folder:

Macintosh:

/Library/Application Support/Adobe/AAMUpdaterinventory/1.0/

Windows:

C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Local\Adobe\AAMUpdater\1.0\
[Note: the AppData folder may be a hidden folder on Windows]

After removing this file, reload the CC desktop app (Macintosh: Command-Option-R, Windows: Ctrl-Alt-R). You can also log out and log back into the CC desktop app.

No Access to Other Versions of Creative Cloud Apps

In the CC App, next to each app in the list of installed applications is a More actions icon (indicated by three dots). Clicking on this option should reveal two options - Uninstall and Other Versions. Sometimes the Other Versions option is not available.

Workaround

Delete ALL of the files in the following folder:

Macintosh:

/Library/Application Support/Adobe/OperatingConfigs/

Windows:

C:\ProgramData\Adobe\OperatingConfigs\
[Note: the ProgramData folder may be a hidden folder on Windows]

After clearing all files from the ProgramData folder, reload the CC desktop app (Macintosh: Command-Option-R, Windows: Ctrl-Alt-R). You can also log out and log back into the CC desktop app. This appears to reset the CC desktop app and forces it to rebuild the list of applications, so it may take a couple of minutes before everything loads back up.

Adobe InDesign is Behaving Strangely

Sometimes your copy of Adobe InDesign is just behaving strangely. Most often we see this as strange dialog behavior or even unexpected crashes. If this is happening on your system then it is time to try resetting the Adobe InDesign preferences. Please see the following link for more details about how to reset the preferences.

How to reset Adobe InDesign preferences