Compatibility

Your Free Trial will last for 7 days and it begins as soon as you install any of the premium plugins.

Continuing to use the plugins after the trial has ended
When your trial ends, you will retain access to the 4 free plugins. If you wish to continue using all  premium plugins, you will now need to purchase the subscription. To purchase, please log in to your account and click on Subscribe now (or here if you are a business requiring Team Licensing).

You’re under no obligation to automatically renew when your subscription is nearing an end. In the Billing section of your account you can opt to either pause the subscription renewal until you choose to renew again, or cancel altogether so that your subscription will cease to exist entirely.

On your subscription, you receive ALL plugins and all plugins are automatically updated and upgraded to newer versions during your subscription period. When your subscription ends, it will be necessary to renew it to continue using the plugins.

Once you have paid for your subscription, simply click on the Install All button in Astute Manager. See How do I install for further advice.

Uninstalling
If you wish to uninstall the plugins, please see our step-by-step guidance on uninstalling.

All subscription plugins currently have the following software requirements:

Macintosh

CC2018 - Illustrator 2023

macOS
10.11 to 13 (Sequoia)
(Universal for both Intel and Apple Silicon)

Windows

CC2018 - Illustrator 2023

Windows 
10 to 11

Multi users

Please note that we are not compatible with simultaneous multi user virtual machines such as Azure Virtual Desktop. For several technical reasons of license management, this is strictly not permitted by the software to avoid conflicts between user status. Please ensure that before switching between accounts, users fully quit the Astute Manager by selecting the "Quit" button in the bottom left hand corner.


Deprecated compatibility

As of September 2019, the plugins are NOT compatible with CS6 or below

In October 2022 we dropped support for CC17.1 to CC2017, which meant that compatibility with the following CC versions came to an end:

• CC17.1

• CC2014

• CC2015

• CC2017

In October 2023 we dropped support for Illustrator 2019, this means that compatibility with the following CC versions ended:

• CC 2018 (22.0.0)

• CC 2018.1 (22.1.0)

And in October 2024 support ended for CC2019, this means that compatibility with the following CC versions ended:

• CC 2019 (23.0.0)

• CC 2019 (23.0.2)

• CC 2019 (23.1.0)

We have also reached the end of the support line for the following:

• macOS 10.8 - as of September 2018

• macOS 10.10 - as of January 2022

• macOS 10.x - as of October 2024

• Windows 8 - as of March 2022

• Windows 7 - as of March 2022 

You can read more about this here. 

Adobe's recent Creative Cloud releases are no longer compatible with these OS and Windows versions. We always endeavour to keep as much backward compatibility as possible, but practically, we need to ask the user to ensure they have updated to more recent systems to ensure secure connection via the Astute Manager.

As of January 2022 Astute Graphics had to end support for Illustrator 2020 plugins. They will remain available via the Astute Manager, but their operation cannot be backed up with any technical assistance. This is because Astute Graphics is, itself, unable to install Illustrator 2020 on a full range of test environments. due to Adobe withdrawing the availability of Illustrator 2020 installers. You can read more about this here.

Please note also that our plugins are not iPad compatible, we haven't ruled out compatibility for the future but for now it would not be possible to use our software with an iPad. In the meantime, those interested in iPad use may wish to try the Astropad which effectively makes a connected iPad into a secondary screen with Wacom-like inputs (with a stylus).

Software Details

Our Software is Saas software. The user needs to sign into their astutegraphics.com account via the Astute Manager software which is installed locally (Windows and/or MacOS). The plugin installation package is then requested/transmitted to be installed locally on demand along with associated licensing information. You'll need to have a direct internet access (not behind a proxy), and establish a secure connection with https://account.astutegraphics.com/ to download, activate, update and regularly maintain activation status. It is not possible to operate the Astute Graphics plugins without direct internet access.

Legacy Users

Old legacy licenses (licenses purchased before our change of service model on 14 September 2019) are NOT Illustrator 2020, 2021 or 2022 compatible. Legacy licenses remain valid only for and available for Adobe Illustrator CS6 to Illustrator 2019 on both Windows 7 / 8.1 / 10 and macOS 10.10 through 10.14.

Wednesday, 16 October 2024

InkQuest is one of Astute Graphics' earliest plugins. Originally part of the Phantasm Publisher collection of functions in 2009, it was subsequently split out into its own product before Astute Graphics' transition to SaaS.

In many ways, it was an outlier in the Astute Graphics plugin feature set, focusing purely on specialist pre-press operations such as ink coverage, ink channel swapping and the like, whereas all other functions concentrate on the creative workflow.

For the past year, Astute Graphics has been monitoring use and user feedback relating to InkQuest and has concluded that its unusual fit within the overall SaaS focus is reflected in the minimal usage figures. Coupled with deep technical issues the latest releases of Adobe Illustrator is presenting to InkQuest's maintenance requirements, it has been decided that this plugin is now end-of-life.

The most recent release, v2.8.2, allows the plugin to be installed in Illustrator 2020 through to 2025 via the Astute Manager. However, Astute Graphics can not assure of its functionality in Illustrator 2025 and users are advised that use of it in Illustrator 2025 is at their own risk. Whereas, we are not noticing any unusual stability issues, internal testing has found rendering issues in some circumstances on some systems.

With the Astute Graphics plugin service expanding extensively and continuously since its introduction in 2019, with new plugins and numerous new tools and functions, we will continue to invest in the creative workflow elements of the plugins, documentation — including AG Docs — and a high level of support.

Astute Graphics intends to remove the InkQuest plugin from the Astute Manager in the near future, at which point it will be made freely available as a manually-installed and unmanaged plugin for the pre-press community.