Compass - Machine setup for ACA CC18 Exams

Before installing Compass, please be aware of, and meet the Technical Requirements for the Programme (i.e. MOS 2016 - under "Certification programs") and Compass (under "Exam delivery systems"). If you are a new Testing Centre, please get in touch (top right) to make sure that your account is set up to deliver these exams.

The Adobe CC 2018 exams are delivered in what Certiport call “Live In The Application” (LITA). There are two parts to this type of exam. The first section is generally multiple choice/drag-drop type questions. In the LITA section, the candidate is presented with a task (or tasks) in the Exam System (currently exclusive to Compass) and s/he uses the respective Adobe Application (i.e. Photoshop, InDesign, etc…) to complete said task. There is usually an overlay that candidates can use to navigate to the next question etc… but some (like the Autodesk exams) will ask you to switch between the Question page and the Application.

Outside of the U.S. the setup for Adobe CC 2018 exams is quite specific. Starting with the Adobe applications, on PC & Mac, if you are installing from the Creative Cloud:

1. Launch the Creative Cloud App, click the Settings icon (top right) and select the ‘Apps’ tab on the left
2. On the Apps screen change the Default Install Language to English (North America)
3. Under the ‘Settings’ section be sure the ‘Show Older Apps’ box is ticked
4. Under the ‘Auto Update section make sure the box is not ticked

When Installing:

1. Navigate back to home panel and select the ‘Apps’ tab, from here you can install the necessary Adobe Application for testing
2. Specific versions of these Applications necessary, these are currently:

• Photoshop - 19.1.8
• Illustrator - 22.1
• InDesign - 13.1
• After Effects - 15.1.2
• Premiere Pro - 12.1.2

3. To find these versions, locate the Application you wish to install then click the down arrow to the right of the blue ‘Install’ button then ‘Manage’ and ‘Other Versions’.
4. From the Other Version screen select the version listed above and click install.

It is important to note that only the above versions should be installed on the testing machines, older or newer versions of the apps should not be installed alongside the required version. If you are installing these on PC via Adobe Admin Console, please refer to:

https://helpx.adobe.com/ie/enterprise/package/help/deploying-packages.html
https://helpx.adobe.com/ie/enterprise/using/package-apps-admin-console.html

After installing:

1. Once the Application has installed be sure to run it once, check for one-time pop ups, welcome screens etc and close these
2. You can now close the Application and move on to the Exam System Setup (currently Compass).

If the Adobe Applications are already installed and you are not able to change the Application languages (typically Illustrator and/or InDesign), please get in touch (top right).

Setting up Compass

If Console 8 is installed on the machines, uninstall it before proceeding.

1. Download and Install Compass
2. Login as an Organisation Administrator and configure your Test Centre Account and any Optional Settings (If necessary)
3. Click on Manage Exams in the menu on the left then click on Download Additional Exams
4. Navigate to and expand Adobe Certified Associate then Adobe Creative Cloud
5. Select the relevant CC 2018 Exams
6. Click Download Exams. Once you have installed the Content, restart Compass. 

Note: This will download the Exam Content. If you don’t complete this step, the system will try to download the Content when you try to launch the exam, this is OK but will take time (sometimes hours depending on type of exam and available bandwidth).

If you are working with several machines, take a look at Compass - Distribute Exam Content by LAN