Request for Information: Plugin Developers, Please Help Us Merge Your Accounts
Plugin Developers with multiple accounts may merge their Adobe accounts for the upcoming Marketplace migration
This article is for plugin developers who have multiple accounts; one for listing UXP plugins and another for listing ZXP/CEP plugins in the Adobe Exchange Partner Portal.
In Feb 2023, We launched a new Developer Distribution portal for distributing UXP plugins to the Adobe Exchange and in the Creative Cloud Marketplace, which can be found in the Stock & Marketplace tab in the Creative Cloud Desktop app. For more information about the new portal, please check out the announcement.
In June 2023, we will enhance the Developer Distribution portal to distribute ZXP/CEP plugins as well as UXP plugins. The Exchange Partner Portal where ZXP/CEP plugins are currently managed by developers will be deprecated simultaneously so that developers will have one portal to distribute and manage any type of listing.
We need your help to make this transition a smooth one!
Please note that if the following applies to you, You will not lose anything, and we will ensure that your listing details, uploaded packages, and your ratings and reviews will be carried over to the new Developer Distribution portal by the end of June 2023.
Who needs to take action?
All developers who have multiple accounts are asked to reach out to us. This applies to you if you are using two Adobe accounts:
- An account you use to log into Developer Distribution to manage your UXP plugin listings and
- An account you use to log into Exchange Partner Portal to manage your ZXP/CEP plugins listings.
We will send out a reminder email that will ask developers to provide the information mentioned in this blog post.
What action do I need to take?
All developers who have multiple accounts should fill out this form. Once we receive the information about your two separate accounts, we will merge them together so you can manage all your listings on the new Developer Distribution Portal from a single account.
If you’re uncertain about merging your accounts, please take the time to fill out the form before May 24th, 2023, so we can reach out to you.
Why are we merging UXP and ZXP/CEP accounts? Why were they separated in the first place?
The Adobe Creative Cloud Extensibility team is getting ready to migrate all ZXP/CEP listings from Exchange Partner Portal to Developer Distribution. The new Developer Distribution portal will enable many new features for all developers (for example, user statistics).
Benefits of merging the accounts
- List and manage all your plugins from the Developer Distribution portal
Once the accounts have been merged, Developers can manage all their past listings and create all their new listings from a single portal. - Easier Discovery of all plugins listed on the marketplace by a developer
When we merge the accounts, Marketplace users will be easily able to find all the plugins developed by a developer under the same profile.
For example, below are separate UXP and ZXP/CEP publisher profile views of listings by Thomas Zagler. Once we merge his accounts all the listings will be found under the same publisher profile on Adobe Exchange.
Publisher profile view showing Thomas’s UXP Listings:
Publisher profile view showing Thomas’s ZXP/CEP Listings:
After his accounts are merged, all of Thomas Zagler’s listing will be on the same page.
What’s involved in merging accounts?
Background:
- All UXP developers log in with Adobe ID credentials to an account that is associated with a developer organization, which you can see in the upper right org switcher when logged into Developer Distribution or the Developer Console:
- ZXP/CEP developer’s accounts on the Exchange partner portal do not have a developer org associated with them.
Developer Account Merge
- As part of the migration of all listings from the Exchange Partner Portal to Developer Distribution, for Developers with two accounts, we will assign their Developer Distribution accounts to their newly migrated ZXP/CEP listings.
- Once all of the (UXP, ZXP/CEP) listings are assigned under the same account, developers will be able to manage all their listings from Developer Distribution.
What if I only have one account on the Developer Distribution portal?
If you have built and listed only UXP plugins on Developer Distribution, then you already have a developer organization and you don’t need to take any action.
What if I only have one account on the Exchange Partner Portal?
If you have only built ZXP/CEP plugins in the past and are used to logging into Exchange Partner Portal, then all your listings will be migrated as is to your new Developer Distribution portal account.
Again, you will not lose anything, and we will ensure that your listings details, uploaded packages, and ratings and reviews will be carried over to the new Developer Distribution portal. This migration is tentatively scheduled for late June, but the timeframe could shift.
What is in the form?
The form will ask you for the email addresses you use to manage your UXP and ZXP/CEP plugins respectively. Using this information we will simply assign the same UXP developer organization to your ZXP/CEP plugins in June 2023 so that you will be able to view and manage all plugins at once in Developer Distribution.
If your current email credentials (Adobe ID) for logging in to manage UXP and ZXP/CEP accounts are different, only the UXP email credentials will be valid to access the combined account from Developer Distribution upon the June ZXP/CEP enhancement.
What if I’m part of a team?
As a legacy feature, some ZXP/CEP accounts allowed multiple developers to manage their plugins, each with their own email address (Adobe ID) credentials. The existing multiple email addresses (Adobe ID credentials) that are returned with the form will be authorized to access the merged account. Please be sure to note in the form if your team has addresses that need to be added or deleted at this time.
Don’t you already have the information associated with both of my Adobe IDs?
Although we know users’ email addresses associated with developer accounts, if you haven’t used the same email address and name for your two accounts, we won’t know how to merge them.
Some CEP/ZXP accounts have been around for more than 10 years. If you provided a slightly different company name (or no company name) or your name or your company’s name has changed, it is sometimes impossible to verify that the two accounts have the same owner.
Is this the same thing as my “Business Profile” and “Personal Profile”? Will it change my options when I log in?
You may also find this article on managing Adobe profiles handy. Be sure to check out the glossary at the bottom of the article as well.
It’s possible to have multiple Adobe profiles associated with your email address, such as a personal account and a business account. It’s also possible to be associated with multiple companies or schools.
You may also wish to check out this more detailed look at Adobe ID types, “Identity types on Adobe Admin Console”.
The Exchange Partner portal only accepted “Personal” Adobe IDs to log in, however, the newer Adobe Developer Console gives Enterprise and Teams users the option of logging in with an Adobe ID associated with (and managed by) their company (or multiple companies).
The first time you log into the Developer Distribution portal or the Adobe Developer Console with a “Personal” address, the Console creates a personal “Developer organization” for you, as seen below:
The new Developer Distribution portal operates similarly to the Adobe Developer Console: you have the option of creating and listing plugins under your personal account or under a business or company. This way, if you’re working for a company and leave that company, the company can continue to manage the work you created. Or, if you develop a plugin for a client, the client can continue to own the plugin. When you create a project for an organization or team, be sure to the correct profile and organization so ownership can be maintained.
Glossary
Business Profile — “If you receive an Adobe business plan from an organization such as a business, government entity, or educational institution, then the Adobe profile associated with that plan is a Business Profile.” — from HelpX
Developer Distribution Portal — the Developer Distribution portal for distributing UXP plugins to the Adobe Exchange and Creative Cloud desktop (CCD) plugin marketplaces. If you wish to learn more about the new portal, please check out the announcement.
Developer Account — The entity that owns a group of plugins or listings. UXP and ZXP/CEP submission portals were set up differently historically so even if the same developer logged into the two portals with the same Adobe ID, the plugin listings are managed from and owned by two different accounts.
Developer Organization — Similar to the Adobe Developer Console experience, listings belonging to a developer organization are visible only to the individual to whom the organization belongs. In contrast, listings belonging to an enterprise organization or Creative Cloud Teams are visible to other organization members.
Exchange Partner Portal — the Exchange Partner Portal is Adobe’s legacy distribution portal used to create and manage ZXP/CEP listings that are discovered via Adobe Exchange and Creative Cloud Desktop (CCD) Plugin Marketplace.
Personal Profile — “If you purchase an Adobe plan for individuals or sign up for a Creative Cloud free membership, then your Adobe profile is a Personal Profile.” — from HelpX
Public Profile — A page in the Marketplace that displays your profile and all your listings, as managed through the Developer Distribution portal. Here are two examples:
Please complete the requested form.
Please complete this form. If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to ccintrev@adobe.com.
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