Adobe Certified Professional - Troubleshooting Guide

ADOBE CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL – TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE

If you have installed and configured Compass correctly and have installed and

configured the locally installed Adobe applications correctly but are still experiencing

issues, use this guide to track down the solution. It is possible to encounter a known issue that we are currently

trying to address, or issues with settings in the software preferences on workstations where the Adobe software is

used for more than just certification exam testing.

The live-in-the application exams have the following sections, and the guide is broken down into the same

categories. The Express exam does not have a Task Section.

Question Section

Description

Timed

Survey

Three questions about the candidate and their experience.

Question Tutorial

A tutorial that explains the functionality of the Question Section.

Question Section

Includes multiple choice, drag and drop, drop down, radio button and area

selection question types.

Exam time

Section Summary

Allows candidates to navigate back through the Question Section. After

candidates click Submit Section, they cannot return to the Question Section of

the exam.

Exam time

Task Section

Description

Timed

Task Tutorial

Explains the features of the Task Section and interaction with the Adobe

application.

Application Launch If this is the first exam run on this computer and the exam was not pre-

downloaded in Compass, the exam files will download. The Adobe application

launches. The remainder of the exam is delivered in a panel inside the Adobe

application.

In-Application

Tutorial

An ungraded, untimed task. In most exams, it shows the candidate how to

recover the Certification Test panel if they accidentally close it. In Acrobat, it

shows the candidate how to show all tools.

Task Section

A set of tasks the candidate completes using the Adobe application. The

candidate actions are automatically saved when they select the Next or Back

buttons.

IMPORTANT: If the candidate accidentally closes the application, or if

the application crashes or hangs, the candidate will retain their exam

data if resuming on the same computer.

Exam time

Section Summary

Allows the candidate to navigate back through tasks in the Tasks Section.

Progress on tasks is preserved. After candidates click Submit Section, they

cannot return to the Task section of the exam.

Exam time

Guide Summary

Exam Section Overview

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ADOBE CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL – TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE

Post Exam

Description

Timed

Item Feedback

Allows the candidate to give feedback on individual questions and tasks. The

candidate will see questions and tasks, but this section does not affect their

exam results.

Comment

time

Exam Feedback

Allows the candidate to give feedback on the overall testing experience.

Score Report

Shows the percentage of points awarded to the candidate by skill group.

Note: “Post Exam” includes events occurring after the timed portion of the exam has completed, but prior to the

entire exam completion and exit.

Error/Condition:

Solution:

Questions do not display

correctly after resuming the

exam

Have the candidate move the splitter bar or click Next and Back.

Animations do not play

Animations are disabled in

Internet Explorer. On the

Advanced tab of Internet

Options, check Play animations

in webpages. Restart the

computer. Resume the exam.

Question Section

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ADOBE CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL – TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE

Error/Condition:

Solution:

All exams

Windows or Mac:

A message reporting a security violation occurs

• Windows only: The candidate pressed

Ctrl+Alt+Delete.

Caution the candidate against pressing

Ctrl+Alt+Delete.

• An application is running that is blocked by

Compass.

Close the application reported by the dialog and

resume the exam. If you are unable to close the

application, contact Technical Support.

All exams

Windows or Mac:

A file download error or script error occurs during

file download.

If the exam was not

pre-downloaded, files

download at the

beginning of the Task

section. If you lose the

connection to the

Internet or if there is

latency, the download

will fail.

a. Quit the exam.

b. Download the exam files from the Compass

administration page.

All exams

Mac only:

A spinning cursor appears, and the starter

document does not load.

• Wait a few minutes. Some applications are slow to

load.

• The app requires permissions that have not been

granted.

1. Force quit the exam.

2. You might need to reboot the Mac.

3. Grant the necessary permissions (see the Exam

Readiness Guide).

All exams

Windows or Mac:

The application launches, but the Certification Test

panel does not display.

1. Maximize the application.

2. Select the Certification Test workspace.

3. If the Certification Test workspace does not exist,

quit and resume the exam.

Task Section: Cannot Start the Live-in-the-Application Section

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ADOBE CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL – TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE

Error/Condition:

Solution:

All exams

Windows or Mac:

The application launches, but the starter document

doesn’t load, and the Certification Test panel is dark

gray.

We suspect this is

related to Display

settings, the inability to

install exam

preferences, or

interference with

Creative Cloud sync.

1. Use Ctrl+Shift+Q to close Compass. You might need

to also close the application or use Ctrl+Shift+Q

again.

2. In Display settings, change Scale and layout to

200%.

3. Pause Syncing in Creative Cloud. Profile >

Preferences. Select Syncing. Click Pause Syncing.

4. Resume the exam.

All exams

Windows or Mac:

The Certification Test panel is minimized.

Windows: Scale and Layout is not set to 100%.

Within the exam:

1. Maximize the application

window.

2. Click Certification Test.

3. Verify that the Certification Test

workspace is

selected and

have the

candidate

reset the

Certification

Test workspace.

Outside of the exam (Windows):

1. Open the Display settings.

2. Set Scale and Layout to 100%.

After Effects 2021 exam

Exam freezes after logging into Creative Cloud.

Log into Creative Cloud prior to starting the exam. If this

problem has already occurred, have candidates launch

After Effects 2021 outside of the exam and close it before

resuming the exam.

After Effects 2022 and InDesign 2022 exam

Exam quits when displaying Creative Cloud login

dialog.

Log into Creative Cloud prior to starting the exam.

Illustrator 2023 exam

Big Sur only:

Color Settings

dialog appears

and blocks

LITA section

from loading.

Click OK on the dialog.

2. Display the Dock and click the Illustrator icon.

Click Command+Tab and select Illustrator.

If that does not work, upgrade to Monterey or Ventura.

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ADOBE CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL – TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE

Error/Condition:

Solution:

Photoshop

Mac only:

Photoshop launches but does not open the starter

document for the tutorial or show the panel.

Macs with the Apple Silicon M2 processor do not come with

Rosetta installed by default. Photoshop Common Extension

Platform (CEP) requires Rosetta. The Photoshop exam uses

CEP.

Outside of the exam:

1. Display the Info window for Photoshop.

2. Select Open using Rosetta.

3. Launch Photoshop.

4. When you are prompted to install Rosetta, install it.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211861

Premiere Pro exam

Windows only:

Setting up exam environment failed or Premiere

Pro crashes when the LITA section starts

Two graphics adapters are installed.

• Disable the onboard graphics adapter.

Error/Condition:

Solution:

All exams

Windows or Mac:

The Certification Test panel

is missing.

The candidate has closed the Certification Test panel or reset a default workspace.

• Have the candidate choose the Certification Test workspace.

• If the panel is still missing, have the candidate reset the Certification Test

workspace.

All exams

Mac only:

The Dock appears over the

navigation controls.

The Mac is not configured to automatically hide the Dock Bar.

a. Hide the task bar using Cmd+Option+D.

b. In Dock Preferences, enable Automatically hide and show the Dock.

c. If neither of those options work, change the Dock position to either Left or

Right.

All exams

Mac:

The Task section does not

load, or the exam quits

when moving from the in-

application tutorial to the

first Task item.

Secure Browser needs Accessibility permisson. See the FAQ in the Exam Readiness

Guide for instructions.

Task Section: Issues During the Live-in-the-Application Section

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ADOBE CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL – TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE

Error/Condition:

Solution:

All exams

Windows or Mac:

The application quit

unexpectedly

An application error or security violation occurred

1. If a white, gray, or black screen appears, it means that the Secure Browser

is still running. Press Ctrl+Shift+Q or Ctrl+Alt+Delete to quit Secure

Browser. If it still does not quit, you might need to shut down and restart

the computer.

2. Launch the application outside of the exam.

3. Ask the candidate to resume the exam.

4. If the application quits again, check the following:

a. The crash might be triggered by a corrupt Preferences file.

Have the candidate reset application preferences by holding

down the key shown in the table while launching the

application:

• After Effects: Alt+Shift (Windows) Option+Command+Shift (Mac)

• Animate: Alt+Ctrl+Shift (Windows) Option+Command+Shift (Mac)

• Dreamweaver: Windows key+Ctrl+Shift (Windows) Option+Command+Shift

(Mac)

• Illustrator: Alt+Ctrl+Shift (Windows) Option+Command+Shift (Mac)

• InDesign: Alt+Ctrl+Shift (Windows) Option+Command+Shift+Control (Mac)

• Photoshop: Alt+Ctrl+Shift (Windows) Option+Command+Shift (Mac)

• Premiere Pro: Alt+Shift (Windows) Option+ Shift (Mac)

b. The crash might be triggered by the steps the candidate is

taking in the application. Have the candidate mark the item for

review, complete the other items, and come back to that one

at the end of the exam, if there is time.

All 2023 exams

A message appears either

during readiness or at the

LITA section that states that

the application is not

installed.

If you also have the beta version of the 2023 application installed, you will see this

error. Completely uninstall the beta version and the released version of the 2023

application, then reinstall the released version.

Acrobat exam

The exam does not close

when I close Acrobat.

In Acrobat, the exam window is a separate application. If you accidentally close

Acrobat and need to continue the exam, click the Restart Application button.

Acrobat exam

Documents take a very long

time to load.

We are working on a known issue with performance that seems to occur after you

navigate through the items multiple times. If performance becomes bad, use the

Restart Application button to improve performance.

Acrobat exam

Acrobat is unresponsive.

The task and buttons are

shown in the panel.

Acrobat sometimes becomes unresponsive when navigating between items. In

most cases, if you wait long enough, it will become responsive. If it does not, use

the Restart Application button.

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ADOBE CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL – TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE

Error/Condition:

Solution:

Acrobat exam

The document does not

load. The buttons are not

shown in the panel.

Use Ctrl+Shift+Q on Windows or Force Quit the exam on Mac. Resume the exam.

NOTE: The usual cause of this is candidates failing to close a dialog before clicking

. We are working on a solution to this issue.

Acrobat exam

Reset Task does not reset

the multiple choice or typed

answer.

The Reset Task button only resets the starter document to its original state. The

candidate will need to manually change the answer to the question.

Acrobat exam

Mac only

Acrobat is not maximized

Maximize the Acrobat window. If the window covers the test panel, click the

Maximize button again.

After Effects exam

Windows or Mac:

An out-of-memory error

occurs

Run the exam on a computer that has

at least 16 GB of RAM. If this is not

possible, you can click OK and continue

the exam. However, additional memory

errors might occur.

After Effects 2024 exam

Windows only

A Crash Repair dialog

appears when After Effects

opens.

We are testing a fix to suppress this dialog in the exam. Click Continue.

Dreamweaver exam only

Windows or Mac:

The Welcome wizard

displays.

a. Have the candidate go through the

wizard.

b. If the panel does not load:

i. Close Dreamweaver to quit the

exam.

ii. Launch Dreamweaver outside the

exam.

iii. Close Dreamweaver and resume

the exam.

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ADOBE CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL – TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE

Error/Condition:

Solution:

Dreamweaver exam only

Windows or Mac

(Dreamweaver 21.4):

A warning appears when

opening a site

Tell the

candidate to click

Yes. If the

candidate clicks

No, the site will

not load. The

candidate can

load the site by

clicking Reset

Site and clicking Yes when the dialog appears.

Dreamweaver exam only

Mac only:

Exam becomes

unresponsive when the

candidate saves a file.

The following message might also display:

Dreamweaver requires access to the

Desktop folder.

a. Force quit the exam or restart the

computer if necessary.

b. Grant the Full Disk Access

permission to Dreamweaver. See

the FAQ in the Exam Readiness

Guide for instructions.

Dreamweaver exam only

Windows or Mac:

The tutorial site is displayed,

but the first task is shown in

the Certification Test panel.

Have the candidate click Next Site and then Back.

Illustrator exam only

Windows or Mac:

The Adobe Tour window

displays.

Have the candidate close the window or choose ‘skip tour’.

Illustrator exam only

Windows or Mac:

A message about color

management settings being

different is displayed.

This is a known issue we are trying to resolve, but it does not affect the exam.

a. Have the candidate click OK or Cancel. If the user cannot control the

mouse, have them press the Enter key.

Illustrator exam only

Mac only:

A prompt displays asking

you to allow access to

Contacts or Calendar. The

application hangs.

We have seen this issue in Mojave. Although we have not seen it in later Mac

operating systems, Adobe’s support article indicates that it might happen.

a. Force quit the exam or restart the computer if necessary.

b. Launch Illustrator outside the exam. Change a preference. If you are

prompted to allow access to the Contacts or Calendar, either Allow or

Disallow.

Read more about the issue on Adobe’s website.

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ADOBE CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL – TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE

Error/Condition:

Solution:

Illustrator 2024 exam

Mac only:

Warning about Rosetta

mode

We are investigating

whether we can run the

exam in ARM native mode.

For now, just click OK.

Illustrator 2024 and

Photoshop 2024 exams

Messages about Generative

AI appear when the LITA

section launches

• Close the dialog by clicking the X in the upper corner. The in-app tutorial

document should load. If it does not, quit the application and resume the

exam.

InDesign exam only

Windows or Mac:

The message “Failed to load

exam” appears when

starting or resuming the

Task section.

•

If the error occurs on the tutorial, read the tutorial and click Next.

• If the error occurs on a task, click Next then click Back.

Photoshop, Illustrator,

and InDesign exams only

Windows:

The message

ccx_fnfn_dialog_name

appears when trying to

create a new document.

Within the exam, have the candidate check ‘Use legacy “New Document” Dialog’

option on the General Preferences page.

InDesign 2022 exam only

Windows or Mac:

A message “Type 1 fonts will

no longer be supported

starting 2023. Your

document contains x Type 1

fonts.” Appears.

•

This message erroneously appears in InDesign 17.0. The issue is fixed in

InDesign 17.0.1. The error will not affect the candidate’s ability to complete

the exam and does not impact scoring.

Illustrator and InDesign

2022 exams only

A message that some

Pantone colors may no

longer be available displays.

This message is related to Adobe’s licensing agreement with Pantone and does

not affect the candidate’s ability to complete the exam.

https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/pantone-plus.html

https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/pantone-color-books-illustrator.html

Photoshop exam only

Windows or Mac:

Certification Test panel

buttons are not responsive

The candidate made a change in the project but has not

committed it.

a. The candidate should click the check mark in the

options bar or press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac) to commit the

change or press Escape to reverse the change.

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ADOBE CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL – TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE

Error/Condition:

Solution:

Photoshop only

Windows or Mac:

The exam becomes

unresponsive after adding a

swatch to the Library.

Configurations that do not allow access to the Library sometimes cause a hang

when you attempt to access it.

a. Have the Test Candidate clear the Add to my library checkbox when

creating a swatch.

Premiere Pro exam only

Window or Mac:

The video assets are green

and pink instead of the

normal colors.

The computer does not have a

graphics adapter that supports GPU.

1. No action is necessary unless

the colors bother the user.

2. The candidate can adjust the

settings by clicking File >

Project Settings > General and setting the Renderer to Mercury Playback

Engine Software Only.

Premiere Pro only

Windows or Mac:

The Missing Media dialog

displays.

The asset download was corrupt due to a network error.

1. Click Offline.

2. OR Quit Premiere Pro and resume the exam. The asset should download.

Premiere Pro 2024 only

Windows or Mac:

The save dialog appears

when navigating Next, and

does not close.

This is a known Premiere Pro bug that happens outside the exam. Close the

dialog. Your changes are saved and your score is not affected.

Premiere Pro only

Windows or Mac:

Exam crashes after user sets

the project to Read Only.

We are investigating a crash that occurs when users make changes to a project,

click Read Only in the Project Panel, and then click No to prevent saving changes

to the project.

Have the candidate resume the exam and complete the exam without selecting

Read Only.

Premiere Pro only

Exams from Home:

The performance lags or the

exam freezes.

Remind candidates not to play the video during the exam. They can scrub the

timeline or play the small segment where they made the change to verify their

work.

Premier Pro only

Mac only:

Dialog asks user to grant

Premiere Pro permission to

record my screen.

Some Premiere Pro features require Screen Recording permission. Grant

Premiere Pro the Screen Recording permission.

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ADOBE CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL – TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE

Error/Condition:

Solution:

The Test Candidate did not

receive a Score Report.

If the Test Candidate was unable to see the Score Report and click on “Exit Exam”

due to a program crash, power outage, etc., they must return within 7 days and

resume the “In Progress” exam in order for their results to be uploaded.

The Certification Test panel

flashes when you launch

Adobe applications.

Compass installs the Certification Test panel as an extension.

• Close the Certification Test panel.

Find Answers online or Contact Support through Phone, Email, or Live Chat.

Support is available Monday through Friday 6am to 5pm MT

Post Exam: Issues that occur after the Question & Task Sections

Contact Support

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