Jason Dunn
01-14-2005, 06:30 PM
<img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/acdsee7-powerpack.jpg" /><br /><br /><b>Product Category:</b> Photo Management Software<br /><b>Manufacturer:</b> <a href="http://www.acdsystems.com/English/index.htm">ACD Systems</a><br /><b>Where to Buy:</b> <a href="http://www.acdsystems.com/english/Store/PowerPack/index?LAN=englishX70">ACD Systems</a><br /><b>Price:</b> $79.99 USD<br /><b>System Requirements:</b> Intel Pentium® III 500MHz processor or equivalent (Intel Pentium® 4 or equivalent recommended), 128 MB RAM (256 MB RAM recommended), 100 MB free hard drive space (250 MB recommended), High Color display adapter at 1024 x 768 resolution, CD/DVD Burner - for creating CDs and DVDs. Windows® 98 SE, ME, 2000, XP.<br /><br /><b>Pros:</b><li>Powerful core application;<br /><li>Very fast image viewer;<br /><li>Inuitive, fast workflow and interface.<b>Cons:</b><ul><li>Application integration is poor;<li>Some stability problems;<li>FotoSlate 3 is weak.</ul><b>Summary:</b><br />I've been a user of ACDSEE since back in the 3.x days where I was just looking for a fast way to view JPEG images in full-screen mode. I've faithfully upgraded to every version since then - ACDSEE is like an old friend that I just can't bear to be without on my computers. They recently released version 7, and were kind enough to give me a copy to take for a spin. New features have been added, but the first thing I noticed was the new branding - all three apps share icons that look similar, and the user interface in all three programs has been polished. This article covers the ACDSEE 7.0 Power Pack, which includes ACDSee 7, ACDSee Photo Editor 3 and FotoSlate 3.<br /><br />Read on for the full review!<!><br /><PAGEBREAK><br />If you've never used ACDSee before, here's what you need to know: it's fast. Very fast. Over the years, they've kept the speed (though some complained that version 6 was slow) and continued to add new features. I have to admit that in the previous version, I didn't dig into the application very much - but with version 7.0 I wanted to understand everything that it can do. I've found myself using it more and more, and Picasa/PhotoImpact less and less.<br /><br /><b><span>ACDSee - The Heart and Soul</span></b><br />So what does the Power Pack come with? The core application is, of course, ACDSEE - the viewer and organizational tool. It offers a wide variety of import options, though I tend to just use Windows Explorer to create a new folder in the My Pictures directory and drag the images over. I use ACDSEE to batch rename them all, which is very handy. As a viewer, it's second to none in terms of speed and ease of use. It also supports batch resizing, HTML album exports, CD burning, ZIP management, and dozens of other features I haven't yet explored.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/acdsee7.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 1: The ACDSee 7 interface.</i><br /><br />It's a very full-featured application - a couple of weeks ago I was organizing my photos and realized how completely screwed up some of the collections were. Somehow a few years ago I managed to get the file stamp out of sync with the actual photo time, so my albums were out of order - and for a Type A organization freak like me, that's traumatic. ACDSEE 7 allowed me to do something amazing: change the file date stamp based on the EXIF data of the photo! It took a fair bit of time to massage the photos back into sync, but I was blown away that I was able to perform such a nuanced tweak that made a huge difference in the way my photos were organized. ACDSEE was worth a fortune to me that day.<br /><br />Applications crashing on Windows XP is a rarity these days, but I've had ACDSee 7.0 crash on me more than I'd like - I'd say on average once a week. I can't find a consistant reason as to why it crashes, but I'd like to see more focus put on stability in the future.<br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><b><span>A Surprinsingly Useful Photo Editor</span></b><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/photoeditor3.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 2: Photo Editor 3.0.</i><br /><br />Photo Editor 3.0 is also included, which is perfect for the basic functions of cropping, resizing, etc. In some ways I still find the software clumsy - why should I have to hit a key to see a 100% view of my image after a resize? - but it loads up instantly and allows me to quickly edit an image, which I can't say for my very slow main photo editing application, Ulead's PhotoImpact 10. All told, it's a surprisingly capable photo editor - I'm still discovering what it can do, but I tend to fall back on PhotoImpact for any serious editing simply because I know the tool better. The integration is a bit wonky as well - when I right click on an image and select Edit with ACDSee, you'd think it would put me into Photo Editor 3.0. Well, I could have sworn it used to, but now when I do that I get the "lite" photo editing interface of ACDSee 7.0, and I don't know how to get into the Photo Editor 3.0. The application integration needs some work.<br /><br />Given that the Power Pack is a fairly expensive $79.99 USD, I'm not sure why they didn't include <a href="http://www.acdsystems.com/english/products/photopro/index">PhotoPro</a> as well for people who use RAW, but this may be one of those instances where PhotoPro is made by an outside company and ACD Systems is reselling the application.<br /><br /><b><span>The Weak Link in the Chain</span></b><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/fotoslate3.jpg" /><br /><br />The last component is FotoSlate 3, and I think this is the weakest part of the suite. It's essentially a photo printing tool designed to allow you to print almost anything on almost any type of paper, and to maximize the efficiency of the print job by putting different sizes of images on the page. I use it to print out small photos for scrapbooks (eight to a page), but I find it awkward to use. There are so many templates it's hard to find the right ones, and I was unable to do something as simple as reduce the margins on a page. I prefer Picasa for printing - FotoSlate needs some serious work. It doesn't have the same smooth flow as the other apps in this bundle dd - it feels like it was tacked on as an afterthought.<br /><br /><b><span>Software Activation</span></b><br />With the release of this bundle, ACD Systems has started using a software activation scheme - meaning the software won't work until it's activated and communicates back to the ACDSEE server. I tend to dislike activation schemes, because they put the ultimate power into the hands of the company, not the person who paid for the software. Ultimately, the software activation isn't too heinous on this case - I was able to activate the software on two laptops and my desktop, which is all I needed. I applaud ACD Systems for acknowledging that more and more people use multiple computers, and the concept of someone buying a copy of the software for <i>every</i> computer they use it on is ridiculous. But what happens when I install it on the new PC that I'm building? I have to contact ACD Systems and explain why I need another activation - and what happens if they ever go out of business? I understand the need to protect themselves from piracy, but I wish there was a better way to do so.<br /><br /><b><span>Conclusion</span></b><br />All said, in the past few months since starting to use the ACDSEE 7.0 Power Pack, I've found myself using other programs less and less, and these apps more and more. It's a powerful, fast software bundle that's highly optimized for a fast workflow. ACD Systems gave me the software for free for this review, but if they hadn't, I would have bought it myself - and that's the highest praise I can give any application.