How to use the ACDSee program. Simple but large-scale photo editing in ACDSee Acdsee pro 8 instructions for use
ACDSee, probably not even an old man anymore, but something more ;-) in the field of working with pictures. The next version of the program, which is at the initial level, i.e. without Photoshop functions, it does almost anything.
There is nothing super new, at least something that would take your breath away, so we just update and that’s it.
Just in case, the main features of the program:
The list is short because I'm too lazy to write :-)
- Quickly view graphics files of almost all types
- Watch video
- Editing graphic files
- Batch Processing
- Slide show
Well, and a couple dozen more different functions.
Unfortunately, after upgrading my computer and purchasing an SSD, I can’t objectively evaluate the performance of the program, but I think it works fine ;-)
Download ACDSee Pro 6.0 Build 169 Final:
Size: ~36 MB
Interface: ENG/RUS
Activation: Eat
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Attention!
The installation of the program is provided to you for informational purposes only. All rights to the program belong to its copyright holder. If you have used software products, it is assumed that you are the owner of the license or you can delete the program after the trial period of its use has expired, usually 30 days.
ACDSee (pronounced like the name of the popular ensemble - "Ay-see-d-see") is a very popular program for viewing and processing multimedia files. Unlike, for example, IrfanView or XNView, it is not free at all, but it has significantly greater capabilities. This is a multifunctional tool for viewing, converting, storing, processing and editing graphic images. ACDSee provides a fast, simple and convenient way to work with graphics, including the ability to view, search, print and share digital image collections. In addition, ACDSee allows you to evaluate images and burn them to CD and DVD media.
Where to get
From the website of the developer - ACDSystems - at www.acdsystems.com.
At the moment, the latest version is ACDSee Photo Manager version 9.0 - we will consider it. I have already said that ACDSee is a commercial product. It costs about $40 (the basic kit, and the advanced kit – ACDSee Photo Manager Pro – about $130).
However, you don’t have to pay right away: the developers offer a thirty-day trial period for free - each version has a Download Free Trial link on the website (download a free test version). The distribution package for the test version of ACDSee Photo Manager version 9.0 occupies approximately 24 megabytes.
Installation
There is nothing complicated about installing ACDSee on your computer. You need to run the distribution file and answer some questions. First you will be asked whether you will use demo mode or enter a license code to experience the unlimited and fully functional version. Next, you will be asked to select the type of installation: all programs in the package or selecting some of them. Choose all the programs - they will come in handy.
Russification
Unfortunately, the program does not yet officially support the Russian language, however, there are good people who do this as a hobby - so to speak, out of love for art. I found a Russian translation of this version on the Internet on the website www.zhmak.info - it was made by Alexander Zhmakin, for which many thanks to him. You need to download it from the “Russifiers” section of the site, read the installation instructions and install it. After this, the ACDSee program will become Russian-language. (However, since Russification is unofficial, when working with the program you may encounter some non-Russian messages.)
Launch of ACDSee
What it is? Starting from a certain version, ACDSee began to use a special mode for cataloging images and multimedia files. At the same time, the program saves thumbnails (reduced images) of such files, as well as any accompanying information to them, in the directory folder, which allows, firstly, to almost instantly preview multimedia folders when accessing them, and secondly, to quickly search for various elements. When you create a directory, the wizard asks where you usually store your images: in the “My Pictures” subfolder of the “My Documents” folder (this is the default in Windows XP) or in some other folder. If all the images are in the My Pictures folder and its subfolders, just click the Next button. If not, then select the “Catalog specific folders” option, and then specify which folders should be included in the catalog. The time it takes to create a directory depends on the power of your computer and the number of multimedia files in the specified folders.
Browsing folders
After creating the directory, when you start ACDSee, the following window appears in front of you:
ACDSee main window
As you can see, ACDSee's image folder viewing window is noticeably richer than IrfanView's. (However, I remind you that IrfanView is still a free program.) Let's figure out what the window for viewing images and multimedia files consists of. At the very top there is a menu bar with which you can change viewing modes, launch various tools, perform a wide variety of actions with multimedia files, and so on. Below the menu there is a panel of icons of the main tools. First - icons for moving between folders, then - calling up image processing modes: rotation, printing, editing, resizing, and so on. The top left window is “Folders”. It is very similar to the list of devices and folders in the Explorer window. There you can change disks and storage devices on your computer, expand and collapse folders. Pay attention to the small quick selection squares located in the column on the left of this window: you can individually mark with the mouse any squares corresponding to some folders or entire devices (disks), after which only the elements you selected will appear in the main viewing window. This is very convenient when, for example, you need to view images from several different folders in one window. The right column is a special organizer panel (analogous to the taskbar in Word and Excel). In it, you can set a wide variety of criteria for selecting images in the preview panel - by category, by rating, and by various other parameters. The large window in the center is a preview of images. By default, thumbnails of pictures are displayed there, provided with the relevant information: file type, size, date and time of creation, resolution and color, name. However, you can customize the preview window to suit your preferences within very wide limits. Size of thumbnails.
You can vary the size of the thumbnails from 25x18 to 240x180 pixels using the slider located in the upper right corner of the window. Interestingly, when you select a value, ACDSee creates new thumbnails almost instantly so that they always look as good as possible.
The modes themselves also correspond to the viewing options in Windows XP: for example, when you select “Filmstrip,” thumbnails of the files will be located below, and a large expanded image of the selected picture will be located above them. However, in my opinion, the most convenient viewing mode is thumbnails.
The files in the folder can be sorted in any way convenient for you.
And not only according to standard parameters (name, size, creation date, type), but also according to those specific to ACDSee: image property, rating, attributes, keywords, notes and much, much more. Well, the window on the bottom left is an enlarged preview of the selected image. The configuration of all these windows (folder tree, their contents and enlarged preview) can be changed in the most usual way: move the mouse to the window border and, when its cursor changes to the corresponding icon, press the left key and move the border in the desired direction:
Window with changed parameters
If you click on the selected image, you will be taken to a separate viewing window:
Photo in a separate viewing window
Clicking the image again in the viewport will return you to folder view mode.
Page UpViewing Images When viewing images in a full window, you can navigate between files in a folder (or selected folders) as follows: Home– show the first image in the folder; End– show the last image in the folder; Spacebar(space) or Page Down– show the next image; Backspace(slaughter) or
Using the F key, you can switch to full-screen viewing mode: the entire monitor screen turns white, and the picture is shown on it at the selected scale. In full-screen mode, all control keys remain available (navigating through pictures, changing the scale, and so on).– show previous image. You can also scroll through images back and forth using the mouse wheel. The Shift+A combination starts and stops the slide show mode - automatic scrolling through images in a folder. While viewing, you can copy or move the image to the selected folder (Alt+C – copy, Alt+M – move). By default, ACDSee scales the viewport to fit the image (if the image is too large, it is scaled down to fit the screen). You can independently scale the image when viewing using the following keys located on the numeric part of the keyboard (NumPad): Numpad +– zoom in; NumPad -– zoom out; NumPad /– real scale;
Slideshow mode
Using the Alt+S combination, you can enable or disable the automatic viewing of images in a folder (or in folders, if a group is selected), in which the images will begin to replace each other exactly in a second.
By the way, this is not exactly a slide show, but rather an automatic viewing mode - something like a greatly reduced slide show. But the slide show mode, with which it is very convenient to both view and demonstrate images, is activated using the “View - Slide Show” menu.
Setting slide show options
As you can see, here you can configure all sorts of effects for changing images, the background color of the screen and the delay in seconds for the transition between pictures. If you select several different transition effects, they will be applied randomly. On the next tab, advanced settings, you can set the transition quality level, repeat modes and the order of flipping through pictures: forward, backward, random. On the last tab, “Text,” you can set text lines and their parameters so that captions appear at the top and bottom when showing a slide show.
Image processing
Let's see how it's done. So, you have a digital (or scanned, that is, converted into digital form) photo that you are going to process and then send over the Internet. To do this you need a photo:The advanced ACDSee Photo Manager Pro package includes a very powerful and convenient ACDSee Photo Editor, but ACDSee Photo Manager itself also has built-in image editing tools that will suit those who need to process amateur digital photos.
to turn; frame;
correct;
decrease; save in compressed form.
Please also note that this way you can rotate a whole group of selected images at once - this is very convenient. After rotation, the photo needs to be cropped. This is done quite easily - select a rectangular area with the mouse, adjust its borders if necessary, and then call the menu item “Edit - Crop - Done”:
Circumcision tool
Now for the adjustment. If the photo was taken without errors, then it may not be needed, but amateurs quite often have to further process the photo, changing the brightness, contrast and color saturation. Of course, you shouldn’t overuse this (a common mistake many beginners make is to make the image as bright and contrasty as possible), but in some cases such processing can really improve the quality. The only thing is to use any automatic processing as carefully as possible (auto-brightness, auto-contrast, auto-color, and so on). It’s better to do it all by eye and remember the old wise saying: “Too much is good and not good either.” This mode is called up through the menu item “Edit – Image Correction” (Ctrl+L). An editor window with an additional panel will appear in front of you:
Image adjustment
“Auto-exposure” is exactly the same automatic adjustment that I warned you against. There you can choose automatic selection of contrast and color or only contrast. But the “Brightness” tab is very useful. There you can adjust the brightness, contrast and color gamut, while immediately observing on the screen how the image changes. Once you think the desired effect has been achieved, click "Done" and you will be returned to the main viewing window.
If you want to apply the changes made and continue adjusting the image, then click the “Apply” button. Now we need to proportionally reduce the width of the photo. (We have already said that to send an image over the Internet, it is advisable to reduce it to 500 pixels in width.) To do this, call the menu item “Edit - Resize” (Ctrl + R). The editing window will appear in front of you again, but only with a resizing panel:
As you can see, here you can also choose different options for resizing the image: set parameters in pixels, percentage of the original size, actual print units. Also, when changing the size, you can change the compression ratio and select a filter for processing (the processing speed may depend on this). Note the very useful “Estimate new file size” button. You need to click it after setting the desired parameters to see what the new image size will be after processing and whether it will suit us. I reduced the original to 500 pixels in width with a proportional change in height and maintaining the original compression level, resulting in a file that was reduced to 151 KB - which is a fairly normal photo size for sending over the Internet. So what remains now?
Save the resulting image under a new name. To do this, press Ctrl+S and give the photo a new name. That's all. In my opinion, the procedure is quite simple and effective.
Removing red eye
ACDSee can also remove red-eye, and does it much more effectively than IrfanView.
Let's see how it's done. We load into ACDSee the same photo with a clear “red-eye” effect, which the IrfanView program could not improve without pre-processing. Call the menu item “Edit – Red Eye Removal”: Removing red eye The action plan is quite simple. Use your mouse to select the area around the red eye. Then click “Done”.
If there are red dots on the pupil, you need to grab the mouse b
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larger area and repeat the operation. Just try not to capture too large areas around the pupil, because in certain cases this can lead to the editor filling the selected color with the wrong color.
One of the most convenient features of ACDSee is processing a group of images. In what cases might this be needed? In many. For example, you returned from a trip and brought back a bunch of digital photographs. One part of them needs to be rotated clockwise, the other part counterclockwise, and in addition, you need to reduce all these images in size in order to send them via the Internet to your friends. So what, upload each photo into the editor and toil there? What if there are hundreds of photographs?!! How long will it take! Don't worry, with ACDSee it will take you about five minutes. Because this program allows you to apply editing operations (rotate, resize, etc.) to an entire group of files at once. Let's see how it's done. Suppose we have several photos that need to be rotated (some in one direction, others in the other), resize them to 500 pixels in width and write them to some other folder, so that we can then send them via the Internet to friends.
U-turn
Rotating a group of images is done almost in the same way as if it were one picture. Simply mark those images that need to be rotated in one direction (individual pictures can be marked by left-clicking with the Ctrl key pressed), and then click on the “Rotate” button (Ctrl+J):
Batch rotating images
Pay attention to the “Apply to all selected images” option – this will give the command to process all selected photos. If you click on the “Options” button, then you can set all sorts of additional options for actions (for example, when rotating, rename the images or compress them further). Conveniently, by default ACDSee saves images after reversing with the same names that they had. Unlike photo processing, where it is desirable to preserve the original, when rotated, unless additional compression is applied, the rotated image can be written directly over the original. Of course, you can process any group of images in this way: several pieces, several dozen, hundreds and even thousands. The speed at which each photo is rotated depends on many factors: the power of the computer, the speed of the hard drive, the availability of free memory and other programs currently running, but on a modern computer, rotating several dozen photographs takes less than a minute. Change of size Now that we have all the photos properly expanded, we need to make them smaller for sending over the Internet. To do this, first select all the images (you can use the mouse, or you can, as usual, press the combination Ctrl+A).
After that, press the “Resize” button (Ctrl+R). A group operation dialog box will appear in front of us:
Image resizing options As you can see, here you can configure various resizing modes: as a percentage of the original, set a specific size in pixels, or in actual print units (centimeters, millimeters, inches). For this task, it is best to specify a clear size in pixels - this will avoid having to find out what the original size of these images is. We know that for sending over the Internet it is better to set the width to 500-600 pixels - so we set it. Below you can set an important resizing option: “Enlarge Only,” “Shrink Only,” and “Enlarge or Shrink.” It is strongly recommended to select “Reduce only”, because there is no point in enlarging photographs - they lose a lot in quality (unlike reduction).
Attention!
It is also advisable to click the “JPEG Compression Options” button to set new photo compression parameters, and select 60 percent quality there - this will be quite enough. Next, click “OK”, return to the previous window, and then click the “Finish” button.
The speed of the processing process depends on the computer settings and some other factors, but usually this process occurs quite quickly. After this, thumbnail photos will appear in the specified folder, which can be sent to friends via the Internet. For comparison, the original files in this example occupy 15 MB, and the reduced and slightly compressed ones (we changed the compression parameters) take up a little more than 2 MB, that is, almost eight times less.
Screen saver from your photos
With ACDSee you can create your own screen saver (screen saver, or ScreenSaver), which will be a slide show of photos (pictures) you select.
This is done as follows. Launch ACDSee in folder browsing mode. Select the desired folder(s). Mark there the photos you want to include in the screensaver. Next, select the menu item “Operations – Set up screen saver” - the screen saver settings window appears in front of you:
As you can see, the setup is no different from a slide show, but the screen saver is, in fact, a screen saver. Click “OK”, in the previous window do not forget to check the “Set default custodian” option and click “OK” again. Now, if you go to the Windows XP screen saver settings, you will see that your screen saver has appeared there:
ACDSee screensaver in Windows XP settings
Just in case, I remind you that in the old days, when pixels were large and computers were low-power, a screen saver saved the monitor from “burning in” pixels.
However, technology has evolved and developed, and now you can keep the same picture on the monitor for at least a year - the pixels will not burn out, so now the function of the screensaver is purely aesthetic (or, in the case of using a password when exiting the screensaver, it is protective), but not at all saving screen pixels.
Creating an HTML Album
We have already talked about how you can process your photos in order to send them to your friends via the Internet. However, sending to one, another, a third is even more or less realistic, but what if you want to show your photos to tens, hundreds or thousands of Internet users?
There is only one way out - create a web page with these photos, post it on the Internet, after which all you have to do is send a link to this page. We can talk a lot about how to design a web page so that users can properly enjoy the beauty of your summer hikes or stunning shots from last night's party, but this is not necessary when we use ACDSee.
Because this program will do everything for you! You only need to select those frames with which you want to entertain the Internet public, and then select the menu item “Create – Create HTML Album”. Yes, yes, it’s that simple - one command “Create album”, and the album will be created. Moreover, you can also set all sorts of parameters there to suit your taste: HTML Album Wizard The first question in the Web Album Wizard is the general appearance of the album. Simple pages with thumbnails – the page contains thumbnails, which, when clicked, open a full-size photo.– Thumbnails are displayed in the column on the left, and a full-size image of the currently selected thumbnail is shown in the column on the right.Which type should I choose? Generally speaking, this is a matter of taste, but I find the second type to be the most convenient - a strip of frames from the bottom. In the first mode, the user has to constantly jump between thumbnails and the expanded image, and the third view can cause problems for users with low screen resolution. So, select the second type and click the “Next” button. Now you need to give a name to your pain, that is, to the album:
Page settings
Album title, subtitle and link to a web page (for example, your home site). Here you can also set the font type for inscriptions, its color, and so on. Next, set the sketch parameters. When it comes to photographs, there are no alternatives to the JPG (JPEG) format (by clicking the “Settings” button, you can set the compression level and other JPEG parameters). If you are posting not photographs, but, for example, line drawings, then you can select GIF as the thumbnail format.
Thumbnail Options
The size of the thumbnails is set below. By default, the width is set to 100 pixels for landscape orientation of images and 100 pixels in height for portrait orientation, but I would recommend setting it to 200 pixels each so that at least something can be seen in the thumbnails. The next step is to assign captions to the sketches and the images themselves:
Thumbnail and image caption options
By default, only the file name is included in the signature. However, you can supplement both the sketches and the images themselves with inscriptions from the ACDSee database: author, keywords, creation date, note, rating, and so on. The fourth step is to set the processing parameters for the photographs (images) themselves:
Optimization options
We must turn on the option “Convert images to JPEG format” - you never know, maybe the original images are recorded in TIFF or BMP, and in this case they are absolutely monstrous in size, which is not suitable for posting on the Internet.
The image quality can be set to 60 if these are the most ordinary photographs, but if we are talking about highly artistic images with a lot of small details, then it is better to increase the value to 85. However, you can always then see what comes out of all this, and if necessary, again generate a web page by changing the image quality settings. It is also better to set the size of photos: for example, 600 in width for landscape orientation and 450 for portrait. It is better not to set it to more than 800 pixels, otherwise the image will not fit on the screen at a low resolution. The last step is to answer the question: “Where should I put it?”
Setting Result Folders for an HTML Album
Here you indicate in which folder to save the prepared page, as well as what prefix to add to the name of the thumbnails and, possibly, the processed photographs themselves. Of course, it is better to choose a folder specially prepared for this purpose, so as not to get confused later. After that, click “Next”, and ACDSee begins to create an Internet album. If you have specified a modest number of photos, the album will be ready in a few seconds. But if you want to make the Internet happy with several thousand photos... However, no, I can’t think so badly of you... When everything is ready, a corresponding message will appear, in the center of which there will be a link to the very created page.
Click on it and enjoy the result:
For many years, Adobe Photoshop has been the most powerful, popular and quite expensive raster image editor, one might say the de facto standard, and all these years, manufacturers of other programs have tried their best so that users no longer need this very Photoshop, sometimes successfully, sometimes not Very. While they are trying, the word “Photoshop” has become a household word - often on forums you can come across the question “Recommend a good Photoshop for processing photos,” not to mention such concepts as “Photoshop an urn,” “it’s all Photoshop here,” “it’s better to reshop than undershop" and others.
Indeed, for everyday work with photographs, any advanced RAW converter has numerous tonal editing tools, often providing more convenient and subtle work than those in Photoshop. For example, the same Color Editor tool can be called one of the best, if not the best in the industry. However, in practice, you still have to use Photoshop for complex retouching with the stamp tool, as well as for working with layers - it is working with layers here that is incredibly convenient and, one might say, brought to perfection. And if a stamp in one form or another is still present in many RAW converters, then full-fledged work with layers has long been the exclusive prerogative of Photoshop.
But everything is changing. ACD Systems International Inc. announced a new comprehensive program for managing and editing digital photos. For the first time for products from this company, this program allows you to work with layers for advanced image editing. Now users do not have to use expensive programs from other manufacturers (read Adobe Photoshop) to achieve excellent results - both amateur photographers and advanced users will be able to solve all their creative problems using ACDSee Ultimate 8.
ACDSee Ultimate 8 provides the same image management features as ACDSee Pro 8 and ACDSee 18, released in Fall 2014. However, ACDSee Ultimate 8 now supports layers, GPU acceleration for graphics, as well as 32-bit and 64-bit transparency. New tools give users more flexible options for editing images, creating collages, adding text or watermarks, applying various filters and effects, all individually for each layer. ACDSee Ultimate 8 is a standalone application and not an update to ACDSee Pro 8, as you might think, so the two programs can run side by side on the same computer.
“The photo industry is developing dynamically, and we noticed that the market needed an easy-to-use photo editor with advanced capabilities,” says Doug Vanderkerhove(Doug Vanderkerkhove), founder and CEO of ACD Systems. “It is for this purpose that we created ACDSee Ultimate 8. For the first time, our users have the opportunity to advanced, but at the same time intuitive image editing using layers. Our users have always trusted the quality of ACD Systems products, and now both amateur photographers and advanced graphic designers will be able to achieve amazing results in their work.”
As always, ACD Systems, in its press releases, includes the opinions of various well-known professional photographers who work in ACDSee programs to talk about the benefits of such work and their approach to the matter:
“I switched to ACDSee Pro several years ago, and now it is my main tool for processing RAW and JPEG photos,” says Glen Barrington(Glen Barrington), photographer and ACDSee user. “Before this, I worked in a competitor's program, and now I use ACDSee Ultimate, as the new layer tools significantly expand my editing capabilities. I no longer need an additional raster editor for complex editing tasks, I can combine different images, apply special effects, etc., all with a familiar interface that I enjoy working with.”
In Glen's words about the fact that he worked in a competitor's program, you can read Adobe Photoshop between the lines, but he cannot directly express himself like that in his interview. But we can: Glen, it was Photoshop, wasn't it?
Key features of ACDSee Ultimate 8:
- The program allows you to create, rearrange, connect layers, manipulate each individual layer
- Edit a specific area of an image without affecting other areas for more accurate editing
- Applying filters and effects to layers
- Applying Pixel Targeting to Layers
- Adding new images to separate layers to create collages
- Adding text and watermark on a separate layer
- Transparency support (for 32-bit and 64-bit images)
Price
ACDSee Ultimate 8 will cost $150. More information: www.acdsee.com.
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Practice in ACDSee Ultimate 8
In connection with the release of ACDSee Ultimate 8, the question arises - why was the functionality for working with layers not included in the ACDSee Pro 8 program? For what purpose was it necessary to release a crude program, and then immediately create a clone program, but with expanded capabilities? And what should users do who still managed to buy version 8? Recently, in ACDSee Pro 8, out of all 11 innovations, only one (!) will be somehow useful for professional users, but 7 may be of interest to amateurs. With the release of Ultimate 8, our postulate is confirmed that, apparently, the company’s goal - release as many similar products as possible: now users are offered two almost identical programs.
Layers should be found in the Edit tab
ACDSee Ultimate 8, like ACDSee Pro 8, offers photographers either non-destructive processing (Develop) or editing (Edit), but it is the latter that adds support for layers. The fact that working with layers is a priori non-destructive (that is, the original photo files remain untouched) is quite obvious, because in Photoshop, when editing a document that contains layers, the user is forced to save his work as a *.PSD file, although at the very beginning it was created from RAW or JPEG files, which remain in place untouched.
The same scheme works in ACDSee Ultimate 8: if layers have been added to an image, then, of course, this image can no longer be saved as a JPEG or TIFF file. Ultimate 8 uses its own file format *.acdc, which, after saving, will be shown among other photos in the feed as a regular photo. However, you can reopen this file in the Edit tab and continue working with the layers.
If you want to save your finished work as a JPEG for publication on a website or sending by mail, then you need to do a regular export. You can, of course, merge all the layers and save the work as a JPEG, but in this case the idea of working with layers collapses, since later you won’t be able to return to editing the layers.
Transparency as a stumbling block
How to display transparency on a computer screen, and what is transparency? It is clear that we can talk about any transparency only if we can place one object behind the other in order to observe parts of the lower one through the transparent areas of the upper one. If there is no bottom layer, and we are working with one single object, then transparency on the screen is traditionally displayed in the form of white and gray checkerboard squares, this was first used in Photoshop, the same principle is used in ACDSee Ultimate 8 (it is not clear whether this is Adobe patented display method).
Experienced webmasters, when they hear the word “transparency,” immediately remember the once popular browser IE6, which did not display transparency in PNG images, but they really wanted to use them when laying out websites. One way or another, architects and designers who work in 3D modeling programs, video editing operators when separating a human figure from a green background or working on special effects, graphic designers when developing labels, packaging and other printed products, as well as photo artists, encounter transparency. when editing your photos.
As soon as we create an object with transparency, we immediately add a “headache” to our computer - many times more computational operations are required, and both the processor and the video card will be loaded at the same time. New hardware, new drivers, new programs... Perhaps the secret of Adobe programmers is also that they somehow managed to make their program work quite quickly with transparent layers on 486 computers. Layers first appeared in the fall of 1994 in Adobe Photoshop 3, and it can be argued that it was layers, along with support for the CMYK color model, that made Photoshop the best professional graphics editor at that time.
It's the last days of 2014, and here we go - da-da-da-daaam! - in ACDSee Ultimate 8, 20 years later, layers with transparency appeared. Look at the technical requirements for software and hardware - it seems that the program is going to launch a spacecraft to Mars, or at least to the Moon - the technical requirements are the most stringent.
However, enough words - let's open the photo in the Edit tab, erase some of the information, for example, the background, with an eraser, and save our work as an *.acdc file. In the Photo Browser, transparent areas are shown in black, although it would make more sense to show them in white.
If we work with layers, use transparency in some layers, turn on some layers, turn off some, the program will create a thumbnail based on information about the visibility of the layers.
Photoshop Compatible
Prepare files in Photoshop, open in Ultimate 8
ACDSee Ultimate 8 is compatible with *.PSD format partial. Layered files created in Photoshop can be opened in ACDSee Ultimate 8, but they will be opened as a single-layer image, meaning all layer information will be lost, although some of the layer's transparency will be retained. Pay attention to the white border around the object - this is why the transparency is partially preserved.
Prepare files in Ultimate 8, open in Photoshop
If you open any photo in ACDSee Ultimate 8 and add transparency to only one layer (for example, erase part of the background in the photo), the work can be saved as a *.PSD file, and later edited in the same way in the Edit tab. When viewing the Photo Browser, transparency will appear black, but semi-transparent areas at the edges of the selection will appear rough. If you edit again in the Edit tab, everything will be fine.
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| Edit *.acdc, save as *.psd | Displaying *.psd in the photo browser |
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But when adding a new layer to the same image, the program will no longer allow you to save the work as *.PSD; saving a file with layers is only possible in the *.acdc format. In general, we can conclude that compatibility with *.PSD is conditional, and if you work in ACDSee Ultimate 8, you should use exclusively the proprietary file format of this program.
If you open such a *.PSD in Photoshop, the picture will be sad... one layer, and flattened:
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| Editing *.psd Ultimate 8 | Open *.psd in Photoshop |
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Applying filters and effects to a layer
Duplicate the base layer and apply an effect to it (for example, in the screenshot below, two effects are applied - sepia and vignetting). Here we must immediately say that the layer in ACDSee Ultimate 8 is not a “smart layer”, which is in Photoshop. In other words, you won’t be able to edit the applied effect; you can only process with the effect what was previously processed by another effect, and so on in a circle. If you want to experiment, for each experiment we duplicate the bottom layer with the original photo, process it, then turn the layers on and off one by one and select the best option.
The developers present the function of adding watermarks to a separate layer as one of the main features when working with layers. Let's be honest - does a professional need this? It is possible that this is what is needed, but it is necessary as a last resort, when he has already worked on the photograph for several days, done a lot of work, created several options, started all over again, and finally agreed with the customer on all his work, after which he has completed like a berry on a cake, I added my signature or logo on a separate layer. In principle, the logo can be added the old-fashioned way, without using layers, nothing bad would happen.
Work with text
Along with adding watermarks, you can add custom text. This function is unlikely to be suitable for the design of posters or greeting cards - the text font size can be a maximum of 256 points (apparently, points). All fonts installed in the system are available; the effect in the form of a shadow and the volume of some special effects can be applied to the inscription. It should be noted that this is not a text layer that can be edited if you suddenly make a mistake in a word, but just adding a raster inscription to the layer, once and for all.
The situation is partially saved by the “Place text on a separate layer” checkbox - in this case, the inscription can be moved to another place and enlarged/reduced, however, again, it will be narrower not text, and a raster text image in the form of an inscription on a new layer. Adding a shadow to this inscription will no longer work. In a word, working with text in layers in ACDSee Ultimate 8 is organized at the level of the Paint editor included in Windows 3.1. This tool is good for creating a small signature in the corner of a photo, but nothing more. After the amazingly convenient work with text in Photoshop, working here is unbearably difficult.
Performance
We will consider the pros and cons of ACDSee Ultimate 8 solely from the point of view of working with layers, since the program inherited all other functions from ACDSee Pro 8, including all its positive and negative aspects.
+ Pros
- The ability to work with layers for $150 instead of $119/year subscription for a special offer for photographers (Photoshop CC and Lightroom) from Adobe.
- Finally, after a long silence, a step towards serious work has been taken - with layers, the Edit tab begins to make sense for professional use.
- Minuses
- Saving the results of working with layers in its own *.acdc format, which can only be opened in ACDSee Ultimate 8. The disadvantage is controversial, since any work with layers must still be saved in some form.
- Working with text in layers leaves much to be desired.
- No adjustment layers.
- The program is only available for Windows, which is a serious disadvantage. Mac owners can only wait for similar functionality to appear in the version for MacOS.
- Serious technical requirements.
Appendix 1. Comparison of Adobe Photoshop and ACDSee Ultimate 8
With the advent of the layer function in ACDSee Ultimate 8, we can compare it with Photoshop, especially since marketers are positioning the program as an alternative to this world-favorite raster editor. Of course, we consider the pros and cons solely from the point of view of the photographer’s work.
Pros of Photoshop
- Smart layers, the so-called Smart layers, and the huge benefits they provide, most notably the re-editing of a previously applied effect
- Adjustment layers - again, re-editing previously made tonal adjustments
- Groups of layers for ease of working with a large number of objects
- Advanced text processing capabilities
- Built-in tools for merging HDR and panoramas
- Availability of a huge number of plugins for photo processing: Portreture, Topaz Labs, NIK Software and many others
- Support for ready-made brushes, create your own brushes
- Full integration with other Adobe Creative Cloud programs: you can easily insert *.psd into any application, you can insert an Illustrator raster document into a *.psd file on a new layer, you can insert *.psd with transparency into the layout of a Premiere video clip, etc. d.
- All kinds of area selection tools, such as vector paths, smart edge selection, magnetic lasso, magnetic pen, etc.
- Smart transformation taking into account content (Content-Aware Scale)
- Tight integration with Lightroom, a comprehensive offer for photographers - a subscription to Photoshop+Lightroom.
Pros of ACDSee Ultimate 8
- Relatively low price
- Low barrier to entry, in other words, the program is easier for beginners
- One program for both cataloging/viewing and editing photos using layers
Appendix 2. Technical requirements for ACDSee Ultimate 8
Iron
- Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon® 64 processor (2 GHz or faster)
- 2 GB memory (6 GB recommended)
- Video RAM (VRAM) - 512mb
- DirectX 10 compatible video card
- Monitor resolution 1024 x 768 (1280 x 1024 recommended)
- 2GB disk space
Software
- Microsoft® Windows® 7 (SP1) or Windows® 8 (64-bit only). In the case of Windows 7, it is not enough to have SP1 installed; you will also need Platform Update for SP1, as well as all the latest .NET updates
- Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 9+
- Microsoft® DirectX® 10.0 or higher
- Ghostscript 8.0 - for PDF support
- Windows Media® Player 9.0
Final conclusion
The new version of ACDSee Ultimate 8 is equipped with work with layers, this is good, necessary, useful, and everything really works. However, it is unlikely that professionals will give up their familiar and convenient tools in favor of ACDSee Ultimate 8. The Photoshop + Lightroom combination offers too many advantages, while ACDSee Ultimate 8 does not have a single unique property for which one could drop everything and switch to work with her. On the other hand, for beginners, ACDSee Ultimate 8 is a good option to get acquainted with the basic principles of photo processing, working with layers, and then move on to more serious programs.
© Konstantin Birzhakov, December 31, 2014 Google+
Model: Lena Guard
Based on materials from the official website of ACD Systems International Inc.
The author used a demo version of ACDSee Ultimate 8 to work on the review.
The article uses photographs of the author.
Any reprint in any media only with the written permission of the review author.
The review text is protected using the Yandex. Original texts": Text from 12/31/2014, 13:35
ACDSee is popular with a huge number of users from all over the world. This program provides a wide range of functions for processing photos, as well as launching and viewing various media files.
Due to the fact that the ACDSee installer interface is not translated into Russian, some users have difficulties installing this program. In this guide we will try to cover all the nuances of installation.
Step 1. Download
Follow the link to download ACDSee and select the 32-bit or 64-bit version of the program depending on the type of your operating system:
We wait for the program installer to download and launch it.
Step 2. Preparation
At the very beginning, the installer will unpack all the necessary files:
We wait a few seconds until the installation wizard appears. Click on the button Next:
Step 3: License Agreement
The next step is to read the license agreement (EULA). We agree to the terms and conditions (1 point) and click Next:
Step 4: Installation Type
Next, you will be asked to choose one of 2 options for installing the program: full ( Complete) or by choice ( Custom). Beginners are still advised to indicate Complete. Select the appropriate option and click Next:
Step 5: Installation
Only the last step remains. If you want to return to previous settings, there is a button for this Back. When you're ready, click on Install to install the program on your computer:
We wait until all the files are installed:
All. Installation completed successfully. Click on Finish:
Once the installation is complete, a tab will open in the browser window with congratulations from the developers and an overview of the program’s capabilities in English:
Step 6. Testing
When launching the program for the first time, some users may receive an error message - Missing file api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll:
This means that your computer does not have the required update from Microsoft installed. Follow the link and download the appropriate package for your OS.
Brief summary.
ACDsee Pro can display almost all imaginable and inconceivable image formats, including RAWs from different digital cameras, images in vector formats, as well as images in PSD and PSB formats, if the option is enabled when saving in Photoshop Maximize PSD and PSB File Compatibility(Maximize PSD and PSB file compatibility).
You can also watch video files and listen to audio in the program, but the ACDsee player is too primitive to be taken seriously. http://site/
List of supported graphic formats.
ANI, ART, BMP, CNV, CR2, CRW, CUR, CVX, DCR, DCX, DNG, DJV, EMF, EPS, FPX, GIF, ICN, ICO, IFF, JP2, JPC, JPG, KDC, MAG, MRW, NEF, ORF, PBM, PCD, PCX, PEF, PGM, PIC, PCT, PDF, PIX, PNG, PPM, PS, PSD, PSP, Quick-Time™, RAF, RAS, RAW, RSB, SGI, TGA, TIFF , WBMP, WMF, XBM, XPM
Image files can be converted from one format to another, including RAW format files from different cameras, just as is done in special converters. Of course, converting from vector and RAW formats is not as advanced as in specialized programs, but this function can be useful when you need to see the result without leaving the image manager or when you simply don’t have the right software at hand.
But the most important advantage of the program is the presence of a multifunctional browser-manager that allows you to easily handle large arrays of graphic and other files. Moreover, these files can be located not only on computer hard drives, but also on removable media. All functions are intuitive, and the program interface allows you to view thumbnail images directly while searching or sorting.
As for image editing, ACDsee is unlikely to have serious competitors among the viewers. All editing tools are easy to use. You can start correcting images right after installing the program, and not after weeks of intensive study.
Most of the program's functions can be accessed from several places in the interface at once.
To select a command, you can use the main menu, the context menu, and buttons located in convenient places in the interface. And what is very important, each command has a corresponding hotkey combination that can be easily reassigned.
I rarely edit pictures in ACDsee and don't make full use of the database, but I haven't been able to find anything better than this program for viewing, searching, sorting and managing graphic files.
Interface.
The picture shows a screenshot of a browser window with default settings. In the center you can see a pop-up window (can be disabled), which appears when you hover over the thumbnail. Anyone can customize the program interface to suit their needs. Tools can either be attached to the main window or enabled auto-hide.
By pressing a few hotkeys, you can easily adjust the workspace to the task at hand.
The window of any tool can be “torn off” from the main window, transformed and positioned either arbitrarily, or attached to other tools or the edges of the main window. To do this, when moving the window, you need to align the cursor with one of the guide magnets (guide magnets are marked in red).
Interface changes tailored for different tasks can be saved as profiles with the command View > Workspace > Manage Workspaces(View > Workspaces > Manage Workspaces). In general, the workspace can be configured as flexibly as in Photoshop.
The ACDsee Pro browser can still change the interface color from black to gray, although previously white was also available.
Well, really! When we were sitting at CRT monitors, and to increase the resource of the handset, it would be necessary to install black skins, then all programs had white interfaces. Now, when there are TFT monitors all around, and the situation is exactly the opposite, all programs have suddenly turned black.
Another useful feature of ACDsee is the ability to add tools and display related information in convenient places in the workspace. In the picture, some of the tools and data that can be displayed in the full-screen viewing window using the shortcut keys.
Images can also be viewed directly in the browser window. The panel is used for this Preview(Preview).
And in this tab you can configure the display of the necessary information when viewing an image in the panel Preview.
If you, like me, do not use the tool Preview, you can use the pop-up window to view thumbnails and related information.
The viewing functions in the pop-up window are also very configurable. Clicking the button File Information Configuration(Configure File Information…), you can select the information to be displayed.
Directly from the browser or viewing window, you can open several photos in Photoshop or any other editor using hotkeys. The picture shows a window in which you can connect several editors and select one of them for quick access.
ACDsee can recognize color profiles of images, and unlike Bridge, and even Photoshop itself, it can recognize output device profiles on the fly (without rebooting).
Using advanced browser features.
Thanks to the integration of the ACDsee browser with the browser Conductor(Explorer) and the use of additional tools for managing and sorting files, the ACDsee browser can become an indispensable tool when working with large arrays of images and related files.
Button Setting up filters(Configure Filters) brings up a window in which you can choose which files will be reflected in the browser and which will not.
To improve the convenience of using the browser, you can put the bird in the checkbox Show Explorer context menu by right-clicking(Show the Windows Explorer shell context menu as the default right click menu).
In this case, the original menu will remain accessible if you use the right click while holding down the key Ctrl. This option is mirrored. If the Explorer menu is not activated, it also opens when the key is pressed Ctrl.
In addition, the ACDsee browser implements another wonderful technology that allows you to display files from any folders and directories in one window. The picture shows the options responsible for this setting. Folders > Quick Select > Show Quick Select(Folders > Easy-Select > Enable Easy-Select). By default the option is enabled.
It's strange that other popular browsers still don't use this feature.
What is it for?
For example, you need to batch process images for a website, or create a slide show, or select images for printing, and you have these images scattered across an extensive network of directories. And with all this, you also need to exclude certain folders or even individual files from the selection. All this can be done thanks to this technology. In this case, you don’t even have to move files from their permanent locations!
How it works?
It works very simply. You need to select the target root directory and then press the " * "(asterisk). At the beginning of the session, the number of clicks on " * » determines the depth of folder expansion.
Now you need to move the cursor to the button Quick selection at the level of the last folder and click on it while pressing the key Shift, just like you do in Conductor Windows. In this case, all files from the selected folders will appear in the file window.
To exclude folders from processing, click on the button Quick selection at the level of the corresponding folder, after pressing the key Ctrl.
When all folders are selected, you can go to the browser file window and click Ctrl+A to select all files at once.
You can exclude individual files or a group of files from processing in the same way as in Conductor, left click of the mouse using, respectively, the keys Ctrl or Shift.
There is another even more convenient way, this is the command Invert selection(Invert Selection). Hotkeys by default Ctrl+Shift+I.
In the example above, red arrows indicate one folder and three files excluded from the general selection.
Now that the selection has been made, you can apply any actions available in batch mode to the files.
The description of the procedure seems complicated, but this is only at first glance. Anyone familiar with Windows Explorer will immediately be able to use this convenient tool.
Correction and editing of images in ACDsee.
The picture shows some of the tools located in the editor on tabs Correction(Develop) and Editing(Edit), and which can be accessed from anywhere in the program by selecting an image and the appropriate command.
Below I will describe several tools in more detail to make it clear how convenient they are.
You can edit the image while viewing in full screen mode by going to the built-in editor. This is convenient when you need to correct an image specifically for viewing, and not for saving. In the picture one of the tools is Curves(Tone Curves), which is a bit like a similar tool in Photoshop, only combined with Levels.
Tool Lasso(Lasso) allows you to make a selection, and then simultaneously adjust the image in the selected area and change the parameter Plumage(Feathering), a parameter similar to Feather Radius in Photoshop. However, in ACDsee this is implemented a little more simply.
In this GIF you can see another tool in action - Enhanced Colors(Advanced Color).
Simply click the mouse on an area of the photo of a certain color and drag the cursor up or down, depending on whether you need to increase or decrease the value of the selected parameter.
Similar processing can be done in Photoshop using several different tools. But for this you need not only to know where they are, but also to be able to use them. In ACDsee, control of all tools is implemented very clearly, and most importantly, intuitively.
And, of course, in ACDsee you can batch process both regular and RAW files using the tool Batch conversion(Batch Edit).
The picture shows the Batch Conversion tool window opened on the tab Watermark(Watermark).
One thing to keep in mind is that the Watermark tool does not recognize transparency in image files, however, if there is any uniform background in the image, then it can be turned into transparency using the eyedropper tool.
Another batch processing tool is Batch correction(Batch Develop). It is intended for applying a profile obtained when processing an image in the Editor and/or Corrector.
Corrected or edited files receive appropriate labels D(Develop) or E(Edit).
When changing original files, the program saves a backup copy in a hidden folder, which allows you to cancel changes at any time with a special command Tools > Processing > Restore original(Tools > Process > Restore to Original).
Option File Management > Save Originals(File Management > Save Originals) is responsible for creating backup copies of files. A backup copy of the modified file is placed in a hidden folder, which is automatically created in the same directory where the original file was located.
To see hidden folders with original files in the browser, you need to activate the option: Show hidden folders and files(Show hidden files and folders).
In order to access hidden folders in Explorer, you need to go to Explorer > Tools > Folder Options > View and choose Show hidden files and folders(Explorer > Tools > Folders Options > View > Show hidden files and folders).
Search and sort images.
In ACDsee, you can easily organize viewing of several images by a command Tools > Compare Images(Tools > Compare Images). This is especially useful when you need to compare pictures or duplicates of the same type.
Tool Ordering(Organise) makes it easy to sort images by several different metadata at once, which can be extremely useful for large volumes of photos.
Calendar(Calendar) is another handy tool that can help you quickly find the photo you need if you know the approximate date of creation. The tool has several views, one more clear than the other. You can see previews of photos right as you search.
I really like the sorting tool, which can easily be customized to your most frequently used operation. The picture highlights the current sorting setting by “Date/time of digitization”. The tool is very useful when images are obtained from different cameras or from different sources, but relate to the same event.
