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 By Dale
Farris, Vice-President
Golden Triangle PC Club
November 2004
Program Overview
The ACD Systems company presents a superb package of products that
revolve around their key program, ACDSee 7. In this PowerPack, you
not only get their award-winning ACDSee image management program, but you
also get ACD Photo Editor 3 and ACD FotoSlate 3.
ACDSee is world renown for its clever design, user-friendliness, and
powerful package of features that come in the very reasonably priced
program. Once you see how ACDSee sets itself up on your computer and how
it marvelously handles all your image files, you will always want ACDSee
on all your computers.
What's New?
New Features in ACDSee 7
Acquire, organize, view and manage your images faster than everway
faster.
Save time using more batch image functions than you'll find in any other
product.
Share your photos instantly using SendPix, ACD's free online image
sharing, now with mobile phone support.
Compare similar images. Use ACDSee 7's side-by-side Image Compare
feature to pick out the best shot.
Use the Curves tool to correct exposure.
Work effortlessly with multiple high-resolution images at the same time.
Examine your images in their original RAW formats. ACDSee supports
Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, Olympus, Kodak, Minolta and other major camera
brands.
Use the Create Disc Wizard to simultaneously burn image files to CD/DVD
and create thumbnails of your offline CD.
Publish your images to TiVo's Digital Photo Viewer and bring the digital
experience into the living room.
Expand your organizing and editing capabilities with more tools in the
improved Image Basket.
View all of your photos at once in the Image Well.
View your folder contents in the Thumbs + Details mode, and specify
which information to display.
Optimize your workflow using the Context Sensitive Toolbar.
Create PDF and Flash slide shows.
Manage your images even better in ACDSee 7's improved Organize pane.
Take advantage of ACDSee's support for MPV and HighMAT.
View, browse and convert images in the JPEG 2000 format.
Copy database information to and from your EXIF data.
Maintain your collection with enhanced database tools.
Plus, automatically synchronize folders using the PowerPack version of
ACDSee.
New Features in ACD Photo Editor 3
Fix common problems such as light levels, red-eye and rotation using the
simple Photo Correction Wizard.
Exposure warning indicators help you identify potential problems.
Advanced image editing tools.
Exposure warning indicators.
A Curves tool that allows you to correct exposure.
Professional color management using ICM 2.0 and ICC color profiles.
New Features in ACD FotoSlate 3
Print popular photo sizes, such as 4x6, and popular page sizes such as
Letter, or pages in any size you choose.
Create calendars, greeting cards and CD covers from your favorite
photos.
Create contact sheets in seconds using the Contact Sheet Wizard.
Get crisp prints from grainy, low resolution photos (such as those from
email and the Web) with the click of a button, thanks to FotoSlate's
unique Clear IQZ resampling.
Save paper with the Paper Saver Wizard that automatically fits as many
pictures as possible on one page.
Frame your pictures before printing - choose from a number of beautiful
frame designs.
Stylize your pictures by 'cutting' them into shapes like ovals and
adding drop shadows.
Personalize the design of pages as you add photos, using the Page
Designer.
Include camera metadata or file information automatically in prints.
Ensure accurate color with EXIF Print support and ICM 2.0 and ICC color
profiles.
ACDSee 7The Photo Manager
That Sets You Free
The most powerful photo manager around is now even faster. Way faster. No
other photo software saves you so much time. ACDSee gives you the freedom
to find, organize and edit your photos faster, easier and with better
results than ever before. Instantly share your pictures online or on your
cell phone. Create quality prints or Flash and PDF slide shows. Favored by
photographers, used by organizations like Associated Press, Boeing and
Harvard, ACDSee is your best choice in photo management software.
"Indispensable," says American Photo Magazine.
Instantly Organize and View Your Photos
It's hard to believe that managing digital images can be so quick and
easy, but with ACDSee, it is. As a media browser for your Windows folder
system, ACDSee's super fast navigation pane lets you browse and view your
picture collections right away. Compare multiple images side-by-side. Save
time and select photo files by criteria. Or see all your images at once.
The PowerPack version of ACDSee 7 allows you to automatically synchronize
folders. ACDSee digital photo software supports over 50 popular photo and
multimedia formats, including:
JPEG
TIFF
PSD
MP3
MPG
WMV
GIF
WAV
MPEG
MOV
BMP
RAW
Examine your images in their original RAW formats. ACDSee supports Canon,
Nikon, Fujifilm, Olympus, Kodak, Minolta and other major camera brands.
Acquiring Photos Is Easier Than Ever
Control your camera's memory card storage space. Use ACDSee photo manager
to download or browse images on your camera, scanner, USB mass storage
device or mobile phone folder. ACDSee's Acquire Wizards guide you through
the process.
Organize Your Photos More Efficiently
Quickly create new folders and modify your Windowsฎ folder structure. See
the contents of multiple folders at once using easy folder selection
options.
For even faster photo selection, ACDSee enables you to create personalized
categories for your photos. This gives you the freedom to organize your
digital photos just the way you want, and be more productive with your
time. You no longer need to duplicate files that can bloat your photo
collection.
Essential Photo Edit and Archive Tools
ACDSee photo manager also has a built-in photo editor. You don't need to
be an expert (but you'll look like one) when you enhance your photos using
helpful editing tools that let you:
Fix red-eye
Sharpen
Crop
Adjust exposure
Remove noise
Resize
Rotate
Convert file format
And more
Plus, add special effects such as:
Sepia
Swirl
Bulge
Oil Paint
And more
Edit your digital images right the first time, avoiding potential mistakes
with before and after previews.
Want to keep your digital photos safe? ACDSee gives you a number of ways
to instantly save and archive your image collections. Burn your photos to
CD or DVD. Create archive files in ZIP and other formats.
Print Options
Easily customize your print sizes using ACDSee's Print Wizard, or print
popular sizes such as 4x6, 5x7 and 8x10.
ACDSee photo management software supports EXIF 2.2 printing. That means
you can print high-quality, accurate, professional colors. Adjust color
and quality using familiar tools such as brightness, contrast, saturation,
curves and more.
Share Your Photos Digitally
Want to show your collections to family, friends, clients or work
associates? Choose the best way to share your photos using ACDSee photo
management software. Share your images by email or on your cell phone. Use
SendPix, ACDSee's online sharing service, to display your collections to
large groups.
Display your photos on TiVo DVR. Present your pictures in Flash or PDF
slide shows. You can even make your own photo Web pages with ACDSee's HTML
album generator.
The Most Popular Photo Management Software
ACDSee has led the marketplace for more than ten years. It's the digital
photo manager millions of users at home and at work choose to view,
organize and edit their digital image collections. See for yourself why
amateurs and pros alike choose ACDSee.
ACD Photo Editor 3Easily Edit Your Photos Like A Pro
Edit your photos like a pro with ACD Photo Editor. Take advantage of
advanced, intuitive editing tools that allow you to get the best-looking
images possible. Drawing and selection tools, a Curves tool to adjust
exposure, professional color management using ICM 2.2 and ICC color
profiles, and the ability to zoom in and work on small areas of an image
are among many features that give you the creative control you need to
produce the best possible photos. Use the Photo Correction Wizard to
instantly fix common problems such as light levels, red-eye and rotation.
Blending tools such as Clone and Manual Blur enable you to fine-tune image
details. Add text to images, or alter photos using an array of special
effects such as Sheet Metal, Pencil Drawing and Oil Paint. Photo Editor is
fast, easy-to-use, and lets you get your image edits just the way you want
them.
Enhance and Correct Your Photos
Fix common problems such as light levels, red-eye and rotation using the
simple Photo Correction Wizard. Exposure warning indicators help you
identify potential problems. Take advantage of a number of advanced image
editing tools, including a Curves tool allowing you to correct exposure,
and the ability to select a picture area and alter it without changing the
rest of your photo. Improve subtle image details using a wide selection of
intuitive correction tools. Why settle for good photos, when you can get
great ones?
Filters, Special Effects, and Creative Tools
Add text and use professional selection and drawing tools for image
editing. Add talk and thought bubbles for humorous photos. Dramatically
transform photos using more than 40 special effects, such as Emboss and
Oil Paint. Add Photoshop plug-ins such as Alien Skin filters.
Easy, Powerful, and Affordable
Designed specifically for digital photos, Photo Editor makes photo editing
faster, easier, more enjoyable, and more professional. Plus, you get the
precision you need to make simple web graphics. You can also perform
advanced edits on a whole picture, or just a selected area.
Get professional color management using ICM 2.0 and ICC color profiles.
Work with several photos at once using a handy image browser to switch
between them, and use a survey window to keep track of where you are in a
large photo. Plus, hide and dock tool panels to save space and enjoy
additional convenience.
ACD FotoSlate 3Fast, Easy, Accurate Photo Printing
Use ACD FotoSlate to easily produce crisp, clean, expert quality prints in
popular sizes such as 4x6, 5x7 and 8x10, as well as contact sheets, cards,
calendars and more. Pre-made layouts make it easy to print a wide range of
special items with the professional look you want. You can also create and
save your own layouts. Plus, correct grainy photos before you print them
with just the click of a button. "Couldn't be easier," says Popular
Photography magazine.
Quality Printing For Multiple Purposes
Whether you're sharing photos with family, friends or work associates, use
ACD FotoSlate to easily produce crisp, clean, expert quality prints in
popular sizes such as 4x6, 5x7 and 8x10, as well as contact sheets, cards,
calendars and more.
Professional Printing Specs Made Easy
Produce prints in any size you want, including popular sizes such as 4x6,
5x7 and 8x10. Pre-made layouts make it easy to print a wide range of
special items with the professional look you want. You can also create and
save your own layouts. Ensure accurate color with ICM 2.0 and ICC color
profiles. Then, just select your photo(s), choose a layout, and print
away.
Plus!
Correct grainy photos before you print them. With the click of a button,
quickly fix low-resolution pictures like the kind you get in emails.
Bring Your Digital Photos To Life
Be creative and take advantage of FotoSlate's more than 450 ready-made
layouts, or create your own, including greeting cards, professional photo
packages, CD cases and more. Wizards let you zap through layouts, easily
embellishing them as you work.
Home Users
Get beautiful prints worth framing from the digital photos sitting on your
computer. Printing with FotoSlate is so easy that you'll never have to
struggle with aligning photos on-screen again. FotoSlate's templates do it
for you.
Plus, get professional results by "cutting" your photos into oval shapes,
adding text with drop shadows, and framing them before printing with
attractive frames included free. Save ink and paper using FotoSlate's test
printing option.
Professionals
Speed your digital photo printing process using FotoSlate layouts. Get
accurate color with ICC and ICM 2.0 color profiles as well as EXIF 2.2
printing. Use the smart FotoSlate paper saver to fit as many pictures as
possible onto a page. Re-use layouts for maximum efficiency. Improve the
quality of low-resolution images with the click of a button, thanks to
FotoSlate's "Clear IQZ" digital image resampling technology.
Try FotoSlate 3 today and see why About.com gives FotoSlate five stars and
Popular Photography magazine says that with FotoSlate, printing "couldn't
be easier."
Targeted Customers and Typical Uses
The ACDSee program in this marvelous PowerPack Suite is of course
the key application here. ACDSee has been around for quite a few years,
and I've grown fond of its super image viewing features that make it so
easy to quickly see thumbnail views of virtually any graphic file on a
machine. With the PhotoEditor and FotoSlate programs, you now have a fully
developed combination of image editing and management applications to
rival even the powerhouse in this software genre, Adobe's Photoshop. While
ACDSee is certainly no Photoshop, it also certainly does not carry the
same stratospheric price tag that accompanies Photoshop.
For anyone with interest in and regular use of digital cameras and
scanners to acquire, edit, and share digital images, these applications
deserve serious attention for their ease of use and reasonable price
points. While Adobe strives to include all known image editing,
management, and presentation features into one application, ACD Systems
wisely offers various combinations of these features in their super
lineup of digital image programs, with ACDSee leading the pack. I
highly recommend you seriously consider all the many fine programs from ACD Systems, briefly listed below.
Install and Setup
Installation presented no problems on my machine. With this PowerPack
package, you can select the Custom install option, to then decide which of
the bundled applications to load on the machine.
Price
$79.99 retail price
$49.99 upgrade price
System Requirements
P-III 500MHz processor or
equivalent (P-IV 4 or equivalent recommended)
Windows 98 SE, ME, 2000, XP
128MB RAM (256 MB RAM recommended)
100MB free hard disk space (250 MB recommended)
High Color display adapter at 1024 x 768 resolution
CD/DVD Burner - for creating CDs and DVDs
IE 5 (IE 6 recommended)
TiVo Desktop Software - to publish images to your TiVo
DirectX 9 - for Microsoft DirectX file format support, and to create slide
shows and screen savers
QuickTime 6.0 - for QuickTime file format support
Ghostscript 8 - for PDF support
Windows Media Player 9 or later
About ACD Systems
ACD Systems is recognized the world over as the leader in image management
and technical illustration software, providing the ACD Family of products,
headed by ACDSee and Canvas.
ACD delivers the leading platforms for image management and technical
illustration, giving consumers and professionals everything they need to
manage, create, edit, share, and publish content for print, presentation
and the Web faster, easier, and more efficiently.
Initially incorporated in 1989, ACD Systems Ltd. changed its name on April
28, 1993 as it evolved into a software developer for the nascent CD-ROM
cataloguing industry. It was realized that a key technological advantage
could be found if ACD developed the fastest software JPEG decoder on the
market. After intensive research and development, ACDSee was born and
quickly evolved into the dominant player in the image viewing and
management market. ACDSee was bundled with and became the defacto JPEG
decoder/viewer for Mosaic, the very first Web browser. As a shareware
program ACDSee quickly dominated the worldwide web and has since built an
impressive global user base estimated to be well over 25 million users.
ACD Systems Ltd. currently experiences close to a million downloads per
month of its software.
ACD Systems diversified its business in 2003 by acquiring 410124 Canada
Inc. (formerly Linmor Technologies Inc.) and technical illustration
software developer Deneba Solutions Inc, (Canvas).
Today many Fortune 500 Companies including Daimler Chrysler, Boeing, and
NASA rely on ACD Systems for asset management and technical illustration
solutions. Additionally, ACD Systems has been honored with numerous awards
and industry recognition from leading business, technology and trade
publications, corporate and photography associations, and shareware sites.
Headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, ACD Systems employs
approximately 150 people and operates offices in Canada, the United
States, Japan, and Switzerland. At the close of the last fiscal year,
ending March 30, 2004, revenues were $25.4 million.
ACD Systems is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ASA.
Contact Information
Head Office
ACD Systems International Inc.
PO Box 36
Saanichton
British Columbia
Canada V8M 2C3
250-544-6700
FAX 250-544-0291
ACD Systems of America
1150 NW 72 Avenue, Suite 180
Miami, Florida 33126
305-596-5644
FAX 305-406-9802
www.acdsystems.com
You can also order from other retailers or online vendors.
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ACDSee 7 PowerPack