Photo editing can easily be considered an incredibly fun and exciting creative process, which has already become a real hobby for millions of people around the world. But if you decide to use for these purposes ACDSee program, That this work will become extremely simple and fast, because in a matter of moments you will be able to change the size of a photo, both by scaling and by cropping, adjust the color scheme, contrast and clarity of the image, as well as other parameters. That is, we can confidently say that the application is a multi-purpose software that allows you to view and edit pictures, and post them on social networks or on your own Internet resources.
Features of the ACDSee program interface
ACDSee interface includes only four tabs. This is management, viewing, editing, as well as posting on the network. You will be able to navigate them within a few minutes after you start working. So, using the “Management” tab, you can select the images that you will need for subsequent work. There are also tools that will allow you to rename pictures or sort them into separate folders. The main working window of the application displays the file system of your hard drive in the form of a standard tree directory. If desired, the user will be able to set up a preview mode, allowing him to control all stages of editing.
In this program you can process graphic files stored on your computer, external drives, and removable drives. These may be photographs taken from digital cameras, mobile phones and even scanners. As you work, you will be able to view them, convert them to various formats, change the size by scaling or cropping edges, compare several images with each other, create extraordinary slide shows, and so on.
The “Edit” tab contains all the tools that will be useful to users for editing pictures. With them you can fully unleash your own creative fantasies. With just one click of the mouse, various photo defects, including the red-eye effect, are removed. You can also give the photo the desired color tone or even out the tone of the face, apply original artistic filters, add captions, designate photos to be deleted or edited, and so on.
Features and main capabilities of the ACDSee program
The application is endowed with extremely broad capabilities that will be appreciated not only by regular users, but also professionals, after all ICD:
is an advanced photo editor of our time, endowed with a huge number of tools and functions; compared to other software, it has an enviable response speed; has a customizable search that allows you to quickly find the required SIM card using key phrases that you previously specified; has a rich color palette, a wide range of tools and built-in artistic filters; will allow you to simply remove the red-eye effect, as well as edit the entire image or a separate part of it; will provide tools for adjusting the lighting and contrast of the image; instantly highlight shadows and focus on a certain part of the picture; allows you to convert photos to most modern formats and upload work to web resources; integrated to work with Twitter and Facebook.
You can download ACDSee for yourself completely free by following the link http://acdseee.ru/. As a result, you will receive the most current Russified version this application and you can start an exciting work process in just a few minutes.
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I think one of the most popular photo managers is ACDSee (downloads.acdsystems.com/en/acdsee.exe ) does not need any special introduction. However, despite the fact that ACDSee is de facto the most famous program for viewing and editing graphic images, issues of its optimal configuration often worry the average user.
The new (eighth) version of the program has improved work with images (including batch processing), added support for the JPEG 2000 format (viewing and saving) and the RAW format of most leading digital camera manufacturers (Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Fujifilm, Konica Minolta), there is the possibility create slideshows in PDF formats and Flash, and much more. How do the new features relate to graphic filters or, say, the function of burning photo albums to CDs and DVDs? Isn't the application becoming more and more complex and cumbersome from version to version? Many users (including on numerous forums) are inclined to argue that the latest editions of ACDSee Photo Manager are excessively slow. Others advise them to upgrade their computer more often, attributing the program's slowdowns to outdated technology. Which one is right? Answer: neither one nor the other, because any version of ACDSee can be made into an excellent sprinter, running briskly not only around stadiums, but also along country roads. :)
In this article, using the eighth version of ACDSee as an example, you will see how to configure the program for maximum performance while maintaining the quality of work at a high level.
Step 1: Set up your work environment
At first glance, ACDSee's main window may seem overloaded. But no one forbids closing unused panels and placing the necessary interface elements in the way that is most convenient for you. For example, I always close the Task Panel, Search, Favorites, etc. tabs. and use the freed up space to enlarge the browser area and preview window. Then, using the slider at the top of the browser, I adjust the size of the thumbnails. Everything is purely individual, so I’m a bad adviser here. However, remember that convenient layout of menus and windows also helps increase productivity.
Step 2. Browser setup
Here we will talk about displaying files in the preview window and in the ACDSee browser, as well as how to speed up working with them.
To configure the browser, select the Options item in the Tools menu and go to the Browser section. In the Default Start Folder section, you can specify the folder that will open when ACDSee starts (by default, the last opened folder is displayed). This is useful when frequently used images are in a specific directory. I also usually check the Clear Path History On Exit checkbox so that ACDSee does not remember folders opened during operation - this is still of little use. But this, as they say, is a matter of taste.
Now let's talk about more significant things - displayed files. By default, ACDSee shows all files in an open folder. But most users only need pictures, and among such chaos they can be very difficult to find. Therefore, it doesn’t hurt to look at the View -> Filters menu (View -> Filters; Alt + I) and in the dialog box that appears, ask ACDSee to show only pictures and folders (Show All Pictures and Show Folders, respectively). If you also enable Show Media Files, then I advise you to go to the settings and in the Preview section uncheck at least one “tick” - from the Autoplay Audio & Video Clips item. In this case, a video accidentally selected in the browser will not run, which will save ACDSee from unnecessary slowdowns and you from headaches. If you also disable Preview Audio & Video Clips, then in the preview window when you select a multimedia file, only its icon will be displayed. Those. the file will not be played by the built-in ACDSee tools. This will also speed up the program, which is exactly what we are trying to achieve. You can also listen to music or burn CDs and DVDs using other means specifically designed for this purpose. Since we are still in the Preview section, it would be nice to remind you once again that the Delay control should be in the extreme left position.
And now we are very close to thumbnails. In the settings in the File List -> Thumbnails Display section, you need to disable the effect of casting a shadow and drawing a frame for icons - Show Drop Shadow and Show Image Border, respectively. The remaining settings in the sections we reviewed should be left at default. Now let's move on to viewing the graphics.
Step 3: Setting up the viewer
So, to configure image viewing options, select the Options item in the Tools menu and go to the Viewer section. In the Decoding & Caching section, checkboxes should be checked everywhere (by default this is the case). The Decode Next Image In Advance option is responsible for preparing for viewing (unpacking) the next image, and Keep Previous Image In Memory is for remembering the previous one. Both options naturally speed up browsing and, importantly, ensure smooth scrolling through pictures, loading them entirely at once. In the Startup Files section, it is recommended to select Images In New Window, which will allow you to open several images in different windows.
You can also not use Resampling Algorithm, which improves the quality of displayed images by reducing distortions that appear when scaling them (Bicubic and Bilinear), and select Nearest Neighbor - do not use resampling. However, these actions are justified only if the images being viewed are of high resolution and acceptable quality. Otherwise, you can’t do without sampling - it will dazzle your eyes.
Step 4. Working with the database
The ACDSee database stores information about all viewed graphic and other files. Using a database allows you not only to increase the browser's performance by caching icons, but also to perform various operations on files (search, sorting, etc.). To add the necessary folders with graphics to the database, it is not at all necessary to open them in the ACDSee browser. To do this, simply select the Database -> Catalog Files menu and specify the required folders. You can also define directories that will not be entered into the database so as not to clutter it. This could be, for example, the browser cache. To optimize the database, run the Database -> Optimize Database wizard, which will remove redundant and outdated information, and, therefore, speed up the database. For fine tuning database, you need to use the Database -> Database Maintenance utility.
I have nothing more to add. Let's look at the fruits of our labors.
results
As a result, ACDSee 8 Photo Manager has become more agile and easier to manage. Are you interested in iron? There is nothing simpler: a motherboard based on the i440BX chipset, socket 370... Should I continue? :) Of course, the eighth version, compared to the same sixth, works noticeably faster, but, nevertheless, the results of the actions taken are visible to the naked eye. Setting up older versions of the photo manager is done in the same way.
ACDSee is installed and configured, it's time to work. But more on that next time.
Photos today widely fill the Internet and social networks, and many people have a desire to edit them. The field of graphic design and photo industry is actively developing. In order to correct lighting deficiencies, adjust colors, add interesting effects and add decor or inscriptions, special graphic managers are well suited.
The ACDSee Ultimate program is recognized as the leader among them. The commercial package of the ACDSee program has earned recognition from professional artists, photographers and designers, and receives a lot of positive feedback from ordinary users.
Viewing Images
ACDSee photo manager is very convenient for viewing, organizing and editing photos and other images. The program supports over one hundred image formats. The built-in synchronization module allows you to import files from most models of cameras and smartphones; it is compatible with scanners, printers and MFPs. The important advantages inherent in this program also include a customizable panel for the most popular functions.
ACDSee in Russian with a very convenient intuitive interface allows the user to quickly get used to it. Almost all manipulations with the image are carried out by pressing the mouse button, moving the cursor and do not require special skills or specific knowledge.
Setting up the program interface
Working with the program is especially convenient thanks to extensive settings and a flexible interface. Options available via context menu and are duplicated as needed on the customizable main task panel. You can display the necessary tabs in the program work area using the “View” menu item.
Tool windows can be enlarged and reduced, placed in arbitrary areas of the workspace, which maximally optimizes the interface for the needs of each user.
File manager
As you can see, there is a panel on the left file manager, the functionality of which is very similar to a regular explorer windows systems. Using the panel it is very easy to search for the necessary images and folders. It is also possible to copy, move, rename and delete files.
The presence of a multifunctional manager allows you to simultaneously work with a large number of files, located not only on the hard drive, but also on removable media.
You will be pleased with the high speed of indexing images; when you open them, you can not only immediately view them, but also assign them keywords, sort, leave notes and comments.
Photo catalog
The program will help to collect information about all graphic files on the media and catalog them. The sorting type can be changed to the most relevant in each case. This is convenient for tidying up home photo archive and is especially important for those whose professional activities require storing and using a large number of images.
By launching this cataloging function, the program scans the contents of the computer, finds photographs and compiles its own catalog from them.
To start cataloging you need to do the following:
Select the “File Directory” item in the “Tools” menu
In the window that opens, select the folder with the images that need to be added to the catalog and start cataloging.
Photos in the catalog will be sorted by creation date by default. You can open the catalog on a separate tab: “Catalogue”
Editing Images
During latest updates The capabilities of working with layers have been expanded. You can move them arbitrarily, connect them and edit them: use a variety of filters and effects, add watermarks, inscriptions, and decorative elements.
Independent settings for any selected area of the image are ideal for correcting them and eliminating artifacts. This breadth of manipulation will allow you to create a collage of any complexity, prepare a graphic layout, adjust photographs and fully realize any artistic concept.
Additional features of the ACDSee Ultimate package
In addition to viewing and editing images, ACDSee photo manager provides:
- conversion of image formats, without loss of quality,
- archiving and restoring graphic files,
- creating libraries of pictures and photographs,
- slideshow display
The bonus of the package is the ability to view video and audio files in the player, however, it has a very modest arsenal of settings compared to most viewers.
You can play audio and video files through the Windows Explorer context menu by selecting ACDSee as the player.
In addition to the main version of the program, a professional package is available: ACDSee pro program. Unlike many common editors, this is a full-fledged image editing manager with a variety of functions.
ACDSee Ultimate is suitable for viewing images, editing and correcting photographs, and eliminating their defects. A wide arsenal of functions is useful for artistic processing of photographs and creating collages. This manager is primarily aimed at a professional audience with a variety of tools and capabilities, however, the user-friendly interface will allow even novice users to work with images.
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 graphic images, including viewing, searching, printing and public access to 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. For now 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 link on the website
Download Free
Trial (download 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
license code
to work with an unlimited time 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 ACDSee will require online activation (similar to Windows XP) in order for you to take advantage of all its functionality.
Next, the program may offer you to automatically download and install some of its updates that are available on its website - it makes sense to do this. Well, after this, the question about creating an image catalog using the Catalog Creation Wizard will immediately appear:
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 all kinds of tools, perform a wide variety of actions with 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.
XP.
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 in the viewport again will return you to the folder view.
Viewing Images
When viewing images in a full window, you can navigate between files in a folder (or selected folders) as follows:
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):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 Page Up– show previous image.
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).Numpad +– zoom in; NumPad -– zoom out; NumPad /– real scale; NumPad *– choose the best scale for viewing.
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.
, “Text”, you can set text lines and their parameters so that the inscriptions are displayed at the top and bottom when showing a slide show.
Image processing The advanced ACDSee Photo Manager Pro package includes a very powerful and convenient editor
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:ACDSee Photo Editor, however, ACDSee Photo Manager itself has built-in image editing tools that are quite suitable for those who need to process amateur digital photographs.
to turn; frame;
correct;
decrease; save in compressed form.
Open the original photo in ACDSee:
Photo for processing
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
O
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 rotation speed of each photo depends on many factors: computer power, speed hard disk, availability free memory and other programs currently running, however, modern computer Rotating dozens of photos 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 screen settings Windows screensavers XP, you will see that your splash screen appears 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: general form 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 type of font 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
Below you can set the size of the thumbnails. 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
The option “Convert images to JPEG format» must be included - you never know, maybe the original pictures are recorded in TIFF or BMP, but 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 resizing 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:
Created web page with photo album Now you just have to completely copy the contents of the “For site” folder into the appropriate folder on your site and send the link to everyone. Many years
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. First time for this company's products 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 ACD Systems company. “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. Additional 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 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 a 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 method display technology patented by Adobe).
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. The layers first appeared in the fall of 1994 in Adobe versions Photoshop 3, and it can be argued that layers, along with support for the CMYK color model, made Photoshop is the best professional graphic editor.
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 feature is unlikely to be suitable for poster design or greeting cards- the font size of the text can be a maximum of 256 (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 suitable for creating a small signature in the corner of a photo, but nothing more. After amazing comfortable work Working with text in Photoshop is unbearably difficult here.
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 function of working with layers 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 advantages 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 programs in the package Creative Cloud from Adobe: you can easily insert *.psd into any application, you can insert an Illustrator raster document into a *.psd file on new layer, you can insert *.psd with transparency into the layout of a Premiere video clip, etc.
- 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 processor or AMD Athlon® 64 (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 Gard
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
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