Album/Catalogue Software

[samdring]

Apologies if I'm on the wrong forum but am particularly interested in a response from high-use users (now - does that make sense!). Have been a user of Adobe Album and new version just out has no upgrade path. This has caused some considerable revolt - Adobe forum worth a visit just for that. Its major drawback for me is that there is no file view of where the file is actually located and am considering a change.

What software do most of you use here to catalogue the many thousands of shots many of you appear to have taken.

[scollins]

By far the best software I've come across is ACDsee. It's has great features for cataloging all of your pictures. I've tried several others including Adobe's software, but ACDsee is far better.

www.acdsystems.com/English/Products/ACDSee/index

[deztoys]

For Macs the best I have found is the iView Media Pro software.

[Larrynca]

Hi Sam,

I just upgraded from Adobe Photoshop Album ver 1.0 to Ver. 2.0 today. From the Adobe.com site click on "learn more" below the Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0 graphic. From the next page click on "Order" and from the following page you will have the option to download the upgrade from Ver. 1.0 to 2.0 for US$24.95.

The download took about 12 min. (DSL connection) and installation was quick and easy. You will recieve an e-mail with the NEW serial number for the new version that you will need to complete the install. (Your old serial number will not work)

Haven't had time to play with it yet but according to the following there is support for Canon RAW files and a new slider to adjust sharpness ......
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Topic
New Features in Photoshop Album 2.0

Michael Z Slater - 09:10am Oct 6, 2003 Pacific


Those of you who have been patiently--or not so patiently--waiting for the next release of Photoshop Album need wait no more. Album 2.0 is available immediately. You can get it now from Adobe.com or Amazon.com and probably lots of other places too. It will be in all the stores soon.

This was one of the shortest product cycles in Adobe's history (less than 8 months). There's a ton of new stuff, many bugs fixed, and a more refined UI. Many of the issues that have been discussed here the most have been addressed.

The price remains the same ($49.99 msrp; some retailers will sell it for less). Album 1.0 users can download the new version from adobe.com for $24.99; also there is a coupon in the box for a $15 rebate for 1.0 users, should you buy it at retail instead.

There's lots of new features, but focusing on the topics that have been most discussed here:

- The reconnect function is now automatic and will find files that you have moved. It will also find files whose name you have changed as long as the date and size are unchanged.

- You can move photos from within Album (File > Move) to a different location in the file system, maintaining the links. You can move offline photos from CDs to the hard disk and retain their catalog connections.

- You can rename the top-level tag categories, and you can add your own. (Tags are, however, still limited to the same three-level hierarchy.)

- You can use drag-and-drop in the tag pane to reorganize your tags and subcategories.

- Many RAW formats are supported, including most cameras from Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Minolta, and Fujifilm.

- When you share via email, the tags are embedded in the files (if you so choose), and the recipient can choose to import the tag information.

- The Video CD function has been completely rewritten. Standard Video CDs have higher quality than before and fill the screen (if you choose the full-screen template). You also now have the option of "high quality" mode, which provides 704 x 480 resolution but does not support video, audio, or transitions.

- Disc burning has been extensively reworked to improve compatibility with more drives and other software. Archive now gives the option to save the edited versions only, or both the edited versions and the original.

- There's an additional organizing dimension: Collections. Collections work like tags, except that photos within collections can be reordered. Collections replace the workspace window in Album 1.0; you can think of them as named workspaces. Tags are intended for identifying things about the photo; collections are for making groups of photos for a particular purpose, such as printing or sharing.

- In the creation wizard, you can now change "photos per page" on a per-page basis (for most templates), you can scale and reposition photos within the frames on the page, and you can add and rearrange photos within the wizard.

- Thumbnails are now scalable to almost any size, rather than just three fixed choices.

- The Fix Photo window offers new lighting and color fix algorithms, with slider adjustments, and there is a slider to adjust the amount of sharpening.

- Auto Fix of color and lighting can be batch applied from the photo well.

- You can apply a caption to any number of photos at the same time.

- You can optionally show file names in the photo well.

- There's support for sharing to cell phones, Palm PDAs, and TiVo set-tops.

And more... Not all the features you've all asked for have been implemented yet, but I think you'll agree that this version is a huge step forward. It is also an indication of the pace of advancement you can look for in the future

[KarlJones]

iView Media Pro on the Mac... waiting for PC version. Until then, ACDSee 6, and CompuPic Pro 6 on the PC.

[psk4363]

I'm with Steve Collins on this one and my vote goes with ACDSee. It's simply superb!

Barry

[japeterson]

I've relied on ACDsee as a database and browser for about 4 years.. from 3 to 4. to 5.0. Last week I tried the new 6.0 without hesitation, since other upgrades have always been well developed and trouble- free.

Not the case with 6.0. Had one computer crash, mass of errors, install errors also. graphic faults, it was terrible. This is like a very crude beta. I cleaned it off my computers and went back to 5.0

This isn't only me. I've read other postings and forums with the same experience.

For now - avoid ACDsee 6.0