Digital Home Thoughts: ACDSEE 7.0 Power Pack: Powerful and Refined

A Surprinsingly Useful Photo Editor


Figure 2: Photo Editor 3.0.

Photo Editor 3.0 is also included, which is perfect for the basic functions of cropping, resizing, etc. In some ways I still find the software clumsy - why should I have to hit a key to see a 100% view of my image after a resize? - but it loads up instantly and allows me to quickly edit an image, which I can't say for my very slow main photo editing application, Ulead's PhotoImpact 10. All told, it's a surprisingly capable photo editor - I'm still discovering what it can do, but I tend to fall back on PhotoImpact for any serious editing simply because I know the tool better. The integration is a bit wonky as well - when I right click on an image and select Edit with ACDSee, you'd think it would put me into Photo Editor 3.0. Well, I could have sworn it used to, but now when I do that I get the "lite" photo editing interface of ACDSee 7.0, and I don't know how to get into the Photo Editor 3.0. The application integration needs some work.

Given that the Power Pack is a fairly expensive $79.99 USD, I'm not sure why they didn't include PhotoPro as well for people who use RAW, but this may be one of those instances where PhotoPro is made by an outside company and ACD Systems is reselling the application.

The Weak Link in the Chain



The last component is FotoSlate 3, and I think this is the weakest part of the suite. It's essentially a photo printing tool designed to allow you to print almost anything on almost any type of paper, and to maximize the efficiency of the print job by putting different sizes of images on the page. I use it to print out small photos for scrapbooks (eight to a page), but I find it awkward to use. There are so many templates it's hard to find the right ones, and I was unable to do something as simple as reduce the margins on a page. I prefer Picasa for printing - FotoSlate needs some serious work. It doesn't have the same smooth flow as the other apps in this bundle dd - it feels like it was tacked on as an afterthought.

Software Activation
With the release of this bundle, ACD Systems has started using a software activation scheme - meaning the software won't work until it's activated and communicates back to the ACDSEE server. I tend to dislike activation schemes, because they put the ultimate power into the hands of the company, not the person who paid for the software. Ultimately, the software activation isn't too heinous on this case - I was able to activate the software on two laptops and my desktop, which is all I needed. I applaud ACD Systems for acknowledging that more and more people use multiple computers, and the concept of someone buying a copy of the software for every computer they use it on is ridiculous. But what happens when I install it on the new PC that I'm building? I have to contact ACD Systems and explain why I need another activation - and what happens if they ever go out of business? I understand the need to protect themselves from piracy, but I wish there was a better way to do so.

Conclusion
All said, in the past few months since starting to use the ACDSEE 7.0 Power Pack, I've found myself using other programs less and less, and these apps more and more. It's a powerful, fast software bundle that's highly optimized for a fast workflow. ACD Systems gave me the software for free for this review, but if they hadn't, I would have bought it myself - and that's the highest praise I can give any application.