Effortlessly view and print your photos with a fast and intuitive interface
Effortlessly view and print your photos with a fast and intuitive interface
Vote (227 votes)
Program license Free
Developer ACDSee
Version 2.4.0.957
Works under Windows
Vote
(227 votes)
Developer
ACDSee
Works under
Windows
Program license
Free
Version
2.4.0.957
Pros
- Quick Operation
- Multiple Print Settings
- Image Data Display
Cons
- Few Interesting Features
- Dull User Interface
ACDSee Free is a piece of software that helps you view images in the Windows operating system. The software is compact, it uses few system resources, and it operates at a high rate of speed.
One of the biggest complaints about the native image viewer on the Windows operating system, Windows Photo Viewer, is that it runs far too slowly. Those who feel that way should certainly try this small tool. The secret to the speed of the software is that it has none of the frills that typically take up processing speed and thus slow down the operation of a functional image viewer.
When most people go looking for a new image viewer, they typically do some research on one of the industry benchmark apps for such functionality. That app is Adobe Lightroom, and as part of the Adobe family of apps, it is exceptionally large even for an image viewer. Of course, that software has extra functionality that gives it the leg up on the industry it's known to have, but that doesn't mean it is the ideal image viewer for everyone. Its advanced functions make it slow, and it negatively affects your system in the same way.
You won't experience any sort of negative system affects when using ACDSee Free. The software responds to your commands in an instant, and the convenient 'Tools' menu provides a number of helpful utilities like the ability to set the current open image to your desktop as the background image. You can also quickly zoom in and out by using the '+' and '-' symbols.
ACDSee Free also comes with a number of integrated print controls that are exceptionally useful. If you decide you want to print your images after you've finishing browsing through them, the print settings are easily accessible so you can ensure the format is correct and the paper size is accurate. If you play around with the print options for a while, you'll be able to learn a great deal about the subtleties of the tool.
The unfortunate truth of the situation is that ACDSee Free is a weak image viewer for the same reason it's a strong image viewer. It offers lighting-fast operation, but it comes at the cost of any advanced functionality or complex graphic interface. The speed of the software is nice when working with large batches of images, but beyond that, the built-in Windows Photo Viewer will provide any Windows user with adequate image viewing functionality. There aren't any convincing arguments in favor of looking for another image viewer, but if you so choose, ACDSee Free is a good option that costs nothing to try.
If ACDSee Free had just a few advanced functions, it might be on par with or better than Windows Photo Viewer. The software is fully compatible with EMF, WMF, WBMP, PCX, TIFF, PNG, TGA, GIF, JPEG, PIC, and BMP file formats.
Pros
- Quick Operation
- Multiple Print Settings
- Image Data Display
Cons
- Few Interesting Features
- Dull User Interface
Pros
- View, store and organize images
- Zoom, scroll, crop, rotate and more
- Social media and other online tools
- Create PowerPoint presentations from within ACDSee
Cons
- UI a bit mundane
- Feature limitations in free version
- Photo editing tools a bit basic
ACDSee is a powerful tool for viewing, organizing and sharing images.
If you require a Windows program that can view, store and organize images, then ACDSee is a strong option and comes in a free version. Perhaps what’s most impressive about the program is that despite the sheer number of features and options, the user interface is easy to use and simple to learn. You’ll rarely find yourself hunting for an obvious feature.
The program also includes a number of image editing features. You can zoom, scroll, crop, rotate and more. It’s an excellent tool with which to print images as well because it provides a lot of advanced printing options and makes some trickier print jobs relatively simple. ACDSee can also help you manipulate images on your desktop, such as setting a new background from your image collection.
ACDSee is particularly impressive as an image organizer too. You can rename images, tag them and set data within the meta information. You can organize your images into folders and the program even has full support for compressed archives. If you need to search for a particular image or group of images, you can do that based on keywords, tags, meta information and other details.
The newest addition to the ACDSee feature set is the online sharing tools. You can upload images to a wide range of sources from within the app, and it supports email too. There’s specific support for social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. There’s also a customizeable photo widget that you can drop onto any blog or website. There are integrated PowerPoint tools as well, and you can actually create an entire PowerPoint slideshow from within ACDSee without actually using PowerPoint.
The UI is a bit on the drab side, and it’s starting to seem more outdated with each iteration that it remains unchanged. The photo tools are nice but a bit basic as well, and most users are going to need a separate image-editing suite. Finally, there are some feature limitations in the free version, and for full access, you’ll need to upgrade to the professional version.
Pros
- View, store and organize images
- Zoom, scroll, crop, rotate and more
- Social media and other online tools
- Create PowerPoint presentations from within ACDSee
Cons
- UI a bit mundane
- Feature limitations in free version
- Photo editing tools a bit basic
