Conclusion

The last ACDSee program we reviewed was Pro 5 and the main issue we had was it's random crashing. Many readers and users reported mixed reviews of crashing or complete instability. Pro 7 is a breeze in terms of crashing. We didn't get a single error from it while using it. That was even with multiple programs running, importing huge files of images and batch processing. So it seems that whether you had problems or not, ACDSee have solved any potential issues in version 7.

As with any program of this design, there's a distinct emphasis on the tagging side of pictures. Bear in mind that there's arguably nothing more boring in photography than adding keywords to your pictures. However, it is a God-send if you have a large catalogue of images and you need to find that one shot of a daffodil from three years ago.

The gradient filters are a great idea, but it's not new technology. The advantage you have is that it's now cheaper to get it. It would be good to see filters such as Neutral Density available on the gradient filters which would make them a lot more useful to landscape photographers. By only using colours, if they're not implemented properly, the pictures could end up looking sickly. Some of the special effects have a similar problem. The raindrops look completely artificial, for example and while we understand that they are artificial, we don't see who could use them like that.

After using ACDSee, we can confidently say that it's a vast improvement on Pro 5. The workflow is just as easy to navigate but the speed has been improved (although is still an issue) and the stability is now spot on.

Clicking the purchase button on the ACDSee website still adds the 365 Basic Plan and the Extended Download Service on your bill. These should really be asked about and not assumed you want them. But, they're automatically added to your bill and the onus is on you to remove them, which isn't really fair. They push the price from $199 (around £119) to $255 (around £150).

If you're a current user of ACDSee Pro 7 or a newcomer to it, then you should find it an easy to use program, but remember you can always trial it first to see if you can cope with the workflow.

Ratings (out of 5)
Features	4
Ease-of-use	4
Value for money	4.5

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