Find the answers to all your questions about ACDSee Photo Editor, the newest member of the ACDSee family.

Transcription

1 Reviewer s Guide Find the answers to all your questions about ACDSee Photo Editor, the newest member of the ACDSee family. Discover ACDSee Photo Editor. Find out about its key features. Get pricing and contact information ACD Systems Ltd. All rights reserved. ACDSee, the ACDSee logo, ACD and the ACD Systems logos are trademarks of ACD Systems Ltd. in the U.S. and other countries. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

2 Table of Contents What s new in ACDSee Photo Editor... 4 Getting Started... 5 How-tos... 6 Variations... 7 The Vignette Tool and Automatic Adjustments... 8 Creative Effects and Projects... 9 Enhancing and Fixing Photos The Object Palette Pricing Contact Information

3 Introduction Welcome to ACDSee Photo Editor. Photo Editor is a new creative software for photo enthusiasts who want to be able to do truly creative things with their family shots. Photo Editor teaches users how to be creative with their digital photos and learn how to get the best results in the shortest number of steps. It has the tools and clear instruction they need to turn their digital pictures into something truly memorable - photos that will last a lifetime. With Photo Editor users can create stylized photos for use in cards, albums, and calendars of kids, friends, extended family, vacations, and memorable moments for everyone to share. They can add vignettes, make quick automatic adjustments, and see Variations of the changes their making for maximum creative choice. Photo Editor shows the user exactly how to make the creative changes they want, such as adding Lens Flare, Glowing Edges, Oil Paint, and other cool effects that are easy to apply. It also offers creative project ideas, and shows the user the steps and tools the need to follow to turn their creative vision into reality. Users can also fix common photo problems like poor exposure, red-eye, awkward framing, fuzziness, skin blemishes, lens flares, etc, or accomplish amazing photo projects with all the support and resources they need to get the best creative results. And, with guided walk-throughs called How-tos built right into the application, each and every step to creating perfect photos is easy and enjoyable. The purpose of this Reviewer s Guide is to provide a brief overview of how easy it is to be creative with photos using ACDSee Photo Editor. Available in English, French, German, and Dutch, ACDSee continues to be the photo management software of choice for millions of consumers worldwide. 3

4 What s new in ACDSee Photo Editor Photo enthusiasts can create and edit their photos with more speed and ease than any other software of its kind. ACDSee Photo Editor s amazing usability means people with large collections can truly be creative with their photos. For ACDSee Photo Editor users: 1 Photo Editor is Windows Vista Certified, providing the best possible experience when viewing, managing and publishing your photos on Windows Vista, XP and How-tos. Guided walk-throughs that teach users how to be creative with their photos. They show how to do many different creative tasks with photos, step by step, from start to finish. 3 Adjustment/Filter Variations. Display up to 8 different previews of the original photo, each preview showing a different variation of the effect, adjustment, or filter the user is applying. 4 Batch editing. Any Adjustments/Filters the user wants to apply can be done to more than one photo at a time with just a couple of clicks. 5 Image Basket. Displays thumbnails of any photos a user is working on, so they can see the work they ve already done. 6 Vignette tool. Creates stunning portrait-style photos that can go into a family album, or be used to make gift cards or pages in a family-tree project. 7 Cookie Cutter tool. Quickly crop a composition into fun shapes like letters and numbers, then use them as titles, dates, or fun captions on photos. 8 Auto-Adjustments. One-click Auto Color Balance, Auto Levels, Auto Sharpen, or Auto Contrast. 9 Repair tool. Easily remove blemishes, spots, or scratches from a photo instantly. 10 Text Support. Users have the ability to add clever, descriptive, or funny text to albums. Users can add both vertical and horizontal text in the size and font-style. 11 Properties Bar. Shows all the options available for the tool they re using, so they can tweak and customize the effect to get the creative results they want. 12 Gradients. Apply pre-set color gradients, or create their own and apply them to text and objects in photos for a layered color scheme. 4

5 Getting Started System Requirements For people to browse and view their images and videos, and listen to audio files with ACDSee, it s necessary that their systems include the following components: Hardware Software Minimum Intel Pentium 4-class or equivalent. 512 MB RAM 100 MB free hard drive space 16-bit color or higher Windows 2000 Microsoft Internet Explorer Recommended 1024x768 or higher screen resolution CD/DVD burner - for creating CDs and DVDs Windows 2000 or Windows XP or Windows Vista 5

6 How-tos Photo Editor has a feature called the How-tos that offer step-by-step instruction on a variety of popular and useful photo tasks, complemented with visual examples and cues. The How-tos teach users how to do even the most basic tasks with their photos, like Getting Photos and Opening Files and Photos, so the user won t get lost inside the program trying to figure out what to do next. Each How-to walks the user through the task they ve selected from the How-to menu. It shows them exactly how to make each change in the creative process, with detailed and easy-to-follow visual and written instructions. Nothing in the How-tos has been left to the imagination, except the part where the user gets to be truly creative. Take for example Photo Editor s Adjustments and Effects: How-tos on Effects teach about Antiquing a photo, Applying a Vignette, Converting a photo to black & white or sepia, and more. Even if a user doesn t know what a vignette or holographic image is, the How-tos will teach the user exactly what they need to know about adding one to a photo, as well as any other creative changes they d like to make. Each How-to takes them through a specific creative task, from start to finish. On top of easy alterations like Brightening a Photo or fixing Red-Eye with a single-click, the How-tos can also teach users how to do theme based projects, like creating a greeting card, CD cover, wine label, or scrapbook page. 6

7 Variations To be truly creative the user has to have the freedom to choose. That s why we ve designed the Variations window in Photo Editor. The Variations window displays up to 8 different previews of the original photo a user is working from, right on screen, with each preview showing a different variation of the effect, adjustment, or filter their applying. Think of Variations like a catalog of visual options. It shows different ways a photo could look based on the kind of change being made. Users can look at the previews and decide which one they like best. If the user wants a brighter version of the effect, or a greater degree of creative distortion. All they have to do is click on the one they like, and it will show 8 more variations based on their selection to allow fine-tuning of preferences for the perfect effect. We also understand that sometimes the user already knows the look they want but doesn t know quite how to achieve it. Colors, for example, can be very difficult to master. With Photo Editor, however, the user doesn t need to understand how a color wheel works our how terms like Hue and Saturation affect a photo all they have to do is choose the picture they like the best from the different variations. And, every time a user adds a filter or makes an adjustment, the fixed photo appears alongside the original photograph, so they can see what their photo looks like before and after, without having to move back and forth between screens. Advanced users can use the slider bars and value fields at the bottom of the screen. 7

8 The Vignette tool and Automatic Adjustments Use the Vignette tool in Photo Editor to create a classical look that in the past only professional photographers could create. With a couple of clicks and drags the user can very easily apply a vignette to a photo a process that in other software often entails multiple, more advanced steps. Just click on the Vignette tool in the Create toolbar, then drag across the photo. A rectangular framework with a circle inside appears on the photo. Users can easily adjust its dimensions to get the vignette they want. When a user applies a vignette it showcases the part of the photo they ve selected. They can use this tool to naturally frame the subject and create stunning portraits of family members and friends. The Vignette tool creates a portrait that can go into a family album, be turned into a gift card, or used as a page in a family calendar. Users can also cut their photos into creative shapes with the Cookie Cutter tool. This tool allows the user to quickly crop a composition into fun shapes like letters and numbers, then use them as titles, dates, or captions. Cookie Cutter shapes come in all kinds, such weather and seasonal shapes, animals, celebrations (birthdays and holidays), and many more. They re great for creating photos for use in collages, scrapbooking, or photo albums. Users are also able to draw their own personalized objects with the Freehand tool by simply dragging the pointer and coming up with whatever shapes they can imagine. Plus, the Autoadjustments in Photo Editor are great for one-click fixes like Auto Color Balance, Auto Levels, Auto Sharpen, or Auto Contrast. Or try Auto Fix, which does the necessary adjustments. 8

9 Creative Effects and Projects With Photo Editor the user can make their own scrapbook pages, CD covers, T-shirt transfers, party invitations, and a lot more. They can stylize photos with special effects and filters like antiquing, adding a motion blur, or applying a mirror effect. They can also add clever, descriptive, or funny text to photo albums in the size and font-style of their choosing. They can also use drop shadows for visual emphasis, or even wrap the text inside an object (like a star or heart shape), or write text in the shape of a curve for added creative flare. Photo Editor allows the user to apply any color to their pictures, in different styles, using brushes like Paintbrush, Airbrush, Pencil, Marker and Neon. Working on a special project? Easily customize the size, shape, and effect of brushes and save them for future use. Users can create and apply color gradients too. With Photo Editor applying pre-set color gradients, or creating customized ones and applying them to text and objects in a photo is great for getting a layered color scheme that most photo enthusiasts would probably think only a professional could create. Users are also able to create cutting-edge metallic looks, colorful rainbow effects, or softer color blends to get the look and style they want. For maximum creative ease, the Image Basket acts as a virtual work table where the users can put all their photos in one convenient place, and view them while they work. 9

10 Enhancing and Fixing Photos Users can get perfect photos with amazing editing and creative tools that save flawed pictures and make average shots look fantastic. Remove red-eye, correct colors, adjust exposure, insert customized text, crop, rotate and resize photos, and apply a range of amazing creative filters, effects, and automatic adjustments. The Repair tool makes quick photo repairs, allowing the user to quickly and easily remove blemishes, spots, or scratches from a photo and get the results they re looking for almost instantly. In the Toolbar at the top of the screen users will find everything they need to fix and be creative with their photos. Below the Toolbar is the Properties bar the control center for each tool. As soon as a user clicks on a tool, the Properties Bar will show all of the relevant options so that they can tweak and customize the effect to their liking. Users can also instantly rotate photos into the right position, and crop pictures quickly and easily to remove unwanted parts of a photo or to focus on the best part of an imperfect shot. Photo Editor has powerful and fast fix tools common to the best photo editing software, like Red Eye, Dodge, Burn, Sharpen, and Smudge, and to fix a whole photo or only small areas. 10

11 The Object Palette The Object Palette allows users to manage the creation of photo compositions ranging from simple to sophisticated, by keeping the various objects in a composition separate from each other yet visually unified, so they can work on different components of a photo or project with greater detail and control. In the Object Palette a user can turn objects on and off, group, move, and apply cool looking filters to some or all of their objects. A user can quickly and easily move around, show or hide all the objects in their project until they get just the right look. Moving text around, offsetting photos, stacking one image on top of another, and rearranging everything until the desired look is achieved is easy. Photo Editor is a powerful program that will keep users interested and challenged as their skill level grows. As they get more advanced and want to be more precise in the ways they create with their photos, they ll inevitably want to explore Photo Editor s masking capabilities. Masking provides ultimate creative flexibility, allowing the user to adjust the transparency (how much background is allowed to show through) of an object at the pixel level. By using masks a user can blend images together and apply fades for stunning and professional-looking results. Advanced users will also appreciate Photo Editor s Selection tools, which offer a number of ways to adjust and edit specific pixels in a photo. 11

12 About ACD Systems Headquartered in Victoria, BC, Canada since 1993, ACD Systems (TSX:ASA) is one of the world s leading developers and marketers of digital imaging software. Our products provide consumers and professionals with everything they need to manage, create, edit, share, and publish content for print, presentation and the Web faster, easier, and more efficiently. Through advanced Internet distribution and strategic partnerships, ACD has accrued millions of users and over 33,000 corporate customers worldwide, including many Fortune 500 companies. Pricing ACDSee Photo Editor - $69.99 USD and 59,99 including VAT for electronic download from or retail box version from select retailers. Available in English, French, and German ACDSee Photo Editor Dutch version - $59.99 USD and 49,98 including VAT for electronic download and retail box version from select retailers. Contact Information For Media Brian Harris Director, Marketing ACD Systems International Inc Keating Cross Road, Block C Victoria, BC Canada V8M 2A pr@acdsee.com For Customer Service/Technical Support