After ACDSee released ACDSee Photo Studio for Mac 6 a couple of months ago, there are only few reviews of this software. As a user of ACDSee Photo Studio for Mac, I think my review may be useful for the readers who are interested in this application. I ever wrote the article about Photo Studio for Mac 5 in my article called “The DAM Solution – Adobe Lightroom Alternatives” published in August 2019. Therefore, to make this writing short I will not repeat the contents of Photo Studio for Mac in that article.
What are the new features of ACDSee Photo Studio for Mac 6?
– You can access your iCloud from Photo Studio for Mac 6. In the picture below, you can upload your files to iCloud by clicking iCloud in the red circle at the lower left corner of the user interface.
– You can access your acdID user Portal from the application as shown in the above picture by clicking the icon in the green circle at the top right corner to sign in/sign out your acdID account.
– Saved Searches is the new feature that you can save your search for reuse it. This feature provides you many options like case sensitive, exact matches only, search selected folders only, include subfolder, database search and spotlight search.
Using Saved Searches, you just simply click the + sign at the Saved Searches section of the Organize pane as shown in the picture below. Then the Saved Search text box will be displayed.
– You can copy/paste metadata from a file to files by right click the selected file in the Manage mode and choosing Metadata/Copy. Then, there will be an option box for copying metadata. After clicking copy, you can select a file or files to paste the metadata.
– Newly improved browser history: you can hold down the Back button to view a list of your recently browsed folders as shown in the picture below. The Back button is in the red circle.
– Easy-Select Tabs are in front the folder tree. If you want to select/deselect multiple folders/subfolder, just click the easy select tabs instead of holding down the Command key & click.
– Quick look at pdf and video files: Normally reading pdf files and playing video files are read/played in the external reader/player. In this version, if you select the pdf or video file and then tap the space bar, the pdf or video files will be displayed/played by the application’s reader/player.
You can also have a quick look at Affinity Photo file. I think you have to install Affinity Photo before you can use a quick look to view afphoto file. The resolution of afphoto file is low because it may display only the thumbnail embedded in that file.
– The Map Pane in this version is different from that of version 5. You can change the Map into a dark mode by choosing the dark appearance in the System Preferences of your Mac.
– Newly improved keyword management: frequently used keyword sets come pre-loaded as Nature, Ocean, Forest, Urban, Architecture, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring. Anyway, you can create your own keyword sets by using Menu Tools/Metadata/Keyword Set.
You can also create hierarchical keywords like Asia <Malaysia <Penang. The established keyword lists can be imported and exported by using Menu Tools/Metadata/Import Keywords or Export /Keywords.
– You can create Category sets in this version by choosing Menu Tools/Category Set.
The picture below display the Category Sets in the red circle and the Keyword Sets in the green circle.
– Special Items in this version, ACDSee adds new items like Embed Pending, No Keywords, and Video (in the blue circle of the above picture.) So you just click the item, then the application will display your search.
All the new features in ACDSee Photo Studio for Mac 6 are only added in the Manage Mode. I see nothing new in the Develop Mode. Sadly, ACDSee does not respond to many users who have requested ACDSee to add some features to the new version such as clone and stamp tools, erase or repair tools, virtual copy, edit history, local adjustment like selection brush, dodge & burn brushes etc.
Quick Verdict
This is a powerful Digital Asset Management (DAM) application. The launch time is fast and quick in response in browsing, scrolling and searching. It is an effective improvement in terms of file management. New additional features in the Manage Mode are useful.
It is a disappointment of the Develop Mode in this version because there is no improvement.
Is it worth the upgrade?
That depends on whether the additional features of the DAM satisfies you or you are not happy with the unimproved editing features.