ACDsee is bucking the trend for combining photo-editing and management tools in one application. Photo Editor does just that, editing. If you want to organise your photo library you'll have to pay extra for ACDSee 10 Photo Manager. Having said that, Photo Editor is around half the price of some of the other applications in this group test and there's a special bundle price for the two applications on the ACDSee website which still comes in well below Rs. 2,200 (approx). So the choice is yours and it's good value either way.

So to the Editor which, at first glance, has a bit of a retro look about it. The central image window is surrounded on three sides by a toolbar, image basket and on the right a palette dock containing how-to guidance, adjustment filters and an object palette.

Expanding the how-to palette reveals ACDSee's hidden treasure: a stack of guided projects covering the gamut from basic editing (opening and rotating photos) to photo fixing and creative projects.

Each one kicks off with a short introduction before taking you step-by-step through the task. Guided help is often a pretty cursory, click this, do that affair, by contrast ACDSee's how-tos are well written, informative and full of useful tips. In spite of the title, they don't simply tell you how to do something, but why, and advise you of other things you might want to try as well. We also appreciated the way menu items and tools you need are helpfully highlighted on the menu and toolbars, making them very easy to locate if you're unfamiliar with the interface.

Name: ACDSystems ACDSee Photo Editor.jpg Views: 40152 Size: 51.3 KB

Once you get beyond the guidance, ACDSee Photo Editor has the look, feel and facilities of a fairly well¬equipped mid-range photo-editing application. It has many of the image-adjustment tools and effects filters found in Photoshop Elements and Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 including features such as object layers complete with blend modes and masks.

Photo Editor's selection tools could be improved. There's a selection of geometric marquees and a magic wand tool, but there are no intelligent selection or masking tools to help you isolate a subject from the background. We also couldn't find any means of selecting pixels on the basis of colour, so if you want to replace certain colours in a photo you'll soon come unstuck. For example, there isn't a simple way to turn your red car green or adjust only the skin tones in a specific photo.

Applying adjustments such as colour balance is made simple by the use of thumbnail variations providing alternative options. However, if you prefer it's also possible to perform this in the conventional way using RGB sliders. AIl adjustments are carried out in a modal dialogue box with big before and after previews and the option to save and apply your own presets. There's a comprehensive set of tonal adjustment tools including those to tinker with levels, curves and both shadows and highlights.

What it does, ACDSee Photo Editor does very well, and if you are looking for a competent application that will take you from beginner to intermediate digital photo editing then this package will suit you well. What it may lack in killer features such as makeover tools and multiple image merging, it makes up for by providing a solid image-editing feature set and first-rate guidance. This, combined with the price of just under Rs. 2,200 (approx), makes it a tempting choice for newcomers to digital editing.