ACDSystems the authors of the excellent image browsing / viewing application have today announced ACDSee 4.0 (Windows). ACDSee has been the browser of choice here at dpreview for some time, and it just keeps getting better. New features include a new interface, a full screen file-browsing mode, 10 new multimedia formats, enhanced slide shows, zoom level by pixels or percentages, catalog photos from CD (for offline browsing), browse thumbnails and file details in a column view and 'first frame thumbnail' for video files. Download a free trial, buy ($49.95) or upgrade ($34.95) today. This version also supports Canon RAW files (CRW) - although VERY SLOWLY.

Click here for the ACDSee 4.0 webpage

New Features in ACDSee™ 4.0

A More User-friendly Interface

• ACDSee 4.0's new "flat" interface enables you to see and access any program functions from the main window by clicking tabs to activate functional panes. You won't need to use drop-down menus or leave the main window to access special dialog boxes and you can continue to browse thumbnails while pursuing other functions. This creates a more streamlined workflow by eliminating the need to open and close separate program areas to perform key functions.
• You can also access the entire set of program functions via the new activity wizard available in the main and view windows. The activity wizard helps beginners and novices understand the benefits and usage of every function.
• Expand file browsing area to full screen.

Viewing and Browsing Enhancements

• View over 10 new multimedia formats (DirectX 8.0, QuickTime 5.0 and GhostScript 7.0 may be needed to view some additional file formats).
• Add sound, text, transition effects and advanced timing to slide shows.
• Set zoom levels by pixels or percentages.
• Set and lock image size in the view window.
• Catalog photos from CDs for future browsing.
• Browse thumbnails from your entire CD collection without loading or switching discs.
• Browse thumbnails with file details in a columned format.
• See the first frame of video files in thumbnails view.
• Filter multimedia files by folders, media type, archives, albums and hidden files.
• Restrict the folders view to My Pictures only (Albums pane) to simplify browsing.
• Play video and sound files in the new multimedia window with full playback control

ACDSee 4.0 screenshots

Example of thumbnail view

Example of information view (note EXIF data)

Phil: first bug - If you set viewer mode to 'full screen' and also 'reduce large images to fit' the image is not reduced in size when viewed (this did work in 3.1). Half-workaround: once you're at a zoom level which gives you a full view (such as 50%) press CTRL+Numpad /, this will lock this zoom level.