[*]Manipulation of ALL metadata (EXIF, IPTC , XMP and user defined);
[*] user defined mapping of database properties to/from metadata fields, and user control of update timing - immediate (slower, safer), batch (better control), background (faster, less control);
[*]Ability to define the metadata fields that are to be kept in the "database", so that if I need to search all images on EXIF date/time taken, including those on offline or nearline storage, then I would have EXIF data/time taken in the database;
One of the things that ACDSee (Pro version) is doing fairly well: batch set exif/iptc info.
I have shortly glanced on other applications, but think ACDSee is pretty much ahead on this.
Users might even go as far as to merely set a few words under ACDSee's caption - and then batch 'copy' that to to other
ACDSee database fields (keywords, notes, categories, whatever) and also to EXIF/IPTC and even rename files after the caption.
So you more or less know what the file is about when using Explorer (detailmode).
After renaming the files, you can change back the modified date after Exif-shooting date.
I think other apps are either not having all this flexibility, or are fairly limited or it is quite complex.
That having said: ACDSee may be (very) slow when loading a large database.
And also ...
I have experienced ACDSee to be unstable at regular intervals: it may run fine for weeks and then all of a sudden may get you by surprise and produce an "ACDSee has encountered an error and will now close"-error.
This error usually cannot be solved.
Ah well, I admit, it cán be solved: just simply and totally uninstall ACDSee, try and find all relevant ACDSee registry-entries and remove them, also remove ACDSee's folders on C-drive etc.
Then reboot and re-install it again. After that you will be happy to go thru all the different settings again (tools/options), like
where to find the database, what to display under the thumbnails, custom view, etc.
Simply because ACDSee has no tool to save/restore a configuration, so you need to 'set' them again.
With some luck it will be okay again.
Until next time.
That's why you'd better have printscreens of all these settings available for future purposes.
Upgrading is always a drama - I know!
Oh... You won't get much help on issues like above.
Even 30 programmers cannot explain why photos, taken by the same camera, on the same session, all of a sudden show a shooting time of 0.123456 sec instead of 1/nnn, i.e. you may take 3 photos of one subject, 2 photos have 1/nnn the other one
0.123456 s. You may send the photos to ACDSee support, they recognize the issue. That's it.
(I am very sorry to let myself go too much here!)
Anyway.. as for XnView:
** What I am really missing in XnView is a similar kind of 'batch set' info like within ACDSee...
I have disabled ACDSee as my default viewer.
Just my 2 cents...
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