About ACDSee
Where it All Started
From developing one of the world’s first digital asset managers to engineering the world’s first digital asset manager and RAW editor with layers, to more recent innovations such as advanced Artificial Intelligence tools, ACDSee has been on the cutting edge of creative software since 1994.
Branching out from image viewing, digital asset management, format conversion, relational databases, and cataloging, to image editing, plug-ins, support for RAW images, online functionality, image manipulation, video recording and editing, layered editing, mobile apps, and much more, ACDSee has evolved each and every year since its inception. Recently, ACDSee has taken a deep dive into enhancing existing features with AI to make tedious tasks a thing of the past.
After three decades of software innovation, the ACDSee brand now serves individuals and businesses in every corner of the globe.
Did you know?
From Then to Now
1994
The first version of ACDSee was initially distributed via Bulletin Board System (BBS). It sold for $15 USD.
1995
The first version of PicaView was released. PicaView was a fast and effective image viewing software.
1997
ACDSee 95 and ACDSee 32 are released. 95 was the first 32-bit version. 32 had file management, thumbnails, format conversion, and animated GIF support.
1999
Major features were added to ACDSee 3.o. Added image editing, plug-ins, video, scanner, and digital camera import, as well as online functionality.
2001
First version of ACDSee for Windows CE pocket PCs was released. A pocket PC was similar to a smartphone, only a pocket PC cannot make phone calls.
2002
Increased file management functionality in ACDSee 5.0. Added relational database, calendar view, and categories.
2004
LCE Research began. LCE is now known as Light EQ™.
2005
Released ACDSee 7.0 with support for digital camera RAW images. RAW images are images that have not been compressed and thus are extremely high quality.
2006
ACDSee Pro was released with our pioneering LCE technology. Our patented LCE technology allows you to make light adjustments in specific areas of an image without affecting others.
2007
ACDSee 8 and ACDSee 9 were launched in all languages. ACDSee software was developed in English, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, and more.
2009
The first version of ACDSee Mac was released. ACDSee continues to develop its Mac software.
2011
ACDSee launched 4 new products. ACDSee Pro 4, ACDSee Mac Pro 1, ACDSee Video Converter, and ACDSee Online, an online photo sharing site.
2013
ACDSee Photo Editor 6 was launched. It included stunning effects and filters, and the ability to work with object layers.
2014
20 years of software greatness was celebrated with the launch of ACDSee Ultimate 8 – the first digital asset management software with layered editor.
2016
More incredible features, like edge detection brushing and selecting, were added with the release of ACDSee Ultimate 10.
2017
Photo Editor 10, Photo Studio 2018 suite, and Photo Studio for Mac 4 were launched to provide total photography control on all platforms.
2018
ACDSee continued to be the best digital asset manager on the market by adding powerful new features, such as Face Detection & Facial Recognition, with the release of Photo Studio Ultimate 2019 & Photo Studio Professional 2019.
2019
Packed with user-driven features and improvements, ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate, Professional, and Home 2020 were released. ACDSee also provided for the creative needs of the entire family with the release of Home Pack 2020. VS 4 was launched, giving users a versatile video recording, editing, and production product all rolled into one.
2020
Continuing to top the digital asset management market, ACDSee Photo Studio Home, Professional, and Ultimate 2021 were released. This introduced rebuilt and heavily improved features such as Batch Rename and Batch Resize. Color Wheel and Tone Wheels were also added to Develop and Edit modes. Photo Studio for Mac 7 was released, which introduced the Brush & Gradient tools as well as Heal & Clone Repair tools in Develop mode. Luxea Video Editor, a new all-in-one video editing and recording tool, also saw its release this year.
2021
Big Things Ahead: ACDSee Photo Studio Home, Professional and Ultimate 2022 released. This saw with it the introduction of Media mode and People mode. Additional features such as improved HDR, Focus Stacking, and Noise Reduction were also added. Luxea Video Editor 6 was released with an improved Production Assistant, and many other recording and editing improvements. Gemstone Photo Editor 12, a powerful lightweight layered photo editor, was also released. It introduced the ability to edit multiple images simultaneously using Multi-Document Interfacing (MDI). Photo Studio for Mac 8 was released as a Universal app, allowing it to run natively on Apple silicon resulting in significantly improved performance. Additionally, Mac 8 now includes ACDSee Mobile Sync.
2022
ACDSee Free was released, bringing a fast, powerful, and free file browser to Windows users everywhere. Free brings with it the ability to view RAW camera file formats as well as a multitude of other file types, in addition to lightning-fast loading, allowing users to view thousands of photos quickly. June also saw the release of SendPix, allowing users to seamlessly share their memories with friends and family.
2023
ACDSee celebrates 30 years of software engineering with a multitude of new and improved Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven features in ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate and Professional 2024. ACDSee Photo Studio Home 2024 was released as well, continuing to provide a trusted solution for digital asset management and basic photo editing. The release of ACDSee Photo Studio for Mac 10 introduced two new modes, People mode and Media mode, giving photographers everything they need to stay organized on the Mac platform.
2024
This year marked the release of ACDSee’s artistic MDI powerhouse, ACDSee Gemstone Photo Editor 14, which integrated cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology with powerful photo editing features – like AI Sky Replacement, AI Face Edit, and AI Masking, just to name a few – to compliment it’s strong suite of core functions. A new education initiative was also introduced this year, offering free ACDSee software for K-12 and Post-Secondary Institutions. This groundbreaking program is designed to provide the next generation of creative thinkers and problem solvers the tools they need to thrive in the digital world. ACDSee’s flagship product line, ACDSee Photo Studio, saw the launch of version 2025 which included many new features and improvements, most notably a GPU-accelerated upgrade to AI-driven editing functions and the new batch AI Super-Resolution, for supercharged photo editing and digital asset management.
Capture the potential of your creative content.
Join people from around the world who have made the most of their original assets with ACDSee’s flexible technology.