# free alternative for storing photos and managing meta data



## Newmarket2 (Aug 14, 2017)

I've been using LR for years and love it.  We've got a small business and my partner, who isn't familiar with LR and doesn't need most of the LR features associated with post-processing.
But we she does need to keep track of images that we receive and then publish in FB posts, ads, on our website, etc
Currently, these images are being stored in Windows folders and tags, titles, etc are being added manually to the file meta-data and then updated as the image is used.
A 2nd copy of LR is overkill and will be distracting with all the other capabilities, so what we really need is a free (or inexpensive) alternative that supports the easy assigning of pre-defined keywords to images.

Hope you've got some suggestions!
And, thanks


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## clee01l (Aug 14, 2017)

Take a look at iMatch.  it's not free but there is a free trial.
imatch


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## Newmarket2 (Aug 14, 2017)

Cletus,  at this stage, $100 is still a bit steep.
I would imagine, and I could be wrong, that there are quite a few free ones.


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## clee01l (Aug 14, 2017)

Data Asset Managers (DAM tools) are not generally something that itinerant programmers develop for their own amusement and give away free.   Indeed iMatch, before they were sold to phoTools, did have a free license. But like all good things with a marketing potential this soon is seen by venture capitalists.


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## Newmarket2 (Aug 14, 2017)

"DAM" is the generic term for file management...not just for images but for any file?  

And, for any tool that used to be free, there are often several new ones that are still free.


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## Hal P Anderson (Aug 14, 2017)

Have you tried the obvious? Google "free DAM tool"?


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## Newmarket2 (Aug 14, 2017)

Hal, I got a bit distracted looking at open-source DAM tools...many of which have been abandoned.
Seems Google Pictures is the default, but I need to make sure it doesn't "help" me and suck in all our personal photos


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## Roelof Moorlag (Sep 4, 2017)

On my shortlist to examine are XNviewMP, Darktable and Digicam but i can not give any advise yet.


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## Linwood Ferguson (Sep 4, 2017)

I don't mean to sound rude, but if you consider the maximum is $10/mo for a CC subscription, if this is a business and someone is being paid by the hour, can that really be too much to spend to save a lot of time?   Especially if some of the tools like publishing tools for various web sites and social media might save time as well? 

I am a huge believer in open source software and have converted several clients over to it for specific needs.  But you have to be in a venue where there is active and competent participation by developers, or you just end up with something half working and/or abandonware.  You also may spend a ton of time trying to work around such limitations, keep it current and/or working with new OS versions, and end up with a false economy.

Maybe there are some good tools out there, and I'll watch to see what people find. But I would urge you to consider the total cost of a product not just the purchase price.


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## Colin Grant (Sep 5, 2017)

Adobe Bridge is free. No editing capability but a pretty good organiser.


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## Linwood Ferguson (Sep 5, 2017)

Colin Grant said:


> Adobe Bridge is free. No editing capability but a pretty good organiser.


I'm confused, as I no longer use it, but it used to be you could run ACR (which is also free I think?) from Bridge?   Or has that changed? 

Back in the day pre-lightroom, I did about 90% of my editing in Bridge with ACR only, the rest falling into Photoshop.  There were whole books (Bruce Fraiser I think?) written on that workflow.

But if it and ACR are free and it still does that it's a good alternative for people who don't want any organizing facility and minimal editing.


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## Colin Grant (Sep 5, 2017)

The organising in Bridge is reasonable from what I can see, but depends on what one wants I suppose. There will always be a trade off if you want free stuff. As I understand it you can only run ACR in Bridge if you have a licensed copy of LR/PS. I can find nowhere on the Adobe site to download ACR.


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## Linwood Ferguson (Sep 5, 2017)

Colin Grant said:


> The organising in Bridge is reasonable from what I can see, but depends on what one wants I suppose. There will always be a trade off if you want free stuff. As I understand it you can only run ACR in Bridge if you have a licensed copy of LR/PS. I can find nowhere on the Adobe site to download ACR.


Ah, well that's the catch.

And there's always the manufacturer's own editors.

I've told many people: don't go the Lightroom way if all you want to do is have an affair.  You have to marry it, and plan on living together for a while.


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## Johan Elzenga (Sep 5, 2017)

Colin Grant said:


> Adobe Bridge is free. No editing capability but a pretty good organiser.



Is it? I thought that Adobe Bridge came with Photoshop, which is obviously not free.


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## Hal P Anderson (Sep 5, 2017)

JohanElzenga said:


> Is it?



Evidently it is: It’s True: Adobe Bridge CC Is Completely Free for Everyone, for Life!


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## Colin Grant (Sep 5, 2017)

It is now free, it is part of the free bits of CC. You need an Adobe account to download it -http://prodesigntools.com/free-adobe-bridge-cc.html


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## Johan Elzenga (Sep 6, 2017)

Interesting. Because Camera Raw is free too, that would indeed mean that you essentially have a free 'Lightroom like' combination. And people who still use Photoshop CS6 could get the latest version of ACR this way. Unless the ACR installer refuses to install if there is no compatible version of Photoshop on the disk.


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## Colin Grant (Sep 6, 2017)

You cannot download ACR as far as I can see. It comes with PS and LR and installs itself into Bridge. If you delete PS/LR I believe ACR might stay on your computer and work in Bridge but it does not upgrade. That is how I understand it and certainly I can find no download link for a standalone ACR.


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## Roelof Moorlag (Sep 6, 2017)

How i understand it that ACR stays up to date in Bridge, also when there is no Photoshop or Ligthroom installed. It can than only be used in read mode so you can display all supported formats, also the new one.
For editing you need Photoshop or Lightroom. 
Bridge/ACR-only can edit metadata however.


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