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Product Review: Extensis Portfolio 7.0

by Michael Fulks

 

 

Many of us who have been involved with digital photography have quickly found ourselves overwhelmed by the sheer number of images we accumulate. We watch our hard drives filling up and face the need to archive images to CD's or DVD’s. All too often, we lose track of them. Then, one day, a client asks for an image, and it takes long hours of searching through the archives to find it. The need for a way to manage and keep track of images becomes painfully apparent.

 

For those of us who use PC’s, the choices of image management software are great. I've tried many of them, and even though they offer a number of handy features,  I'm often frustrated with their lack of stability. One of my favorites provides all the features I need, but I have to reload it each month, because it stops working. When I do that, it loses its database, thus defeating the main purpose for which I was using it.

 

I was anxious to try the new Extensis Portfolio 7.0. It promised better stability and a competitive selection of features. I've been very happy with what I've discovered.

 

There are several features that for me are essential for any digital asset management system:

 

  1. It must integrate into my workflow. When I return from a shoot, I want to be able to download my files, quickly rename them, and organize them into the keepers and the losers. As I make changes within the folders, I want the software to keep up with me when I change files, move them around, or delete them entirely. I want to be able to preview my files no matter what format they're in--particularly if they're in RAW or Photoshop native files. Finally, when I'm finished working with files, I want to be able to archive them quickly from within the program and have the program keep track of where I put them by associating them with a unique identifier for the archive media.

  2. I want to be able to quickly view images within any folder as thumbnails and not wait every time for the program to regenerate the thumbnails. I also want to be able to click on any thumbnail and see a full-screen version of the image. And, sometimes, I want to run through a slide show in order to get a feel for how the images relate to one another.

  3. I want to be able to  generate web pages quickly from my images. The software should be able to assist me by providing templates as well as the flexibility with the pages to make the changes that will serve me best.

  4. I want to be able to assemble a set of images onto a CD from the DAM program to distribute to a customer or friends and family. Because not everyone will have my DAM program, and not everyone has software on his computer that lets him view images easily, the software should include a viewer on the CD, so Aunt Edna will be able to simply insert the CD and start viewing.

 

Is this list of features asking too much? Not really.  I was happy to see that the new version of Portfolio meets my needs. So what's new in this version that makes it worth a look?

 

 

 

 

The new Portfolio 7.0 interface

 

 

  1. New user interface. Portfolio uses galleries to help organize your files into logical collections. With one click, you can view your entire catalog or a predefined subset of files.

  2. The ability to collect images and burn to a CD. Discs are burned from within the program, eliminating the need for additional CD-burning software and making it easy to archive or produce a CD for distribution. Finally, I don’t have to keep flipping back and forth from software to software! In addition, as part of this feature, Portfolio remembers where you put your images when you archive them.

  3. Image conversion. Portfolio can now convert your catalog images into Jpeg or Tiffs and, in the process, change image size, resolution, and color mode. There is also a batch function that can convert a number of images at the same time.

  4. Metadata Control. If you've seen the power of metadata, especially in the new Photoshop CS, you'll appreciate this: Portfolio can embed metadata that can be read by other programs such as Photoshop. Important information about your images can be attached to your images right within Portfolio.

  5. Contact sheet printing. If you've worked with film, you already understand the importance of contact sheet printing.

  6. Web Creation wizard. The wizard is easy enough for a novice to use, providing pre-designed templates, but it's also powerful enough for the experienced user to work with HTML.

  7. Email capabilities. Portfolio will create an e-mail-able version of your images for easy distribution to friends or customers. Multiple files can be done simultaneously.

  8. Workgroup support. If more than one person works on your images, you can set up Portfolio to keep track of who works on the images when.

 

 

 

Previews can be created when files are catalogs.
The previews can even be seen of images that are stored offline on CD's.

 

 

Portfolio does a great job of integrating its tools into the workflow of its users. For example, when a user is looking a folder of images on his hard drive, she is most often within the operating system. Right-clicking on the folder allows the user to catalog the folder from that point.

 

On the other hand, when the user is going to use the file, she is most often within an application like Photoshop or Powerpoint. A subset of Portfolio called Portfolio Express is a floating palette that's accessible with a single keystroke. When the palette is opened, the user is able to simply drag the found image into the application. The palette is available even when Portfolio itself is not running.

 

Portfolio can be had through <amazon.com> for $190. This price is considerably more expensive than those of most competitive programs available for Windows. And, because the other programs are based around the Windows file browser, they tend to be a little more user-friendly and easier to learn than Portfolio. In fact, until this version of Portfolio, the competitors also tended to have more practical day-to-day functions. However, the depth of the Portfolio program, the extent of the user's ability to customize the program for particular uses, plus the number of options available within many of the functions are all advantages that set this program apart from its Windows competitors.  

 

Portfolio is a product for the professional user and not the casual digital photographer who doesn't have time to delve into a powerful program. Yes, it is more expensive and harder to learn, but accepting those drawbacks  is often the trade-off that's necessary when you're dealing with a product that must meet the demands of a professional power user.  For that user, both the money spent on this program and the time dedicated to mastering it will be quickly recouped through more efficient use of production time and fewer headaches.

 

You can learn more about this program by going to the Extensis website: http://www.extensis.com/en/products/product_family.jsp?locale=en_US&id=prod60005

 

I rate it an A.