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Affinity Store (MSI/EXE): Affinity Suite (ADe, APh, APu) 2.4.0.2301
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  • 1 month later...

A Good Adobe Bridge Alternative for me would not have to be a full-blown asset management sub-system. I would be very happy with a file browser that would show the contents of the various file types you support and allow me to open them in the appropriate app. I personally don't need another "library" to manage.  

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The inability to manage one's digital asset within the Serif ecosystem is becoming more of a problem everyday.

They will eventually be compelled to deal with it by market forces.

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Adobe Photography (Lightroom and Photoshop) | Affinity Designer 2 | Affinity Photo 2 | Affinity Publisher 2 | Capture One Pro (for now) | Topaz Labs Photography Suite | Fast Raw Viewer | NeoFinder

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  • 1 month later...

The lack of asset management software keeps me from switching from Adobe to Affinity (after nearly 30 years of photoshoppery). Asset management is an integral part of my workflow. And as stated in a comment above, it would not need be a library to manage (I actually dislike those), but rather a clear file browser with the ability to preview, rename and sort files in appropriate folders. A support for labeling would be nice (as macOS supports that natively) but not a deal-breaker.

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On 11/5/2020 at 6:09 AM, pni said:

The lack of asset management software keeps me from switching from Adobe to Affinity (after nearly 30 years of photoshoppery). Asset management is an integral part of my workflow. And as stated in a comment above, it would not need be a library to manage (I actually dislike those), but rather a clear file browser with the ability to preview, rename and sort files in appropriate folders. A support for labeling would be nice (as macOS supports that natively) but not a deal-breaker.

30 yrs of Adobe, have you been using LR or just Bridge? If you use LR to manage your photos, you must have tens of thousands of photos you have edited/adjusted with LR. Even if Serif produced a DAM, what would you do with all those photos you've edited in LR? Most of the edits are maintained in their proprietary catalog file, not in the XMP sidecars. Also I would suspect Serif's DAM would be using proprietary files, that would not be easily used by other apps.

I point this out because it hit a lot of photographers between the eyes when Adobe went to it's subscription model, and stopped the proprietary LR versions. I still have and use LR6, because Serif still has a long way to go with their RAW developing, plus I have a lot of time invested in cataloging images in LR. There's just nothing that allows an easy transfer from that.

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1 minute ago, Ron P. said:

30 yrs of Adobe, have you been using LR or just Bridge?

Photoshop is my tool and Bridge is a great sidekick. When Lightroom hit the market some thirteen years ago I found it much too limiting for my way of working. And I never liked the way Lightroom archives and catalogues files. So that's not on my wishlist, but rather a file browser (like Bridge) that offers good set of tools for my DNGs and PSDs.

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  • 2 months later...

I have used Adobe for years but last year I had to get rid of it because I upgraded my OS and CS5 would no longer run on my system. I did not want to pay the $$$$$ subscription fee for newer versions so after looking around I settled on Affinity as my best alternative. Good features and excellent price. One area where it lacks is that I am unable to import large batches of raw files. The application becomes memory bound and slows to a crawl.  So what to do? I have used Adobe bridge for years to do sort my raw images and do some preliminary adjustments before sending the picture to Photoshop. 

After a lot of searching, and many trial and errors, I found "Raw Power" to be an excellent Adobe Bridge alternative that I am able to tie into Affinity. It is $29 at the MAC app store. I would prefer free but the coast is reasonable when you consider that once you buy it you can install it on all of your Macs. There is also a cheaper IOS version. It is fast, able to view large numbers of raw files, ties into Apple Photos if you are into that, or you can simply point it to a folder. The export settings will open the file in the photo editor of your choice, which in my case the choice is Affinity.

There is a trial version that allows you to play with it but it will insert an ugly watermark when you export. You have to download the trial version from their website which is:
 
https://gentlemencoders.com/

I suggest that you give it a try. 

BTW: I am in no way affiliated with Gentleman Coders, I am just a guy who wants to share a solution,

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  • 3 weeks later...

I defintely prefer GraphicConverter's browser mode to Adobe Bridge (CS5.1 version here). It will nicely display the document preview, unlike Bridge. You can also set an Affinity app as the default "Open With" from within the browser, or simply leave Open With up to Finder.
Mac only.

I only resort to Bridge if need to manage Adobe documents metadata, especially since Illustrator CS5 crashes on El Capitan when trying to edit metadata directly from within the app.

For catalogs (collections), I'm currently migrating from IView/Expression Media catalogs to NeoFinder. NeoFinder is already Affinity aware. Unlike iView, of course.
There's even an iView/MediaPro catalog import option, but unfortunately it doesn't work the way I need it (yet? been in contact with the developer recently). So I'm in the process of writing me a few AppleScripts that will help to convert my iView catalog-only metadata and Sets to NeoFinder Comments and Albums which will then also include all Affinity files.
NeoFinder is Mac only, but there's a corresponding "sister app" for Windows.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/30/2021 at 1:19 PM, Raymondo said:

Neofinder

4 hours ago, pni said:

NeoFinder

NeoFinder's predecessor CDFinder was my very first online software purchase over 20 years ago. And Norbert, the developer, is always open for requests and ideas.
Having accumulated over 1800 unique catalogs in there – mostly backup CDRs and DVDRs – can't do without.
Optionally, NeoFinder catalog files are even still backward compatible with CDFinder in case someone would need to look up their catalogs e.g. while running an "antique" PowerPC Mac (I do from time to time).

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  • 4 months later...

Having to choose between Bridge and NeoFinder, I would prefer this latter, for the wider scope and the better UI. Now that it is fully Affinity aware, I would say that there is no need for a DAM from Serif.

Paolo

 

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  • 5 weeks later...
On 1/9/2021 at 5:18 AM, George H said:

I have used Adobe for years but last year I had to get rid of it because I upgraded my OS and CS5 would no longer run on my system. I did not want to pay the $$$$$ subscription fee for newer versions so after looking around I settled on Affinity as my best alternative. Good features and excellent price. One area where it lacks is that I am unable to import large batches of raw files. The application becomes memory bound and slows to a crawl.  So what to do? I have used Adobe bridge for years to do sort my raw images and do some preliminary adjustments before sending the picture to Photoshop. 

After a lot of searching, and many trial and errors, I found "Raw Power" to be an excellent Adobe Bridge alternative that I am able to tie into Affinity. It is $29 at the MAC app store. I would prefer free but the coast is reasonable when you consider that once you buy it you can install it on all of your Macs. There is also a cheaper IOS version. It is fast, able to view large numbers of raw files, ties into Apple Photos if you are into that, or you can simply point it to a folder. The export settings will open the file in the photo editor of your choice, which in my case the choice is Affinity.

There is a trial version that allows you to play with it but it will insert an ugly watermark when you export. You have to download the trial version from their website which is:
 
https://gentlemencoders.com/

I suggest that you give it a try. 

BTW: I am in no way affiliated with Gentleman Coders, I am just a guy who wants to share a solution,

Thanks for the lead George I’ll have look :) 

Please don't mistake my opinion for expert comment :) for no way no how am I an expert on anything. However I am curious and willing to learn. 

 

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Another recommendation for NeoFinder here - which I've used for years, and like loukash, I used CDFinder before that - I'm still on version 6 which doesn't generate previews for Affinity files but I'm looking to upgrade ($25) sometime in the future, when I have the funds to do so  

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this is Abemeda for Windows users from the same developers. I use it now one year the free version. 

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On 8/16/2020 at 8:14 PM, Shae Redding - Rogers said:

I have been loving Affinity for a year now but really need a way to view all the great projects that I have created. If You can working on a software that is better Bridge. That would be great! 

I had the same problem when ditching Adobe apps. I used iView Media (lately PhaseOne) for many, many years, but that went the way of all flesh when they decided not to reprogram for 64bit. For the last couple of years I've been using Adobe Bridge, but now use GraphicConverter. It's a bit . . rough around the edges, but in some ways it works better than Bridge and the fact that it has a lot (and I mean a *lot*) of image processing capabilities built into it is a plus, though it does tend to make it quite complicated. Still getting to grips with it myself.

Another option is NeoFinder, which started primarily as an indexing app for CDs.], DVDs and external drives, but is now quite capable as a file management tool.

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  • 1 month later...
On 1/9/2021 at 5:18 AM, George H said:

I have used Adobe for years but last year I had to get rid of it because I upgraded my OS and CS5 would no longer run on my system. I did not want to pay the $$$$$ subscription fee for newer versions so after looking around I settled on Affinity as my best alternative. Good features and excellent price. One area where it lacks is that I am unable to import large batches of raw files. The application becomes memory bound and slows to a crawl.  So what to do? I have used Adobe bridge for years to do sort my raw images and do some preliminary adjustments before sending the picture to Photoshop. 

After a lot of searching, and many trial and errors, I found "Raw Power" to be an excellent Adobe Bridge alternative that I am able to tie into Affinity. It is $29 at the MAC app store. I would prefer free but the coast is reasonable when you consider that once you buy it you can install it on all of your Macs. There is also a cheaper IOS version. It is fast, able to view large numbers of raw files, ties into Apple Photos if you are into that, or you can simply point it to a folder. The export settings will open the file in the photo editor of your choice, which in my case the choice is Affinity.

There is a trial version that allows you to play with it but it will insert an ugly watermark when you export. You have to download the trial version from their website which is:
 
https://gentlemencoders.com/

I suggest that you give it a try. 

BTW: I am in no way affiliated with Gentleman Coders, I am just a guy who wants to share a solution,

Hi George, thanks for the info.  They don't seem to do a trial version for Mac but I have contacted them and asked if they will consider it 😉.  I'm very attached to Adobe but not happy about the ongoing subscripition either.

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On 1/30/2021 at 12:19 PM, Raymondo said:

For Mac users, have you tried “Neofinder” or “Pixave”. I use these to catalogue and organise all assets. 

Hi Raymondo, thanks for the suggestions.  I have just downloaded the free trials for both and am about to try them out.  I've been using Adobe for years but I'll try and keep an open mind. 😊

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Hi all!

Has anyone looked at darktable yet?

Since I don't work much with RAW files, it's not very interesting for me, but for some people it might be the alternative they're looking for, which is also OSS and free.

For those who are interested, here is the link to the site https://www.darktable.org


 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Looking for a DAM , media browser or whatever to navigate to/from Affinity Photo or manage archives dynamically ?

I'm very surprised none of you have suggested (Mac only ) Graphic Converter from Thorston lemke's team at LemkeSoft ( $35 perpetual license; shareware; free trial )  . GraphicConverter's  outstanding Browser and built in encyclopedia of image processing and editting tools is a perfect companion to A.Photo.  I leave both programs open 24/7. GraphicConverter does things no other image editor can , besides working with what seems like ten dozen  file formats. Lemke provides the best support and troubleshooting of any app I have used the past 25 years. No Mac user who works with imagery should go without it . I have no connection to the Lemkesoft company other than complete satisfaction

The marriage between GraphicConverter and Affinity Photo is solid.

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