One of the new features of ACDSee 2009 is the ability to embed your organizing information (Categories, keywords, captions, notes, etc) into your image files.   Here is why it is important:

• If you were to move files outside of ACDSee, you can easily recover your organizing by re-cataloging your files (Database | Catalog Files)
• If something were to happen to your ACDSee database (where all your organizing information is stored), you could also recover and recreate the ACDSee database by re-cataloging all your files.
• If you wanted to share your organizing information with a friend using ACDSee, you can do so.  You would organize your images, embed and then send the images to your friend.  Your friend would catalog the files and get all your organizing information about those images!

Some facts about embedding:

• Embedding works on all file types:  Embedding writes your organizing information into the XMP part of the image.  If the image doesn’t support the XMP part, a second file called a xmp sidecar is created.  A XMP sidecar has the same filename as your image but ends with the extension .xmp.
• ACDSee will hide the sidecar .xmp files when viewing.  If you are in windows explorer, you will see those .xmp sidecar files.  If you are copying, moving, archiving, burning, select the .xmp sidecar files too.  That way later ACDSee can recover the ACDSee organizing.
• The embedded ACDSee XMP information is proprietary and other software can’t use the XMP organizing information.

ACDSee has provided a guide for using:  Embedding database information in files PDF (2.0 MB)

But here is a suggested way to work with embedding:

• In Tools | Options, Database tab, uncheck the Display embed database information reminder.  The reminder will pop-up as ACDSee is closing to remind you to embed all your files.  I have found that when I am closing, I don’t want to be bothered with my computer doing this task.  (Usually I am shutting off my computer for the evening and don’t want to wait for the embed task to finish.)    But remember, by turning off this reminder it is leaving the embed task up to you to perform and REMEMBER to perform.  If the embed function is not performed you are not using the feature and not benefiting from its backup.
• There are 2 ways to embed and you can choose your own method. 
  • After I finish an organizing session, I will do a Database | Embed  Database Information | In all files.   Once you do this, ACDSee will run the task on all files that have new organizing information.
  • You can also do a selective embed.  You choose the files that you wish to embed and choose Database | Embed  Database Information | In selected files
• If you wish to see what needs to be embedded, at the bottom of the Organize Pane, look for Embed Pending and click on that and it will return the list of files that need to be embedded.

Recapturing the Embedded information:

Once the organizing information is embedded in the file it can be shared or just quietly reside in the file.  If you ever find that you want to recapture the ACDSee information (because you moved the files outside of ACDSee, sharing your organizing information, etc.) do a Database | Catalog Files on the images to get the information back.

Embedding is another way to safeguard all those hours spent organizing!

Tip:  Please don’t embed any layered tifs that you want to keep layered..  The layering of the tifs will not be preserved after embedding.