The core features of the program do exactly what you'd expect: It imports the EXIF, IPTC and XMP data from photo files, and makes that data--along with any other keywords or information you choose to add, including Geocoding--searchable. You can also create Web-based galleries, slideshows, or contact sheets of images based on your search results. It also gives you extensive photo editing tools and the ability to batch-manipulate large portions of the archive at once. But iMatch's most unique feature is its scripting engine, which advanced users can create and use to automate complex combinations of commands, including the ability to launch and use other programs to perform tasks iMatch can't do itself.

Photools also stresses the product's strict adherence to open, published standards, and its support for both the import and export of your data from its database, without locking you into a proprietary file format. Such features make it especially appealing for archivists, librarians, and anyone else concerned with the long term preservation not just of the information in the database, but the preservation of access to that information.

Note: This link takes you to the vendor's site, where you can download the latest version of the software.

--Andrew Brandt