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Using Bridge

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Bridge is an independent application that functions as a feature-laden—yet easy to use—file browser for all the programs in the Adobe Creative Suite 2. We prefer to use it to open Illustrator files, as it lets us view and open Creative Suite files using thumbnails instead of just file names one.gif. (Those of you who used the File Browser in Photoshop CS will feel right at home here.)

You can also use Bridge to locate, read info about, sort, rename, move, rotate, and delete files; edit metadata in a selected file; and choose global color settings for all the Adobe Creative Suite applications. Don't be put off by our many pages of instructions for using this program. After launching Bridge, follow the instructions on page 54 for opening files, then learn more about it as you see fit.

To Launch Bridge

In Illustrator CS2, at the far right side of the Control palette, click the Go to Bridge button.ICON TYPE

or

Double-click the the Adobe Bridge application icon in the Applications folder in Mac, or in the Program Files\Adobe folder in Windows. In Mac, you could also click the Bridge icon on the Dock, if one was created.

or

Choose File > Browse (Cmd-Option-O/Ctrl-Alt-O).

The Panels in Bridge

On the left side of the Bridge window, you'll see five panels, each with its own folder tab.

In the top portion of the Favorites panel, preset Bridge options are stored; in the lower section, you can select from a list of folders. To provide quick access to a folder, click its thumbnail in the Browser panel, then choose File > Add to Favorites to add the folder to the list in the Favorites panel. Choose File > Remove from Favorites to remove the currently selected favorites folder listing from this panel.

The Folders panel contains a scroll window with a hierarchical listing of the top-level and nested folders on your hard drive.

The Preview panel displays an enlargement of whichever file or folder is currently selected in the Browser panel on the right: a graphic if the file contains a preview that Illustrator can read, a generic icon if it doesn't, or a folder thumbnail.

The Metadata panel contains several sections. The File Properties section lists info about the currently selected file, such as the file name, kind (format), date created, date modified, and file size, and in some cases also the resolution, bit depth, and color mode.

The Document Title, Description, Author, Credit, Source, and other fields in the IPTC section are editable (note the pencil icon). If you click a listing, enter or modify the file description information, then click the Apply button, ICON TYPE the new info will also appear in the Description and Origin panels of the File Info dialog box, and vice versa.

For more information about the Camera Data (Exif), Stock Photo Data 1, Stock Photo Data 2, and Stock Photos sections of the Metadata panel, see Bridge Help.

Using the Keywords panel, you can categorize images by assigning keywords to them, such as by event, name, location, or other criteria. This will enable you to find image thumbnails based on keyword searches. See pages 55–56 and Bridge Help.

Continuing our tour, on the right side of the Bridge window, in the Browser panel, you'll see either image thumbnails or folders that are nested within the currently selected folder.

  • To shrink the entire Bridge window, click the Compact Mode button ICON TYPE in the upper right corner. In Mac, click the button again to restore the window to its previous size. In Windows, in Compact mode, you can click one button to return to Full mode or a second button to shrink the window to Ultra-Compact mode.
  • In Thumbnails, Filmstrip, or Versions and Alternates view (see the following page), rest the pointer over a thumbnail or file name to learn more about the file. The tool tip one.gif will list such information as the file's format, creator application, date created, date last modified, size, and dimensions.

To learn how to customize the panels, follow the instructions on the next page.

You can customize the panels to your liking—a little more of this, a little less of that.

To Customize the Bridge Window

Do any of the following:

  • To make a panel taller or shorter, drag a horizontal bar; the other panels will resize automatically.
  • To adjust the width of all the panels, drag the vertical bar to the left or right.
  • To hide a panel, uncheck its name on the View menu.
  • To change the arrangement of folders, drag any folder tab into another group.
  • To have the Browser panel fill the entire window, click the Show/Hide Panels button ICON TYPE in the lower-left corner of the Bridge window. Click the button again to redisplay the panels.
  • To change the size of the thumbnails in the Browser panel, move the thumbnail size slider, located at the bottom of the window; or click the Smallest Thumbnail Size or Largest Thumbnail Size button. ICON TYPE
  • To change the thumbnail layout, click one of the four view buttons in the lower right corner of the Bridge window (ICON TYPE , ICON TYPE , ICON TYPE , or ICON TYPE ) one.gif or choose a view from the View menu.
  • To toggle between the vertical and horizontal layouts for Filmstrip view, click the Switch Filmstrip Orientation button.ICON TYPE To scroll through thumbnails in Filmstrip view, click either of these buttons.ICON TYPE
  • To have images and folders display in the Browser panel, on the View menu, check Show Folders; or turn this option off to display image thumbnails but not folders. To reveal the contents of a nested folder, double-click its thumbnail.

By saving your custom workspaces in Bridge, you won't have to set up your window configuration each time you use the application.

To Save a Workspace for Bridge

  1. Choose a size and location for the overall Bridge window, a size (and tab locations) for the panels, and a layout view for the Browser panel, then choose Window > Workspace > Save Workspace. The Save Workspace dialog box opens two.gif.
  2. Enter a name for the workspace, choose a shortcut (or choose None), check Save Window Location as Part of Workspace (optional), then click Save.
  3. To choose any saved workspace, use the assigned shortcut or choose the workspace name from the Window > Workspace submenu. You can also choose from a list of preset workspaces (e.g., Filmstrip Focus) on this submenu.

The Bridge Menus

Via the Bridge menu bar, you can use:

  • File menu commands to open, delete, and access File Info for selected file(s). The Open With command lets you open a selected file, provided the required Adobe program is installed in your system.
  • Edit menu commands to copy and paste a file into another folder, to quickly select labeled or unlabeled thumbnails, and to access the Find command to search for files.
  • Tools menu commands to run scripts and automate commands, and to purge or export thumbnail cache files.
  • Label menu commands to assign star ratings and color labels to files.
  • View menu commands to choose a thumbnail view, control which panels display, sort thumbnails, control which file formats display, and refresh (update) the window display.
  • Window menu commands to save or delete custom workspaces, restore the default workspace, and choose preset and user-created workspaces.

The number of Illustrator documents that can be open at the same time depends on currently available RAM and scratch disk space.

To Open Files Via Bridge

  1. Locate a file by using the Folders panel. You can scroll upward or downward, expand or collapse any folder by using the arrowheads or by double-clicking, or open a folder by clicking its icon. You can also choose a Favorites or Recent Folders category from the pop-up menu at the top of the Bridge window.

    To move upward in the folder hierarchy, click the Go Up button ICON TYPE at the top of the window.

  2. Click a thumbnail for an image file. A highlight frame will appear around it, a file preview will appear in the Preview panel, and file data will appear in the Metadata panel.

    or

    Cmd-click/Ctrl-click multiple non-consecutive thumbnails one.gif. Or click the first thumbnail in a series of consecutive thumbnails, then Shift-click the last one.

  3. Double-click a thumbnail (or one of several selected thumbnails).

    or

    Choose File > Open (Cmd-O/Ctrl-O).

  4. If an alert dialog box about a Missing Profile appears, see page 61; for the Font Problems dialog box, see "Missing fonts?" in the sidebar at right; and for an alert dialog box about a linked image file, see page 285. To learn about updating legacy text, see pages 240–241.

    To activate a currently open window, you can either click in it or choose the document name from the list of open documents at the bottom of the Window menu.

  • By default, the Bridge window stays open after you use it to open a file. To have the window close as a file is opened instead, hold down Option/Alt as you double-click a thumbnail.

By assigning star ratings and/or color labels to files, you'll be able to display them based on the presence or absence of labels and find them using the Find command.

To Label and Sort Files Via Bridge

  1. Select one or more thumbnails in the Browser panel. Ctrl-click/Cmd-click multiple nonconsecutive thumbnails, or click the first thumbnail in a series of consecutive thumbnails, then Shift-click the last.
  2. From the Label menu one.gif, choose a star Rating and/or a color Label, or press the assigned keyboard shortcut. To assign both a rating and a label to a file, you have to make two trips to the menu. If an alert dialog box appears, click OK.

    or

    Click the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth dot below a thumbnail. (To remove a star, click the star to its left; to remove the first star, click just to its left.)

  3. On the Unfiltered/Filtered pop-up menu two.gif above the Browser panel, check a rating and/or label category; only thumbnails that have been assigned that label will be displayed. To redisplay all thumbnails regardless of label, check Show All Items on the same pop-up menu.

Keywords are used by search utilities to locate files and by file management programs to organize them. In Bridge, you can create keywords and assign them to your files.

To Assign Keywords to Files

In the Keywords panel:

To create a new keyword, click the ICON TYPE button, then type a name ICON TYPE.

To create a new keyword set, click the ICON TYPE button, then type a name.

To assign a keyword to an image, click an image thumbnail or select multiple thumbnails (expand the desired category, if necessary), then click the box to the left of a keyword category to make a check mark appear.

To rename a category, Control-click/right-click it and choose Rename, then type a name.

To remove a category, Control-click/right-click it and choose Delete.

To Search for Files Via Bridge

  1. In Bridge, choose Edit > Find (Cmd-F/Ctrl-F). The Find dialog box opens one.gif.
  2. From the Look in pop-up menu, choose a folder to search through. If you need to select a different folder, click Browse, locate the folder, then click Choose.
  3. Check Include All Subfolders to search through all subfolders within the designated folder, or uncheck this option to search through only the Look in folder. Keep Find All Files unchecked.
  4. From the pop-up menus in the Criteria area, choose search criteria (e.g., file name, date created, label, or rating), and enter data in the adjoining field(s). If you need additional criteria fields in which to enter data, click the plus sign.ICON TYPE
  5. From the Match pop-up menu, choose If any criteria are met to find files based on one or more criteria, or choose If all criteria are met to narrow the selection to files that meet all the chosen criteria.
  6. Optional: Check Show find results in a new browser window to display the results of the search in a new Bridge window. If you don't want an additional Bridge window to be created, uncheck this option; the results will display in the current window instead.
  7. Click Find. The results will display in Bridge in a temporary folder called Find Results, which will remain on the Recent Folders list (accessible from the pop-up menu at top of the Bridge window) until either you conduct another search operation or you quit/exit Bridge.
  8. To save the find results to a permanent file group, click Save as Collection, enter a name, then click Save. Collections can be viewed by clicking Collections in the Favorites panel, then double-clicking the desired collection thumbnail.

There are several ways that thumbnails can be sorted or rearranged in the Browser panel. This is important if you use batch or automate operations, as these commands process files based on the current order of thumbnails. First the straightforward, manual approach.

To Rearrange Thumbnails Manually

Drag a thumbnail (or thumbnails) to any new location. It will stay where you place it unless you perform a sorting operation.

By organizing your files in a sorting order (e.g., Date Created or Date Modified), you'll avoid having to fish through a lot of files to locate them.

To Apply a Sorting Method

From the View > Sort submenu, choose a sorting criterion for all the files in the current folder one.gif. You can leave Ascending Order checked on this menu, or uncheck it to list files in descending order.

To Rename a File Via Bridge

  1. Click a file name below a thumbnail. The text to the left of the period will become highlighted automatically.
  2. Type a new name two.gif. Don't try to delete the extension (a warning prompt will appear if you do). To accept the entry, press Return/Enter or click outside the name field.

To Create a Folder Via Bridge

  1. Via the Folders panel or via the pop-up menu at the top of the Bridge window, open the drive or folder that you want the new folder to appear in.
  2. Click the New Folder button ICON TYPE at the top of the window, type a name in the highlighted field, then press Return/Enter.
  • You can drag a file or folder thumbnail from the Browser panel into the Folders panel to relocate it to another folder or to the Desktop. Option-drag/Alt-drag a thumbnail to add a copy of the file or folder to another folder.

To Delete Files Via Bridge

  1. Click a thumbnail in the Browser panel, then click the Delete File ICON TYPE button at the top of the window. (Or to delete multiple files, Cmd-click/Ctrl-click multiple thumbnails first; or click the first in a series of thumbnails, then Shift-click the last in the series.)
  2. Click Yes. Note: You can also delete a whole folder full of files, so be careful! To retrieve a deleted file or folder, double-click the system's Trash/Recycle icon to open its window, then drag the item back into the Bridge window. (Phew!)

When a folder is displayed in Bridge, the application creates a separate cache file containing information (e.g., thumbnail data, metadata, labeling) about all the files in that folder. Having the cache helps speed up the display of thumbnails in the Browser panel if you redisplay the same folder at a later time.

To Export the Cache for the Current Folder

Choose Tools > Cache > Export Cache. Two cache files—named Adobe Bridge Cache.bc (metadata cache) and Adobe Bridge Cache.bct (thumbnail cache)—will be placed into the currently displayed folder.

Note: To display the cache files in Bridge, choose View > Show Hidden Files.

  • When you copy image files to a removable disk or to a shared folder on a network, copy the cache files, too, to help speed up the display of thumbnails.

The Purge commands delete the ratings, labels, and thumbnail data that Bridge uses to generate image thumbnails. Use these commands to remove a damaged or problem cache.

To Delete the Cache Files

  1. To remove the cache files from the current folder, choose Tools > Cache > Purge Cache for This Folder.

    or

    To remove all caches for all folders, choose Tools > Cache > Purge Central Cache.

  2. Click OK.

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