BR1-07

[Damien Symonds]

Jump to next slide >>

Note 1: A cache message

Shortly after installing Bridge, you might encounter a pop-up window like this:

We’ll talk more about cache later in the class. If you see this window, leave it on its “Allow” setting, and press OK.

Note 2: Resetting preferences

Sometimes it’s necessary to put everything back to its default straight-out-of-the-box settings. This might be because Bridge is having some speed problems; or maybe you just want to start afresh. In fact, if you’ve had Bridge installed for a long time, but this is your first time reading this class, it might suit you to reset everything and begin at the beginning. (You certainly don’t have to do this, but the option is here for you.)

Resetting Bridge is the same as resetting Photoshop. Quit it, then hold down Ctrl Alt Shift (PC) or Cmd Opt Shift (Mac) while launching it again.

Spoiler

 

Every article I’ve ever seen about resetting Bridge always says exactly what I said above - hold down those keys while launching. And on some computers, yes, it works exactly that way. But on others it doesn’t work that way at all! And it’s really frustrating. If it doesn’t work for you, here are some tips I’ve discovered:

On some computers, I’ve found it’s necessary to launch Bridge first, then immediately (quickly!) press down those three keys as it loads.

Sometimes you need to try launching Bridge via a different method. For example, one on of my PCs, it won’t work from my Taskbar shortcut, but it will work from a desktop shortcut. Weird, huh?

If you have the exact same versions of Photoshop and Bridge, you can hold down the three keys while launching Bridge via Photoshop’s File menu. In most versions it’s called “Browse in Bridge”.

Make sure you keep holding down the keys until something happens. Don’t just hold them down for three seconds, then give up. You need to give your computer time to think about what you’re asking of it. If your computer is old, or full, it might take up to ten or even fifteen seconds.

On a Mac, make sure you’ve got Cmd pressed, not Ctrl.

On a PC, before you get to the Reset options, Windows might throw up that annoying “Do you want to allow the following program to make changes to your computer?” message. Of course you want to say “Yes”, but make sure you don’t release the Ctrl Alt and Shift keys while you’re clicking the “Yes” button. Otherwise it will just open Bridge normally.

If none of these things are working for you, please tell me about it in the comments section below this slide, and we’ll see if we can figure it out together.

Keep holding those keys down until this little window appears:

If you’re resetting because of speed issues, you want to go nuclear and check all three boxes. If you’re just resetting for a bit of housekeeping, you probably don’t want to lose your cache, so don’t check the second box.

Once you press OK, Bridge will launch into its default “Essentials” layout, ready for your customisation.

 

Note 3: Auto startup

You might also get this message:

Personally, I’m pretty anal about startup stuff, so I always hit “No”. But if your computer is pretty much only used for photo editing, and it’s nice and fast to start up anyway, you can choose to hit “Yes” here. There’s no right or wrong approach, it’s just what suits you.

An important preference >>

[shalea]

Hi Damien, I have tried the methods above but Bridge won't reset for me. I have tried via desk top ap, task bar and holding down all 3 keys for at least 15 seconds.

[Damien Symonds]

2 minutes ago, shalea said:

Hi Damien, I have tried the methods above but Bridge won't reset for me. I have tried via desk top ap, task bar and holding down all 3 keys for at least 15 seconds.

I'm really sorry to hear that.

For what reason are you trying to reset?

[shalea]

I have had it installed for as long as I have had PS and LR but I've never used it. So was just going to reset it to start fresh. Happy to leave it as is though if that is what you suggest.

[Damien Symonds]

Yeah, if you've never used it, it should be pretty much default anyway.