Bridge not saving image alterations

HI adobe–jba,

First of all, thanks for tolerating my initial guess about what might be wrong. Apple's "Preferences requirements" have created a lot of havoc for users and caused any number of strange issues. On the other hand, Macs do enjoy fewer virus issues, so…

Back to your issue: All changes to a raw image are held in small files with an .xmp suffix. These are also called "sidecar files." That is, in the same folder, you should see "myphoto.Cr2" and "myphoto.xmp." However, if the .xmp file is moved to a different folder from where the original file is located, all changes will not appear. 

So, the next question is, do you separate the .xmp file from the raw file?

Next: as I'm sure you know, you can alter a jpg or tif file but never see the .xmp files for those images. The reason is that both jpg and tif are container files. That is, they act like folders and store any associated support files within the original file.

Because of this and many other benefits, I convert all of my raw files (from Canon cameras) into DNG files because they are also container files. I do that (partially) to avoid making sure the .xmp files get lost or moved. 

So, if you wish to experiment with this, please convert some raw files to the DNG format and see if the problem persists. You can download the "DNG Converter" application from here: 

https://helpx.adobe.com/camera-raw/using/adobe-dng-converter.html

It's self-explanatory: select a folder with raw images, and start the converting process. (You cannot select a single file and convert that). When the folder of images is complete, you're done. When satisfied with the result, you can delete the new DNG files or the original raw files. FWIW, I've been converting my raw files to DNG since the capability was released.

Let me know what happens, and good luck!

HI adobe–jba

Is the image on an external drive or your desktop? If so, please set the permissions in the System Preferences. This is not for Bridge, it's for all software on your computer. If the following does not help you, let us know. What your describing SHOULD be happening as you remember it.

Go to your System Preferences and select Security and Privacy (found in the top section). Now click on the Privacy setting (last tab). Now click on the lock on the bottom left and provide your Administrator code. Now select the Full Disk Access option and click on the "+" symbol. This will bring up the standard Mac Open window and let you add any application you want or need to have full access. Look for Bridge, select it, it will now appear in that window and make sure it's checked. Next, go to the Files and Folders option and do the same thing as above (although there's nothing to check, just add. Close everything down and see if that makes it all work.

Please let me know

[Note: these images are from an older OS, the process is the same.]

Close everything up and you should be good to go.