Hi, @getho, if I were having all of those issues, I'd be upset like you. But, please read on, I've tested every one of them and I've not experienced any of those issues.
I confess that I very seldom use the Folder Panel. Usually, I use the Path Bar for linear folder travel.* So, I just checked it, and I'm not seeing any issue with it representing the active Content Tab. What I have tried is to click on a folder in the Folder tab, and the Content tab responds — no problem. I've changed the Content tab, and the Folder Panel responds, showing the folder I'm now in — no problem. I've changed the active source by clicking on the Path Bar. Again, no problem. I've also dragged an image from my desktop into a folder in the Folder Panel, and it immediately shows up in the Content Tab.
The only activity that I can "sort of" replicate is if I'm in a folder of images, and I create a new folder, I immediately see in the Folder Panel a new tipping triangle (my term) created next to the (now) parent folder. If I move an image into that new folder, I see no change (and I would not expect it to because I've not "looked" inside that new folder. But, if I double-click that new folder and tap on the image I just placed there, that is represented in the Folder Panel. The only "smudgy" issue I see is that if I delete a folder within a parent folder, there is a time-lag before it is deleted in the Folder Panel.
I've tried all of the situations where you observe failure, and so far, I'm not seeing it.
I also created two new .psd images and converted them into .jpgs using the Export Panel without freezing Bridge. Have you tried to create a new Export Preset and see if that also fails?
I can marquee as many images as I want to select those images without failure.
For the record, I'm running a Mac Studio (M1) with OS 15.6, and I'm running Bridge v. 15.1.1.729
After all that testing, I cannot replicate one issue. Have you tried rebuilding your Bridge Preferences?
Quit Bridge if Open. Just before clicking on Bridge in the Dock or double-clicking the application for the Mac, press Command-Option-Shift. For PCs, press Control-Alt-Shift. Then open Bridge, BUT KEEP your fingers on those keys until you see a window pop up. From the window, the options are: “Reset Preferences" and "Purge All Local Cache Files.” In your case, check both of them.
If that does not work, please delete Bridge from your Adobe Creative Cloud app, and then reinstall.
Please let us know what happens.
* When I wish to open a folder of images into Bridge, I typically drag one of the images or the whole folder onto the Bridge icon in the Dock. For me, that's much faster and easier.
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