Adobe Bridge - Keywords

[Kimberly273531628nfo]

I had a previous employee who spent an insane amount of time in Adobe Bridge loading in keywords for an image database we have. Is there a way to retrieve these keywords? I don't want to start from scratch.

[Erik Bloodaxe]

As a starting point, when you say, "retrieve them", have they all been deleted from Bridge so that the Keywords Panel is empty?

[Lumigraphics]

Can you export the keywords from the image database? Are your files still keyworded (so when you look at them in Bridge, it shows those keywords)?

[Kimberly273531628nfo]

The keywords panel is empty except for the basic ones that come with the Bridge software download. I am using my own software, since the previous employee has departed te agency.

[gary_sc]

@Kimberly273531628nfo Ah, there's the issue. The keywords that that person had created were tied to his Adobe account with the various applications. 

If I were to log out of my computer and delete the software that I had installed. None of the Workspaces, keywords, etc. would show up for you because they were associated with my account. I do not know under what "clouds" that employee left the company but if they were stormy clouds, you may never see them again. 

Sorry

[Lumigraphics]

When you look at those files in Bridge, do they have keywords? If not, and you don't have a list saved, you'll have to start over.

[Kimberly273531628nfo]

Noooooooooo

[stephenv70437356]

Let me preface this response with the caveat that I haven't tried this, but you may be able to re-import these images using your own account ID and then be able to access the keywords which are afterall embedded in the files themselves if they are JPG.  Another image browser may also show the keywords.  Exporting them as a text file  might be an issue in some other browsers.  Give Photo Mechanic a try.  You can download a trial version for free.  I'll give it a try later to see if it works with my images, but I don't have the authorisdation issue you do.

[Lumigraphics]

That's why I asked if keywords show when the files are viewed. Either the data exists or it doesn't. If the files show keywords, we have the data. If they don't then it must be created.

[stephenv70437356]

Well, perhaps I misunderstood the problem as described by the OP.  IT was my understanding from reading the thread that they wanted the keywords to show in the Keywords panel.  No mention was made of the Filter Panel.  If they exist in the Filter Paqnel, but not the Keyword Panel, then it is a matter of extracting m from the files into a text list and then importing from that into the Keywards Panel.  I have a script somewhere that will extract metadata from fields you nominate into a text file that includes the filenames of the images containing that metadata.  I got it from a Browser Search.  The only Issue I had with it was the images all had to be in a single directory/folder along with the script.  Using it would create the list and the OP wouldn't have to create it manually with the distinct possibility of typos.

As you say though, if they don't appear in the Filter Panel, then they're gonski...  Of course that would have required all of those images to be selected and the metadata removed from them all.

[stephenv70437356]

This is the free software I used to get a list of all the keywords I'd used over the years for my own images so I could correct them and import them into Bridge's Keywords Panel.  There is also a list of field names and syntax for selecting the fields you want.

https://www.jam-software.com/filelist

[Lumigraphics]

That's not how it works. If keywords are present in the images, they will show in both filter and keywords.

[stephenv70437356]

No they don't.

[stephenv70437356]

You can delete the keywords from the Keyword Panel by clearing and importing an abbreviated list.  If you do this intention ally or accidentally, you'll find thaty you have to import the complete list again to be able to check the box and apply a keyword from your list.  Existing keywords will only show if the image containing them is selecxted.  This is the case with my version of Bridge.  Are you saying this might be just anoither Bridge bug?

[stephenv70437356]

Here you go.  Screen grab showing the Filter Panel with keywords for the images you see on the Content Panel, and a screen grab of the Keywords Panel where none of those keywords appear, but a stack of keywords from an imported list appear even though none of the images containing those keywords are included in the folder displayed.  There are thousands of sub-keywords under the Aviation folder, but split into Civilian and Military.

[Lumigraphics]

Just stop. You are wrong and don't understand how keywords are supported.

[stephenv70437356]

Feel free to explain it, because I've shown in the screen grabs how it appears on my setup. The keywords in all of thos 45,000 images only appear in the Keywords Panel when all of the files are selected.

[Lumigraphics]

Go look at the official help files for how keywording works.

[stephenv70437356]

Will I also find something that says not to put more than 500 images into a single folder?