Bridge 8.1/2018 – What Would Be the Drawbacks of a Rollback to Bridge 8.1/2018 ?

Question

Hello, it seems that Bridge 9/Bridge 2019 is a disappointment to me and i wonder if I should go back to Bridge 2018? Now I would like to go back to the olden Bridge, but I wonder about the drawbacks – in Bridge 8.1, will I get the submenu "Tools > Photoshop"? Will Bridge 8.1 run at all (on Win 10)?

What I don't like is that Bridge 9/Bridge 2019 wastes a lot of screenspace around thumbnails – just like Lightroom, which I dislike for that reason. Bridge 9/Bridge 2019 leaves empty space free for lines like "File Size" or "Date Taken", even if you don't display those properties. If you didn't display those properties in the olden Bridge, the freed space was used by thumbnails very economically – whereas Bridge 9/Bridge 2019 remains static, showing off blank dark gray matter. (Only with Ctrl+T you save space, removing all lines including file name.)

According to official Adobe, these are the enhancements of Bridge 9/Bridge 2019:

- Consistent user interface, similar to Photoshop
- Centralized Cache management
- Enhanced CC Libraries feature
- Edit Capture Time
- Support for Adobe XD files
- Media Cache preferences

None of this interests me in the least. I quite liked the old Bridge (and I work on still photos only, usually in numbers below 10k, no video, no audio, no Adobe Stock, no CC libraries).

Bridge 8.1 in its last days had these problems though for me (Win 10):

- The sub-menu "Tools > Photoshop" for image processor etc. wasn't there in Bridge 8.1, to my dismay (and other users seemed to miss it too)

- On the last day, Bridge 8.1 didn't even start fully, it always crashed after a moment (that's why I went to Bridge 9). (Other users reported the same problem here.)

So, if I go back to Bridge 8.1, will I get the "Tools > Photoshop" menu or is that not available in 8.1? Will Bridge work at all?

Thanks!

gener7 · Accepted Answer

I never removed Bridge 8. I just Installed Bridge 9. Both have the Tools > Photoshop menu (I'm using a Mac).

So I can't say what will happen in your case, but you can reinstall Bridge 8 and see how it goes before removing Bridge 9.

~ Gil · Answer

I just did a Rollback to Bridge 2018.Frankly, the consequences of a rollback can't be any worse than using Bridge 2019. I have experienced constant delays starting the application on my current (competent) Windows 10 machine, "ET Phone Home" or (something else), is going on. I have no cloud files, no network shared folders, & have cleared nearly all options that can be disabled. And the crashes, I crash at least once per session though admittedly in some cases if you wait out the (Not Responding) notice in the title bar it, more than not, eventually recover. Left to guess I would say the newer options to interface more deeply with Windows File Explorer may be one of the culprits. This keeps happening Adobe. While pushing the envelopes to be the first to send your applications to the moon or do full blown publishing on a smartphone, you're making it more and more difficult for those of us on desktops who have been using and supporting you for decades.What's my question? Why does this, (reset our work environment every time you do a major update) phenomena, have to keep happening? I spent half a day recently reviewing QuarkXPress as an option to InDesign. I'll go back to Windows File Explorer as a main file interface if needed and, Photoshop is not the only game in town, notably the overall, best but not the only one. This is where we're at folks! Now is the point where less complaints without solid resolutions may be an indication that your clients are moving on. Once again,If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

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