Bridge will not open on macOS Catalina

[cmdv]

Bridge 2020, 2021, or 2022 will not open. I am on a MacBook Air running Catalina. 

I have seen this: https://helpx.adobe.com/in/bridge/kb/troubleshoot-errors-freezes-bridge.html BUT it requires Bridge to OPEN in order to try any of the suggestions. 

When I click on the app, the icon will appear in the dock and start bouncing, but it never opens - the little dot in the dock never appears, the loading popup screen (with the credits, etc) never appears.. Sometimes I will get a pop-up about loading an extension but whether I select yes or no, nothing happens. 

I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling. I've tried turning off Creative Cloud and the security software my employer has installed. 

{Thread title edited by moderator}

[nikunj.m]

Hi,

We're sorry about the trouble with Bridge. Would you mind sharing the exact version of macOS you're working on? Have you tried all the steps (including resetting preferences) mentioned in the article mentioned above?

Please ensure that Bridge has the necessary permissions on your Mac by following the steps suggested below:

1. Go to the System Preferences for your Mac, then Security and Privacy, then select the Privacy tab.

2. Then select Accessibility from the list to the left & check if Bridge is added to the list with a check mark in front of it.

3. If Bridge is not a part of the list, please add it by unlocking the window first using the lock at the bottom left, then clicking the + icon & navigating to the Applications folder.

4. Also, grant permissions to Bridge under Full disk access located in the same list as Accessibility.

5. Once done, restart the Mac & check if it helps.

If the issue persists, try creating a new user account on your Mac to check if you experience the same behavior in that. You can check out the steps to create a new user account here: https://support.apple.com/en-is/guide/mac-help/mtusr001/10.15/mac/10.15

Let us know if it helps!

Regards,

Nikunj

[cmdv]

I did change the preferences and it sort of helped.. until it didn't. I am on a MacBook Air 2020 running Catalina (10.15.7).

I was able to open and use Bridge after adjusting the system preferences but then the next time I went to open Bridge, it was back to not working. 

It seems that there is some issue with the VPN and mounting external servers. If I have Bridge open, I cannot mount my work servers (which are the files that I use Bridge to search). But if I have the server already mounted before I try to open Bridge - then Bridge won't open. 

I was able to get it to work once but I cannot figure out what the magic order is to get it to work. 

No other Adobe Cloud programs I use are having this problem. And Bridge works fine with the VPN and servers on my older, personal laptop (which is still running High Sierra). 

[cmdv]

Oh and I forgot to mention that I did try making a new user. The new user had similar issues - I was able to open Bridge the first time, although it wasn't working (rainbow spinning wheel when I tried to select a location). After that, I was unable to open Bridge again. I was connected to the VPN, with external work server mounted. 

[gary_sc]

Hi CMDV,

Wait, you're trying to access files that are on a server? If so, (and I hate to say this), you're probably out of luck. Bridge was never designed to work with servers. It was designed to work with files that are on the computer or directly attached to the computer (hard drives, flash drives, etc.)

Can you please rebuild your Preferences but have Bridge open to a folder on your computer (it doesn't make a difference what's in the folder, just so long as it is not trying to access a server).

Thanks!

[cmdv]

That's strange because I have been using Bridge at work for years. And I am able to mount and browse the servers with Bridge on my older laptop just fine. It's only with a recent computer/OS upgrade that I've been having issues. 

It seems dumb to have a professional level tool that can't be used in a professional office environment, where files are on a network with servers. 

I did adjust the preferences and Bridge will open folders on the computer, if I don't have the office servers mounted,  but this is useless to me. I need access to my work files. 

Know of any other programs I can use to browse dozens of folders of hundreds of images, search/create metadata and tags, and create contact sheets?

[LadyGrimdark]

Hi

I am having the same issues.  Have followed all those steps and still get an error message.

I am usig a MacBook Pro 2019 with macOS Monterery version 12.3.1

thanks

[cmdv]

In case anyone is looking at this later - I was never able to get Bridge to work. I wound up switching to another program called Graphic Converter which does all the stuff I did in Bridge, plus more.