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The company I work for uses an app called "iView" to sort and review images for editorial purposes. This program was "end of life'd" quite some time ago and It's time to finally move away from our old program. A traditional DAM software, isn’t an option so we're going to use Bridge instead for our editorial and production needs. It seems like its going to work except for one part....
Saved sorting that can be viewed amongst different users. As of right now, changing file names is out of the question. We tend to re-use assets across different projects, so having to change the file name would break links on existing projects OR create many many duplicates of the same image.
This is a short example of our current process: User1 (the editor) sets the order using meta data fields, in which the images should be placed in the working document. User2 (the designer) needs to open those images to see the same order that User1 set them in. In the old application, we are able to sort images by the "event" field in the IPTC Core metadata field, but this is not a sort option in Bridge.
My instant solution for this was to use the “date created” IPTC Core metadata field. This seems like it would work, because it is a sort option, and its a field that can be edited in the metadata. Not to mention that we create dated products, and our current process is to sort using dates so it wouldn’t be a far stretch out of our current workspace. Example:
Image1 date created: 01/01/19
Image2 date created: 01/02/19
Image3 date created 01/03/19
TWO EXCEPTIONS
SO, is this the entirely wrong way to go about this? Is it possible the images where the date created isn't changing to be locked in some way?
Is changing the date created field a recipe for disaster? Is there a work around?
Should we be using a keyword to set each date? There are a few downsides to this, we cannot have a collection of 30 images and see them as a whole in day order and it would be a lot of keywords to have to constantly maintain.
I know Bridge isn’t intended to be used across multi users like this…. But we have to make this work for now, so any insight would be appreciated!
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Bridge's View menu > Show hidden files should reveal an invisible file titled .BridgeSort
You could try sharing and installing this file.
Good luck!
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.BridgeSort will only be good for a Manual sort.
I would have thought a collection would be in order, then the user could do a sort of thier own on date created.
They would have to have a way of copying the collections though.
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Thanks SuperMerlin, I was shooting from the hip!
Your correct that collections could be an option, as there is one "parent" creating the master collection and "children" sharing, this could work as long as the collection file was shared and installed by all users.
I just tested my original suggestion between Mac and Windows and I still think it is viable. As you say, the .BridgeSort file is not generated until the manual sort is selected. The default captured state of the manual sort appears to be the initial view sort order (i.e. date created), so as long as the manual sort is not changed, this should work in defining the "parent" sort order. The advantage is that the sort file is automatically created in the folder being viewed, so if this is a networked volume all Bridge users can view the sort simply by selecting manual.
I am guessing that there are pros/cons to both methods and until they are both put to test in a live multi-user setting there are too many unknowns. At least there are multiple options!
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Bridge really isn't designed to do this. I suppose hierarchical keywords (Project A | 1, Project A | 2) might be the best idea because those will always go with the files.
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Its also possible to use a script to set a custom sort order based on any XMP metadata field. You might look into that.
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I would like to see an example of that. I have only been able to do the standard sorts.
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Supposedly LOL. Its in the Object Model Viewer. Looks like you have to register an extension and apply a new SortCriterion.
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I have never seen anyone manage to get it to work though! That's why I would love to see an example.
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I messed with it at one point but didn't have time to debug a test script. Adobe says it works, right? haha