Photo Downloader not functioning reliably from Bridge on Macs -- Help

[SHINC]

It's several years and Photo Downloader continues to function very unreliably.

1. On my other computer using OS Big Sur, it doesn't hold the Advanced Settings at all

2. On my MacBook Air running OS Mojave, it retains the advanced settings BUT...

3. On both computers and OSs, it quits out midstream of downloading. This can be for large quantities, such as 70 or more, and also for small, such as only 8 photos. 

I am traveling and losing tons of time doing my daily download of photos. Does someone have the reason and more importantly the fix for this?
If someone from Adobe could weigh in and explain why an app so reliable over 5 years ago has become riddled with problems and let us know now to fix (and if impossible, then how soon will it be -- last time I checked over 2 years ago, they indicated it was being worked on and would be soon... what happened?)?

Thank you.

Shelley

[SHINC]

p.s. I am downloading from an iPhone 12 Pro Max 

[gary_sc]

This is going to sound wierd but I have NO problems downloading images from my phone while I know some people who can't even get as far as you've gotten. While I do not know what's going on inside Adobe (almost no one here works for Adobe, we're mostly just folks who are willing to help others), I have a hunch that they are still baffled by this because it's really hard to fix things that are not consistent. (E.g., the horrible noise your car makes that goes away when you bring it into the shop.)

Sadly I am unaware of any real solution for this at this point in time. One workaround that I've ALWAYS done is to download my phone's images to my computer via DropBox. Since it's wifi, it will not be as fast as a wired connection but it does reliably work. And, until this is fixed, do you want to fight to get it done the way it's supposed to work or do you ant to get it done?

I really wish I could offer more.

[SHINC]

Thank you for you thoughtful and complete reply. 

Either DropBox route or using the option "Import from Device..." rather tham "Get Photos from Camera..." may be the "quickest" solution. However, neither of those have the option to rename, so renaming will be an extra step as files in my photo archive are all preceded by yyyymmdd. Luckily, I have a way to batch that if needed.

And in the meantime, my hope there are enough people with this problem that Adobe will continue to search for a solution. So many of my friends/colleagues, all who have been using Adobe applications since the 90s, lament some of the bugs that accompanied more and more features being added to each.

Thanks again!

[Erik Bloodaxe]

You might add your  vote here:

https://adobebridge.uservoice.com/forums/905377-report-bugs/suggestions/35783887-bridge-2019-photo-d...

[Erik Bloodaxe]

...also a lengthy discussion with possible solution here:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/bridge-discussions/bridge-photo-downloader-does-not-retain-settings/m...

[SHINC]

Hey Erik, I tried what was suggested. The suggestion didn't address what to do if you already have a CC Bridge 2019, as welll as 2020 and 2021 folder.

Maybe you can speak to that?

Thanks,

Shelley

[Erik Bloodaxe]

The troublesome folder absolutely must be named "Bridge CC 2019" and NOT "CC Bridge 2019".

In that folder there should be a file named APDPreferences.xml which is your Photodownloader preferences file. If it's not there check that it is created when you run the photodownloader software AFTER you have created the correct folder.

The issue reported by many users is that this folder is missing from their systems and the software is programmed to save the prefernces file in that folder. If it is absent then no preferences are saved.

I hope this cures your issue but, if not, then I'm afraid you have exhauseted my knowledge!

By the way, do not delete the other folders you mentioned.

[SHINC]

oops. i dislexically wrote it wrong. however, it is correct in my library.
and i see the APD.... files....  

hopefully will be good to go.

thanks again.

[SHINC]

Hi Erik,

Adding the Bridge CC 2019 folder definitely helped.

It resolved the application holding the Advanced Settings for photodownload.

It did not resolve the unpredicatability of how many photos would download from my iPhone. Although this feature worked better (I sometimes choose between 50 and 100 of the most recent to download at once), it would still sometimes quit either after a few or midway.  

My THOUGHTS on that, could the following be a cause for the malfunction:

• The overall volume of photos stored on my iPhone is quite large, over 14,000. However that shouldn't affect my selecting and downloading the most recent(?)
• Deleting some of the photos on the iPhone prior to the download - maybe downloader senses a break in the inherent image numbering(?)
• Editing/cropping photos on iPhone prior to download. This shouldn't affect anything. Downloader likes to download the original as well as the editted version.

I will continue to see how this all plays out working from my iMac OS Big Sur now instead of the MacBook Air OS Mojave and update this if there are any new discoveries.

[SHINC]

Upgrading to Adobe products of 2022 seems to have resolved many issues. I still keep the Bridge CC 2019 in my preferences folder as described above.

PHOTO DOWNLOADER NOW RETAINS THE SETTINGS, even advanced renaming from download to download session

The main PESKY thing now is that on one of my Macs (running OS Monterey*) the photo list runs from newest back to oldest, which is practical and useul. The other Mac (running OS Big Sur*) show photos from oldest to newest, which is highly inconvenient because it requires scrolling to find the latest to download and the previews sometimes don't show up at the bottom of the list for a long time.

To resolve I have searched where and if preferences can be set on the order photos appear, however, can not find any. I have even copied the preferences from the computer that shows them newest to oldest to other computer. (I quite out of Bridge before and even restarted my computer). The other computer still did not pick up the settings.

If someone could advise on this – perhaps an Adobe programmer person who may be monitoring this discussion – that would be most helpful. Where and how can the oreder of the photos be controlled to ensure they preview from newest to oldest in Photo Downloader?

Let me know.

Thanks.

p.s. i do not think the OS should make a difference. they are both very recent. or would it?