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Bridge CC 2017/2018 - copying cache to multiple computers

Explorer ,
Mar 19, 2018 Mar 19, 2018

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Hi there,

There has been a few discussions on this but still not sure if it is possible to copy the Bridge cache from one computer to another and have it work automatically on that second computer?

Some background on the problem:

We have a central image library on our file server on a network. We have several users that access this image library using Adobe Bridge from their local machines (Server is Windows, local computers are MacOS 10.12).

Each user has a local Bridge Cache on their computer which is updated as they visit folders in the central Image Library. Searching and filtering the Image Library is very important so its critical that each users cache is up-to-date (new images are constantly being added) but this is where we hit a problem.

When the user visits the top level 'Image Library' folder the cache gets updated with new items in that top level folder - this is good as this is our main collection. However the cache only gets updated with the items in this top level folder not items in subfolders. Users can visit individual sub folders to get them cached or we can get users to go to View > Show Items from Subfolders, and then items in sub folders are indexed/cached as well. However, the main problem with this is we have lots of sub folders and images - there is over 31000 items in total (the sub folders are required to manage originals, masters, renditions and other unsorted collections). This means that its a big load on each computer and the network to be constantly working thru indexing the full Image Library and all the sub folders.

Proposed solution:

(1) The main images that need to be searched/filtered are at the top level 'Image Library' folder so as soon as the user visits this folder their cache is updated for that folder - so that is covered.

(2) To update the cache for sub folders I'd like to setup a dedicated computer that runs a full Bridge reindex of the whole Image Library once a week (ie. creates a new cache). This new cache is then automatically copied to each users cache (overwriting the Bridge cache on their local computers). This way the cache on each users computer is fully updated once a week. Obviously the key to this working is whether it is possible to copy the cache from one computer to another and have it still work? Or are there settings in the cache file that are specific to an individual computer and so cause the cache files not to work correctly on another computer??

Any help would be much appreciated.

Many thanks.

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correct answers 1 Correct answer

Explorer , Mar 23, 2018 Mar 23, 2018

Thanks Cari for the feedback.

Yes, I've played around with using 'Automatically Export Cache To Folders When Possible' but it has some limits - in particular I think each users local Bridge/cache only looks at that exported cached file the first time it creates a local cache for that folder. After that it ignores it so its no help when content is regularly updated within a folder.

I've done some initial testing and think my original idea is going to work. So this is what I'm going to try :

1. On al

...

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Guide ,
Mar 22, 2018 Mar 22, 2018

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Are you currently only caching to local folders on the system you are using Bridge at?

Have you tried enabling the 'Automatically Export Cache To Folders When Possible' option (this assumes you have read/write access for the Image Library server)?

  • Preferences > Cache > Select Automatically Export Cache To Folders When Possible option.

I've always assumed this is platform independent, but must admit I'm not 100% sure.

If the content in the Image Library changes, e.g. file are moved around, deleted, added, you'd need to purge the cache once in a while as well to keep it up to date.

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Explorer ,
Mar 23, 2018 Mar 23, 2018

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Thanks Cari for the feedback.

Yes, I've played around with using 'Automatically Export Cache To Folders When Possible' but it has some limits - in particular I think each users local Bridge/cache only looks at that exported cached file the first time it creates a local cache for that folder. After that it ignores it so its no help when content is regularly updated within a folder.

I've done some initial testing and think my original idea is going to work. So this is what I'm going to try :

1. On all computers that use Adobe Bridge I'll change the cache location (under Preferences > Cache) to a location that has the same generic pathway on every computer eg. /Library/Application Support/Bridge-Cache. I think it is important to change the location from the user directory so that when I copy the cache folders to other machines they don't have 'user specific pathways' in any of the cache values which will cause the search to break.

2. Once a week, on a local dedicated computer, I'll open Adobe Bridge and go the the top level 'IMAGE_LIBRARY' folder (this is a folder accessed over the network - it exists on the central file server) and do the following:

3. Go to Tools > Cache > Build Cache For Folder "IMAGE_LIBRARY" and all Enclosed Folders. This step will run overnight and recreate the Bridge cache on that local computer (at the generic location of  /Library/Application Support/Bridge-Cache). This will mean the search index and thumbnails are completely up-to-date for the IMAGE_LIBRARY folder and its sub folders (but only on this local computer at this stage).

4. I'll then copy/sync the above updated cache folders (about 5GB) to each of the local computers running Adobe Bridge. This means all computers will now have an up-to-date cache ie. search index and thumbnails will be the latest.

I'll automate steps 2 to 4 (the weekly cache update) so that it happens automatically.

I'll let you know if I hit any issues but at this stage its looking promising : )

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Community Beginner ,
May 28, 2018 May 28, 2018

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hi!

similar problem here, any news about your idea? does it work?

thanks!

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Explorer ,
May 28, 2018 May 28, 2018

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Yes, this idea works! We have had it in place for about a month and not had any problems.

All our computers, including the standalone computer are macs, while the image library is located on a Windows file server. I imagine the process should work fine on Windows client computers as well but I haven't tested this.

We are just in process of better automating how we sync the cache out to different computers. Also I currently manually run the cache update on the standalone computer once a week but we will look at how we can automate/schedule this to happen automatically once a week - so the whole process becomes automatic.

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Community Beginner ,
May 29, 2018 May 29, 2018

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Thanks for your answer!

Sounds great! I will try it and I will let you know. We only have Windows on our server and clients.

I've searched a bit about cache creation automatization but I didn't found anything, hope you have more luck on it. Please let me know if you found it!

Do you have "Export cache to folders" activated on your clients? In my case that is quite unpleasant because making changes on a file doesn't update thumbnails on other clients, so it's a mess working with that option on.

Thanks for your help!

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Explorer ,
May 29, 2018 May 29, 2018

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No worries : )

Yes, I'll be interested to know if the process works fine on Windows client computers as well.

We have "export cache to folders" turned off on all machines. We found it is not really helpful to our process and created unnecessary hidden cache files in each folder (as well as increasing time to create the index/cache).

If the Bridge "export cache to folders" is turned on then a cache file is created in every folder in your image library (this is separate to the central Bridge cache on each computer). The idea is that  when another computer visits that Image library folder FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME it can use that cache file to update its central cache more quickly. However Bridge only uses it the first time it visits that folder - it is ignored every time after that. In other words its not helpful if you are updating the contents of folders regularly so it becomes out-of-date. Also in our case we are pushing a new 'cache/index' to each computer weekly from a central source so this completely obsoletes any need for caches in each folder.

Hope that helps.

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Community Beginner ,
May 29, 2018 May 29, 2018

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You are being so helpful. I will try it and I will back to you in a few days.

Thanks!

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Explorer ,
May 29, 2018 May 29, 2018

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I meant to say it seems you have two options for updating the cache on the standalone computer. You need to go to top level folder (ours is 'IMAGE_LIBRARY') and do one of following:

(1) Tools > Cache > Build Cache For Folder "IMAGE_LIBRARY" and all Enclosed Folders

OR

(2) View > Show Items from Subfolders

I am not sure exactly how the cache is created but essentially i think both options traverse through each folder and sub folder checking for items that don't have thumbnails or haven't been added to the cache. It seems that the first option builds the cache completely afresh so it can take quite a while to run. The second option just updates the cache with any new/missing items so its is a lot quicker to run.

Our process is that most weeks we just run the second option to update the cache (View > Show Items from Subfolders) because it is quicker, but once a month we completely recreate the cache (Tools > Cache > Build Cache For Folder "IMAGE_LIBRARY" and all Enclosed Folders) just to ensure there is no corruption and to clean out deleted items etc.

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Explorer ,
May 29, 2018 May 29, 2018

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Oh, one last thing to be aware of!

Bridge Cache Preferences.

We do the following:

1. Keep 100% Previews in Cache - unticked (makes cache file size too big)

2. Automatically Export Cache To Folders When Possible - unticked as discussed in earlier post

3. Location - folder outside user folder eg on mac: /Library/Application Support/Bridge-Cache/

4. Cache Size - we set at 500,000 (because we don't any items being removed from cache)

5. Compact Cache On Exit (Recommended) - Ticked. We thought we might need to untick this if it removed items from the cache that it shouldn't but as long as 'Cache Size' is set to 500,000 it seems to behave correctly so we leave it ticked (otherwise users get pop-up message when quitting Bridge asking if they want to purge cache or not).

6. Purge Cache Older Than - unticked

And finally, in the main Bridge interface/window under the 'Options for thumbnail quality and preview generation' icon:

we tick 'Always High Quality' and make sure others are unticked, especially 'Generate 100% Previews'.

'Prefer Embedded' might work for you instead of 'Always High Quality' - it uses the thumbnail embedded in the image which makes building the cache quicker and the cache a lot smaller (because Bridge doesn't have to generate its own thumbnails). However we found embedded thumbnails aren't always accurate with colour or even the actual image (eg. files editing in Camera Raw using non-destructive editing don't show the latest edits in the thumbnail) so we stick with 'Always High Quality'.

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Community Beginner ,
May 30, 2018 May 30, 2018

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Hi!

Thanks for your help again!

We use quite the same Bridge options. I think that "Prefer embedded" is fine because we don't trust anyway color and definition of bridge previews, so we have to open it in Photoshop anyway.

The most worrying thing for me is cache update, we have about 20 computers working on the same folders, modifying constantly files. I'm not sure if cache will be updated with the changes. Now for example we have lots of problems with Bridge labels. It seems that Bridge doesn't refresh when other users change some tags or labels and we need to purge cache on that client.

Next week I will try your method in some computers and I will let you know.

Thanks for all!

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Explorer ,
May 30, 2018 May 30, 2018

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We do all our 'labelling' using keywords and other metadata fields because these are stored inside the image rather than in a separate location on the user's machine - this avoids search issues between computers.

My understanding is that labels are not stored in the image (or not in all formats anyway) so we avoid using them. The same goes for star ratings.

We manage the keywords list/file centrally so if anyone has changes to it they let me know and I roll out the new keywords file to everyone so they have the latest list to select from. We also have our own custom metadata and file info panels for entering info about each image - these fields as stored in the image as well and so we have no problems with the cache/search index.

It would be nice to use the label and star rating functionality and i think i have read in certain instances that this information can be stored in the actual image (so there wouldn't be issues with search etc) but i have not investigated this yet.

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Community Beginner ,
May 31, 2018 May 31, 2018

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Morning!

Well, in my experience stars are more trustable than tag names. I'm aware that tag names are stored in metadata (we also have an .exe to clean up that info at the end of the process)  but it seems to not refresh when there are so many changes on the image and Bridge doesn't refresh the cache. Although, I'm talking about my experience without following your method about shared cache, perhaps that's the problem in my case.

I'm working on that. Is nice to share common troubles on working with Adobe Bridge across the LAN.

Thanks again!

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Explorer ,
May 31, 2018 May 31, 2018

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Thanks Marc, yes good to share experiences : ) Let me know how you go, we hope to further refine our image system in coming months so will be good to hear your experiences.

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New Here ,
Jun 06, 2018 Jun 06, 2018

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Hello!

This entire thread has been incredibly helpful. My company has a similar setup, in which we share photos across servers and need Bridge to recognize when we update keywords for photo files.

May I ask: what process do you use to sync the central cache out to the different local computers?

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Explorer ,
Jun 06, 2018 Jun 06, 2018

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We are in final stages of refining our system to automatically update cache on each computer but essentially it is this:

(1) Once a week a standalone computer creates the full cache of IMAGE_LIBRARY folder (and sub folders) - this is currently run manually - normally overnight, but we will look at a way to schedule this to run automatically once a week

(2) After the cache is updated on above computer we quit Bridge on that standalone machine and copy the cache to a second location (using Carbon Copy Cloner). Once cache is copied, Bridge can be reopened on that machine

(3) Each other mac computer on our network runs a script once a week (BASH script) to quit Bridge and then use rsync to copy any changed cache files to its local hard drive (from the copy of the cache on the original standalone computer). Then restart Bridge.

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LEGEND ,
Jun 06, 2018 Jun 06, 2018

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I wouldn't expect any of this to be reliable. Cache is meant to be auto-generated and updated, and is temporary. Metadata is updated in files (either internally or sidecars) and the cache simply speeds up display. It is NOT meant to be canonical (if the file differs from the cache, the cache will be updated.)

My advice would be forget about copying cache files. Just make your changes and let each copy of Bridge read from the files.

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Explorer ,
Jun 06, 2018 Jun 06, 2018

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Hi Lumigraphics,

You might be right re this process not being reliable but in all our testing so far we have had very few problems.

Occasionally I open Bridge on a computer and it starts recreating thumbnails and I haven't investigated fully why this happens.

It DOES happen if the computer uses a network path to access the IMAGE_LIBRARY on the server that is different to the path used by the original standalone computer - so its critical all computers use the same path. But there may be another scenario when this issue happens that I haven't discovered yet.

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LEGEND ,
Jun 07, 2018 Jun 07, 2018

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It starts creating thumbnails because that's how it is supposed to work. Cache management is internal to the program. What I\m telling you is, you are wasting your time. Its not designed to work like you think it does.

Just let each computer manage its own cache files.

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Explorer ,
Jun 07, 2018 Jun 07, 2018

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Hi Lumigraphics,

As mentioned earlier leaving each computer to create its own cache files (including thumbnails) is problematical when there are lots of sub folders and multiple users adding to those sub folders all the time. People's cache/search index gets out of date very quickly.

Bridge only updates the cache on an individual folder if you visit that folder which is unrealistic to do in our setup.

I know you keep saying we are wasting our time but we have tested all this, we have also compared cache files (created by standalone computer versus created on each users computer) and the system works. The issue of recreating thumbnails is a RARE issue and is not happening on all computers.

Anyway maybe there is something you know that we didn't encounter in testing and now users using the system? It would be helpful if you shared what this is.  If that proves to be the case we will revert to recreating the cache on each computer once a week. But the problem with this is:

(1) Load on network is too much, particularly if all computers recreating cache and thumbnails at same time

(2) Automating the process so not user reliant

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Explorer ,
Jul 12, 2018 Jul 12, 2018

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Lumigraphics, your solution to "Just let each computer manage its own cache files." won't work for my company either. We have over 60,000 images, and the resulting cache files (even with Keep 100% Previews In Cache turned off) are over 11GB. It also took over 10 days to cache the entire image server (I could only run it during the day, not overnight). I've offered to copy my cache files to other computers, because any other solution isn't practical. If we had 15 computers trying to cache the server, it would most certainly slow it to a crawl if it didn't crash it completely.

Jim

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LEGEND ,
Jul 17, 2018 Jul 17, 2018

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At some point you need a better solution than Bridge and a file server. There are purpose-built DAMs for large media collections.

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Adobe Employee ,
Oct 15, 2018 Oct 15, 2018

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Hi All,


We have released a new version of Adobe Bridge (CC 2019) on 15th October 2018. The new version build number is 9.0.0.204. This version is available to install via Adobe Creative Cloud application.

This Bridge update contains support for centrally managing the Adobe Bridge cache (https://helpx.adobe.com/bridge/using/centrally-manage-bridge-cache.html).

Please check following link to know about all new features in Adobe Bridge CC 2019 - https://helpx.adobe.com/bridge/using/whats-new.html

You may need to update the Creative Cloud application and restart your computer to see the updated installer.

Thanks,

Varun Varshney

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Explorer ,
Oct 16, 2018 Oct 16, 2018

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Hi Varun,

Thanks for the update. I will definitely test the new multi user/cache features in coming weeks and post back on this thread how we go building them into our workflow, and if/where it improves things - good to know Adobe are listening to our needs : )

All the best, Lee

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Community Beginner ,
Oct 24, 2018 Oct 24, 2018

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This thread has been SO SO helpful to my work flow problems, thank you all for sharing your knowledge!

Did anyone find an answer to asking the cache to automatically update? I'd like Bridge to weekly automatically scan new data and integrate it into the cache and find data that has moved or added new metadata. That can then be shared among users. I'm testing out the new central cache system as we speak, so I'll provide updates on that as I have them!

Thanks again!

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