Bridge Performance Poor

[ExUSA]

I use Bridge at work for image processing and cataloging. I use a workstation with local image storage and a server for storage. Our network is Gig Ethernet, 10Gig to the server, Windows 7 Pro on the processing workstation. I have a decently fast i7 PC with 16GB of RAM. Fully updated Bridge CC.

Frequently, I need to find and work with saved images in larger folders (over 9100 images currently) and/or nested folders. Most are JPEG files although I have smaller numbers of active PSD's as well.

Listing these folders, even on the internal hard drive, takes forever. I understand that thumbnails and metadata are read but several minutes before I can work with anything is ridiculous. There are frequent "Not Responding" timeouts of a minute or two, lots and lots of lag, terrible performance. Delete or rename a file and the ENTIRE folder listing rebuilds, again taking several minutes. I frequently have to switch back and forth between folders and its painful to say the least. Bridge is by far the slowest program on the computer.

I sometimes have problems even switching to a small folder with maybe a dozen files. Bridge will stall for a minute, or two, or three.

Windows Explorer and Faststone will list the same folders in a few seconds. Even over ftp, to a remote server, both Cyberduck and cURL can list a 9000 image directory in a few seconds. There is no excuse for Bridge to take several minutes to show a folder listing on the internal hard drive.

Searching in Bridge via the upper right-hand corner search field frequently returns a not found result unless I've already waited for the folder to fully load. Finding images in subfolders often never works. Even after Bridge builds an index, the next search has the same problem. Using the full search tool and selecting non-indexed files works but again is terribly slow (10-15 minutes while its re-indexing.) These are files that I know exist, I just need to load them.

Is there ANY way to make Bridge do a simple file listing more quickly, and for search to actually work? I'm fine with waiting on metadata and thumbnails but its gotten to where Bridge is almost unusable. I've deleted and rebuilt caches and tried every permutation of cache settings with no luck. Disabled unneeded startup scripts, I have no third-party plugins other than Image Processor Pro.

Right now I'm looking for alternative software because Bridge is about useless from being so slow. But its a hard sell to my management, Photo Mechanic is $150 and I still need access to ACR and scripting for Photoshop and metadata processing.

Lightroom is not a solution, since its missing all the connections for batch processing via Photoshop.

[c.pfaffenbichler]

You may want to post on the Bridge Forum if you want to discuss Bridge issues.

[ExUSA]

I looked before but it wasn't listed in forums. Let me see if I can find it. Thank you.

[@mj · Accepted solution]

You may find these suggestions helpful.

Set preferences to manage and optimize the Adobe Bridge CC cache size

HTH

[JJMack]

Both Lightroom and Bridge have performance issues.  Using a distributed cache will help bridge's performance once the caches are populated. Lightroom and Bridge performance will most likely never be good when they first see new collection of image files.  Comparing Lightroom and Bridge to applications like Windows File Explorer and Fastone is comparing Apples and Oranges. You are not comparing like Things. 

I rarely use bridge and do not install Lightroom.  I use windows file explorer most of the time.  However your company work most likely need  feature  by Bridge.  I only use Bridge to edit metadata.  

Even if the folder with the 9100+ image files in it, was on your local SSD I think the first time Bridge sees that folder it would take bridge quite some time to be useable and even then it will still be populating its cache creating updating thumbnails and whatever else it updates and caches. Bridge is not a file explorer or image viewer.  Features Bridge has are not found in file explorer and image viewers different things not like things.

[ExUSA]

Bridge should be able to correctly search in a folder, and quickly return a folder listing while it loads thumbnails and metadata. There is no excuse for taking several minutes to load a complete list of files (other than poor programming.) Bridge builds the list as each item's metadata and thumbnail is fully read, rather than displaying a complete folder list first then making details available.

And the problem isn't the first time I load a folder. I switch back and forth between the same folders all day. If I load a big folder, switch away, then go back- the whole load process starts over. A folder listing shouldn't start over when deleting or renaming a file.

I've tried all of the suggestions about purging caches, checking Library paths, closing Folders pane, etc etc.

Unfortunately, your answer really isn't an answer. Bridge is still slow enough to be borderline unusable. Incorrect search results is a bug. I understand that there may not be a fix but its hugely disappointing.

[JJMack]

ExedyUSA  wrote

Bridge should be able to correctly search in a folder, and quickly return a folder listing

First let me state user here are Adobe users we do not work for Adobe nor are we part of Adobe Support.  Adobe funds this site so their user can help other with using Adobe products.

You have several issues. You know Bridge performance is not what you would like it to be.  You know caching has a lot to do with performance.   Your think that Adobe Bridge returns folders listings it does not its not a browser or file explorer or an imager viewer. You never showed you caching settings or state that ever user sharing in the image your organization have the same settings.  Adobe does not officially support network file servers or network drives.  I have no idea as to how network sharing interlock drives folder and files or effects Bridges caching when distributed caching is used. Bridge retrieves way more data then mere file list across you network.  Bridge does not display file list.  It displays files metadata image thumbnails etc not file list.  If all you need is a file list use Windows File explorer like I do.  I rarely use bridge because of its performance and I'm sure network sharing will further degrade bridge's performance.

[JJMack]

I do not have a folder with 9,000+ image files.  The closest we have in our house is one of my wife folders with 5,223 RAW files. Our machine are wire to our home router.  A 1Gbit connection.  Our image are on external USB3 4TB Drives.  So I pointed  Bridge CC 2017 on my machine to her folder on her machine. Closed the Bridge and deleted CC 2017 Bridge cache Folder. Started Bridge and stop watch. It took the bridge 2:30 to start up and populate a new cache with her folder's data.  Stopped the bridge and look to see how big the cache was.

I then started Bridge and a stopwatch Took 20 seconds to ready the thumbnails for scrolling and an additional 10 seconds to ready all the metadata.  I could see a 9.000+ image folder taking twice as long and 1GB of data would be cached,  Why  9,000+ images in a single folder.

[D Fosse]

Bridge is sluggish when you have to work directly from a server. So I avoid it.

Note that Adobe has always and consistently warned against working directly from a server, and they have always very explicitly said that they do not support it. This applies to all the applications, not just Bridge.

The recommended thing to do is work locally and save to server when done.

I should add that even if it did work flawlessly (as it sometimes does), general speed is nowhere near a local disk system. So I have never really considered any other option than local storage. Servers are fine for small Word and Excel documents, not so much for large image files.

[ExUSA]

Hi, thank you for the replies. Please try to stay on topic. Advising me to use Explorer and work on local disks isn't helpful. As for cache settings, I have tested a number of different settings over the last couple of years, deleted caches, etc to no effect.

I'm in a work environment so I don't have a lot of options as to configuration.

I'm not working off a server, generally. Primary work is done on a workstation and then sync'd to a network server. Having said that, I still expect better performance across the network, and ESPECIALLY with local folders.

And Bridge is advertised as a file browser, not sure what else it would be? But Windows Explorer will not handle my workflow. It can't use labels or keywords, both of which I rely on. Explorer can't do batch renaming. And so on.

What I'm gathering is that I'm stuck, Bridge performance can't be fixed to fit my needs.

[JJMack]

It seem you need to use the bridge for it is not a file browser it is an organized and manager a filter, interfaces with ACR and Photoshop.  I have never seen bridge advertised as a file browser it much more than that.  Your biggest performance problem is cause be your use of it.  You would not have the long delays you have if your folders did not have some many files with the exception of Bridge first access of folders.  9000 files is a lot of file to gather the information Bridge need.  When the data is caches in distributed caches bridge can access that data without first having to acquire the information  for 9000 files and cache information for 9000 files in 9000 additional files.  You are shooting yourself in your foot IMO the way you are using Bridge.

Users here are User of Adobe Products not Adobe employees or Part of Adobe support.  If you want Adobe to make changes to Bridge you should use Adobe site for that. submit a request at Photoshop Family Customer Community

There are workstations the are fast and work station the are slow. Mine is on the slow side its clock is 2.2 GHc and because of the this clock speed the ram in my systen is run ar s slower speed then it can run at.  I test over my home 1Gbit network My dual sic core xeons Processor, running off a 256GB SSD with 40GB of ECC RAM takes 2 and 1/2 minuets for bridge to do a cold access of my wife machine folder with 5000+ raw files.  With a warm Cache it takes 30 seconds.    So it does take some time.

If your machine always takes several minuets there may be some problem with your machine hardware/software. Or its the way you are using Bridge and as you point out Windows file explorer is no Bridge.

[itsmetho]

OK, I'm posting a reply for those happend to read this in 2019. File browser, organiser, all symantecs. You've made your point. No it's not advertised literally as a file browser, come on! Everyone means the same thing: being able to browse/select/copy/whatever your images, usually located in folders, in one place. 

" Centralize your creative assets.   Adobe Bridge, which is a part of Adobe Creative Cloud, lets you organize the assets you use to create content for print, web, and video. "

 https://www.adobe.com/products/bridge.html

I can also list the specs of every single piece of hardware in my house, but the bottom line is that it sucks at handling even very small folders with hires images, no matter how fast the machine. All the RAM, Ghz's and GPU's in my machine don't do it, and literally every similar application I have ever seen displayed on a screen does this much faster, at least once cache has been created. 

I have the same sluggish experience. I'm trying to work with 5-10K scanned simple 8bit jpg's only 50-100 in one folder, and every single time I go back to Bridge to browse these, I have to wait at least seconds for the app to let me scroll again and opening another folder takes even longer. 

[Chuck Uebele]

Moving to Bridge forum.