How do I start Adobe Bridge in Photoshop?

[Fallen_Nyx]

I'm doing my tutorials in the photoshop textbook (2021), in the lession it says to start photoshop, choose File>Browse in Bridge. That option doesn't appear in my File tab. Do you know how to fix this?

[D Fosse]

Do you have these scripts enabled?

[Fallen_Nyx]

I don't even see startup scripts as an option😖

[Fallen_Nyx]

I found it!! But there all enabled...

[melissapiccone]

I teach out of that book and I have never accessed Bridge that way. Just open it - it's a seperate application. I highly recommend always using Bridge. I usually start there and open my documents from Bridge. 

[D Fosse]

Yes, absolutely, me too. I can't really see the purpose of that menu item.

But if the scripts aren't running, that might cause other problems.

[jane-e]

@Fallen_Nyx 

• Have you installed Adobe Bridge from the Creative Cloud app? It's a separate application and has to be installed.
  
  
• You are on Page 36, Step 3. When you did Step 1, did you get a dialog to Reset Preferences? If not, open PS and go to Photoshop menu > Preferences > General > Reset Preferences on Quit. The timing with holding down the keys as you launch can be tricky.

Please report back to let us know you have Adobe Bridge open with one of these methods.

Jane

[Fallen_Nyx]

I installed the adobe bridge separatly onto my laptop and have reset my preferences several times already to work on my other tutorials

[Bojan Živković]

Als o check that visibility of menu item is set to visible.

[Fallen_Nyx]

I don't have browse in bridge

[Stephen_A_Marsh]

As a last resort, a custom Photoshop script can be used to launch Bridge.

[Fallen_Nyx]

how?

[Stephen_A_Marsh]

---

@Fallen_Nyx wrote:

how?

---

Photoshop JS code:

/*
https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-discussions/how-do-i-start-adobe-bridge-in-photoshop/m-p/12818569
Stephen Marsh, 1st March 2022
*/

// Add a new item in the File > Automate menu to separate the script from the normal scripts folder
/*
<javascriptresource>
<name>$$$/JavaScripts/LaunchAdobeBridge/Menu=Launch Adobe Bridge...</name>
<menu>automate</menu>
</javascriptresource>
*/

#target photoshop

var bt = new BridgeTalk();
// BridgeTalk code to launch Bridge if it is not running
if (!BridgeTalk.isRunning('bridge')) {
    BridgeTalk.launch('bridge'); // Version agnostic
    //BridgeTalk.launch('bridge-12'); // Bridge 2022
}

1. Copy the code text to the clipboard
2. Open a new blank file in a plain-text editor (not word-processor)
3. Paste the code in
4. Save the text file as .txt
5. Rename the file extension from .txt to .jsx
6. Install the .jsx file to run

[Stephen_A_Marsh]

@Fallen_Nyx – So how did the script work for you? I don't use an M1 Mac so I'm curious...

[Jeff Arola · Accepted solution]

If your mac has an M1 Processor, then that's the reason you don't see File>Browse in Bridge in photoshop.

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/photoshop-for-apple-silicon.html

[Fallen_Nyx]

I do have the M1 Processor, how can I get around this?

[Stephen_A_Marsh]

I just made my previous reply bold+red...

It would take more work to push the current document path to Bridge to fully emulate the missing command.

[Stephen_A_Marsh]

I must have tried "hundreds" of different bits of code to pass the path to Bridge for display, without any luck:

#target photoshop
var theFolder = decodeURI(app.activeDocument.path + "/");
var bt = new BridgeTalk();
if (!BridgeTalk.isRunning('bridge')) {
    BridgeTalk.launch('bridge'); // Version agnostic
    //BridgeTalk.launch('bridge-12'); // Bridge 2022
    app.document.thumbnail = Folder(theFolder); // debugger object undefined error!
}

I'll add a conditional check for the existence of a doc path if somebody can help to get Bridge to display the parent folder.

[Kukurykus]

with(new BridgeTalk()) target = 'bridge',
body = 'app.document.thumbnail = ' +
activeDocument.path.toSource(), send()

[Stephen_A_Marsh]

Thank you, I'll look into it tomorrow.

[Polycontrast]

Let’s say the photoshop script saves the file to a new location and then calls Bridge to display the thumbnail in the presentation pane.

Does it make sense to include the outputFolder variable in the code snippet to display the thumbnail in Bridge?

outputFolder = Folder.selectDialog("Please select output folder");

 If so, how should the outputFolder variable be implemented in the snippet to call Bridge?

with(new BridgeTalk()) target = 'bridge',
body = 'app.document.thumbnail = ' +
activeDocument.path.toSource(), send()

[Kukurykus]

Probably instead of activeDocument.

[Polycontrast]

OK, that makes sense. I will test it. Many thanks for your help.

[Polycontrast]

I changed the activeDocument for the outputFolder but did not work. 

The following snippet takes me to a specific Bridge folder, but the folder name needs to be hardcoded.

callBridge()

function callBridge() {
  BridgeTalk.bringToFront('bridge');
  (bt = new BridgeTalk()).target = 'bridge'

  //select folder 
  var theFolder = "My Folder"
  bt.body = 'with(app.document) thumbnail = decodeURI(File(presentationPath).path) + "/" + '+ theFolder.toSource(),bt.send()

}

I try to add the outputFolder variable to the snippet without success. 

Since the outputFolder produces the full path name to the save directory. What needs to change on the callBridge function to get Bridge to display the outputFolder directory?