Sunday, July 10, 2016
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Freelance now
Effective April 1 I ended my tenure at Johnson & Wales University as digital photo librarian. It was interesting and challenging to be sure and I met some fine folks along the way.
But if you're in need of advice or help in setting up and maintaining an image library using Bridge just give me a shout.
Happy trails!
But if you're in need of advice or help in setting up and maintaining an image library using Bridge just give me a shout.
Happy trails!
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Export cache to Folders
OK, so the long and short of this feature of Adobe Bridge is, it works.
Since I manage a library used by a couple of dozen users, I never use this feature since it can't be shared. But I recently upgraded my Windows machine to Bridge 6.2 and experienced a somewhat troubling when I went to index a copy of the image library I had on an external hard drive.
A few weeks back I uploaded a complete copy of our image library onto an external hard drive, which included nearly 300k of photos taking up some 1.8 tbs of space. I chose to index this external drive copy of the library using the "Prefer Embedded" rather than "Always High Quality” in generating the metadata t speed up the caching process and discovered soon after that the cache was gone, or rather it had not indexed properly. Either way, no search results were coming up.Whatever it was, I was faced with how to resolve this potentially disastrous issue.
So, since I was using the copy of the library I had on an external drive I thought why not try the "Export Cache to Folders" feature? After all, I didn’t need to rebuild the cache on my local machine since I was the only one accessing the external drive.
I selected the Image Library at the topmost level and chose “Export Cache to Folders.” After about 36 hours it had completely built a cache file in each and every one of 164 folders. As a result, searching is quick and spot on. And I don’t have to rely on the nuances of Bridge’s own cache on the machine itself.
One caveat, though: I don’t know what the consequences would be if you moved the image library to a new drive. Would Bridge still read the cache in each folder? My guess is it shouldn’t make a difference and Adobe claims it should still work fine. Still, I’ll have to test that out, but using a much smaller and more manageable sample.
For the moment, however, if you’re the only one using your image library use the “Export Cache to Folders” feature.
A few weeks back I uploaded a complete copy of our image library onto an external hard drive, which included nearly 300k of photos taking up some 1.8 tbs of space. I chose to index this external drive copy of the library using the "Prefer Embedded" rather than "Always High Quality” in generating the metadata t speed up the caching process and discovered soon after that the cache was gone, or rather it had not indexed properly. Either way, no search results were coming up.Whatever it was, I was faced with how to resolve this potentially disastrous issue.
So, since I was using the copy of the library I had on an external drive I thought why not try the "Export Cache to Folders" feature? After all, I didn’t need to rebuild the cache on my local machine since I was the only one accessing the external drive.
I selected the Image Library at the topmost level and chose “Export Cache to Folders.” After about 36 hours it had completely built a cache file in each and every one of 164 folders. As a result, searching is quick and spot on. And I don’t have to rely on the nuances of Bridge’s own cache on the machine itself.
One caveat, though: I don’t know what the consequences would be if you moved the image library to a new drive. Would Bridge still read the cache in each folder? My guess is it shouldn’t make a difference and Adobe claims it should still work fine. Still, I’ll have to test that out, but using a much smaller and more manageable sample.
For the moment, however, if you’re the only one using your image library use the “Export Cache to Folders” feature.
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Adobe Bridge Output module error
If you've updated Bridge to 6.2 on the Mac and are running Yosemite then you might receive the "I/O Error" when attempting to create a PDF.
If so, you will need to update your AOM (Adobe Output Module). You can find the necessary download link and instructions on Adobe's website or you can cut-and-past the url:
https://helpx.adobe.com/bridge/kb/install-output-module-bridge-cc.html
And voila!
Be well.
If so, you will need to update your AOM (Adobe Output Module). You can find the necessary download link and instructions on Adobe's website or you can cut-and-past the url:
https://helpx.adobe.com/bridge/kb/install-output-module-bridge-cc.html
And voila!
Be well.
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Bridge encounters a problem reading the cache -- solution - 1/28/2016
OK, so a fresh install of the program did NOT help. The problem with Bridge was beginning to appear systemic. It was occurring whether connected to the network through VPN, to an external hard drive on my desk or when trying to access a folder on my PC desktop.
Well, after some online research I think I might have found the solution: restore the program's factory settings. That is, reset the Preferences and purge the thumbnail cache.
According to Adobe you launch Bridge and IMMEDIATELY hold down the Command+Option+Shift (PC: Control+Alt+Shift) keys. A small dialogue box will appear:
Check the two boxes as shown and voila! You should be all set. A word of caution, though. This will, of course reset all your Preferences so you will have to tweak Bridge . and you'll have to reindex your image library, too. The word online is that this might happen with some frequency. We'll see.
Well, after some online research I think I might have found the solution: restore the program's factory settings. That is, reset the Preferences and purge the thumbnail cache.
According to Adobe you launch Bridge and IMMEDIATELY hold down the Command+Option+Shift (PC: Control+Alt+Shift) keys. A small dialogue box will appear:
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Bridge encounters a problem reading the cache
OK, so right off I want to emphasize that this is a BIG and I mean very big PROBLEM. Aside from Bridge's painfully slow search feature - however robust it might -- the potential for a corrupt cache is very real, particularly for the archivist who is a heavy Bridge user.
You launch Bridge and when normally the program opens and stabilizes you see it stall out as it "builds criteria" even though you've selected nothing. That means its trying to access the cache of the interface itself and having a damn hard time doing it.
Then you get the dreaded message: "Bridge encountered a problem reading the cache. Please purge the central cache."
Oh no.
That means all the indexing you've done has to be trashed and you need to start all over again. Which also means that you are unable to search your image library in the process. That's not good.
Well, this has happened to me a number of times over the years and it's never pretty. While you can't prevent this from happening you can anticipate that it will and work around it.
How?
Always have the image library indexed on at least two machines. That's what I do and if you're using Bridge to manage an image library you should, too.
You launch Bridge and when normally the program opens and stabilizes you see it stall out as it "builds criteria" even though you've selected nothing. That means its trying to access the cache of the interface itself and having a damn hard time doing it.
Then you get the dreaded message: "Bridge encountered a problem reading the cache. Please purge the central cache."
Oh no.
That means all the indexing you've done has to be trashed and you need to start all over again. Which also means that you are unable to search your image library in the process. That's not good.
Well, this has happened to me a number of times over the years and it's never pretty. While you can't prevent this from happening you can anticipate that it will and work around it.
How?
Always have the image library indexed on at least two machines. That's what I do and if you're using Bridge to manage an image library you should, too.
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