Bridge sucks ....or is it just me?

[BEZ]

I have been doing some long overdue organising of my personal image archive. I have gone back to using Bridge (CS6) for a variety of reasons.

Dozens of folders and many thousands of images have the metadata changed and keywords added. Bridge works speedily and efficiently, then it hits a brick wall and comes to a near standstill.
It is driving me crazy  ....any ideas how to stop the blue circle of frustration?

My workstation has duel processors, 72gb ram, 4gb graphics card, SSD drives. It handles other intense image processing in its stride.

Cheers

[BEZ]

Purged everything and done a hard reset  ....it is whizzing along now again, but I doubt it will last long. Now I remember why I ditched it in the first place.

How does everybody else get on with it?

Cheers

[elsa hoffmann]

Bez I have been using Bridge for a very long time - (I am still on CS6) on a Mac, and I don't experience any issues. Probably not the fastest kid on the block, but it works well.

[BEZ]

Bez I have been using Bridge for a very long time - (I am still on CS6) on a Mac, and I don't experience any issues. Probably not the fastest kid on the block, but it works well.

Hello Elsa,
Nice to hear from you!

Purging the cache's and doing a hard reset has cured my issues for now. Historically I just always seem to end up getting it to stall after a while. And then I move on to other organising programs in frustration. This time I will take notice of any changes in the settings I end up making.
Because yes when it is working, it works well for my needs also.

Cheers

[elsa hoffmann]

     come to think of it - at times - not every time - after I have edited a shoot's images, I quite Bridge and Photoshop. Then at the next editing session it get's launched again. I dont do anything like purging or a reset etc. I do find Adobe a guzzler of battery and space, hence the close and relaunch.

[Erik Lund]

I have never had an issue with Bridge,,, Sorry to hear it's causing issues for you!

[BEZ]

Thank you Elsa, and Erik, for your comments  .....it looks like it must be me :-)

Bridge has always worked okay in my normal use. Issue's mostly arise after hours of writing metadata to images.   

Cheers

[John Geerts]

For viewing of RAW's, archiving, sorting,  importing Non-NEF files and occasionally RAW-development I use Faststone.    Fast and reliable.  And for free.    http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Thank you Elsa, and Erik, for your comments  .....it looks like it must be me :-)

Bridge has always worked okay in my normal use. Issue's mostly arise after hours of writing metadata to images.   

Cheers

Could this be an SSD disk issue? TRIM might have trouble getting fresh blocks for writing.

One should always ensure an SSD storage device is never filled anywhere near its nominal capacity. Think max. 50% and it flies along.

[BEZ]

For viewing of RAW's, archiving, sorting,  importing Non-NEF files and occasionally RAW-development I use Faststone.    Fast and reliable.  And for free.    http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm

John,
Thank you  ....yes I do recommend Faststone to family members and people with a casual interest in photography. As you say I should look at it for my use. I know it will be faster than Bridge, but it adds another step to my workflow.

Could this be an SSD disk issue? TRIM might have trouble getting fresh blocks for writing.

One should always ensure an SSD storage device is never filled anywhere near its nominal capacity. Think max. 50% and it flies along.

Bjørn,
I don't use SSD for long term storage, just images I am working on. I expect my image SSD has 90% free space.

After the reset yesterday, Bridge has done five hours intense cataloguing today with no issues.


Bridge is not the best cataloguing programme, and it may be that I am pushing it too hard. I am asking it to write a lot of data, and I am expecting it to be instant. I can use another faster program but wanted to simplify my workflow.

It seems other people get on with it okay, so I will stick with it for the time being and see how it goes.


Cheers

[DougB]

Also been using Bridge & CS 6 for many years on several computers (Non Mac and none of them speed demons!) No problems - as long as there's RAM left to play with. If it slows - close down computer, pour yourself a drink and re-start

[BEZ]

Doug,
Thank you for your insight   ...I have done two days heavy editing with it on standard settings. It is getting the job done, and I am being a little more patient with it.

Everybody's feedback has been very useful, thank you. 

[Ann]

I use Bridge daily and batch-process in really big groups in ACR (even several hundred FX frames simultaneously) and never have a problem.

The trick is to set Bridge to "Compact the Cache on Exit". If you do find that Bridge is slowing down, just "Purge the Cache".

I am now running Bridge CC 2018 which is much faster and more stable than its predecessors but you really do need to trash your old Prefs when you install a newer version.

I have no need of a Catalogue because I do make a point of entering Keywords (which is exceptionally easy to do in Bridge) and the Search function on a Mac instantly finds anything with a specified keyword anywhere on all networked HDs.

In the past, people have said that Windows has less effective Search functions but I don't know if that is still true with Windows 10.

[BEZ]

Hello Ann,
It is so nice you are here.

I misused the word cataloguing  ...I am in fact replacing metadata, and entering new keywords. My plan is to rely on metadata and keywords to find my personal images. If this works out I will not bother building a new catalogue.

Purging the cache, and resetting preferences to standard, has solved my issues for now. Because I had issues, and have had them previously. I did not want to continue the mammoth task of unifying all my images in bridge if this was likely to continue.
I am happier to persevere now everyone has shared positive experiences. Although Bridge is still a little slow for me, it should simplify my work flow.

Cheers