Bridge the Gap Between Folders
In a perfect world every asset we need to create an InDesign publication would be in one folder, but we don’t live in a perfect world and so we find ourselves hitting the browse button to go back and forth between two or even more folders. At the very least it’s a pain. But there is a workable solution contained in the oft overlooked Bridge.
Enter Bridge’s compact mode. This mode leaves you with only the contents of the selected folder but none of the other Bridge panels. You can size it to pretty much the same size as an InDesign panel and place it anywhere on your desktop and by default it will stay on top of other applications. In full screen mode, InDesign would steal focus from Bridge and just cover it up.
With compact mode comes a little added bonus; the ability to open a second (or more) instance.
Here’s how to add “Bridge Panels” to InDesign and minimize the need to use the File > Place command and browse to different folders.
Open Bridge and choose Switch to Compact Mode from Bridge’s menu bar.
Bridge will immediately scale down and give you a thumbnail view of the contents panel.
Browse to the first folder you’ll be using (for an ongoing project you might want to add folders to your favorites). Position and size the window to a comfortable size and adjust the thumbnail size using the slider at the bottom of the panel. Now comes the fun part. From the flyout menu, choose new window and you’ll have second instance. Browse to your second folder.
As they say on the shampoo labels, lather, rinse, repeat.
You now have drag and drop fingertip access to your images or other files that you’ll need in a space no larger than any other panel and, as mentioned earlier, even when you’re working in InDesign and not Bridge, these panels will float above the application.
I’ll add one small caveat about sizing the panels. If you make them too narrow you’ll lose the ability to browse to other folder since the menu will be lost. If that happens you can always just drag the window out just a bit.
Finally a reason to try Bridge again! I know that it is a great program and every time I use it I find more that I like about it. In my normal workflow I just continue to skip it because it always seemed in my way. But using it this way Bridge is a real click saver. Way to come in and hit the ground running - thanks!
This is a very nice tip indeed! But I worried that new windows would mean a whole new Bridge instance and thus quickly add up to a major RAM drain. However, some quick test (on WinXP) showed me clearly that the memory increase is totally minuscule — it’s only the first (and in effect only) instance of Bridge which sucks up a non-minuscule chunk of memory, not new mini-windows. So even for us fanatical performance-watchers this tip is good to go!
You can open more than one Bridge window in full screen mode, as well.
Indeed you can, Sean and to be perfectly honest it’s been so long since I had two full windows open that I’d forgotten you could.
But for the purpose of this exercise, having two full windows open would defeat the purpose of having “Bridge Panels,” anyway.
I always have Bridge open on my second monitor with the default “clients” folder open. I then open new Bridge windows as I work on different projects (quickly looking stuff up).
By opening new windows from the ’starting’ Bridge window, I don’t have to go back to the ‘base’ folder.
If you do this and always want to start with the same folder open upon startup of Bridge, keep in mind that Bridge opens with the last viewed folder.
I have to say as a Bridge fanatic, this tip was still a new one to me, and it’s very cool! Great debut, Bob!
I’m also admiring those beautiful screen shots. Is that Vista?
I gave Bob’s debut tip a whirl today. I have to say it was a good one. Had an events section to do up for a mag and I just sat mini-bridge in where the panels go, finding and placing the images couldn’t have been easier.
I’d usually have windows explorer doing this task, but it doesn’t stay on top like mini-bridge does, so it is a welcomed addition to my work flow.
Good start Bob, keep ‘em rolling.
Vista Ultimate 64, AM.
Despite all the bad press, if you have the right hardware (and most people don’t, hence the bad press), it’s really a nice operating system.