Bridge displays color images as b&w

Question

I assume this has something to do with settings in Bridge CS4, my platform is MacBook Pro OS 6.8.10.
This question might confuse some people. To beging with, I do shoot my images in RAW files, I even have Bridge convert them to DNG files.
Upon download the images are displayed in color as they should be for RAW files. After editing images in Camera RAW,  I convert most all images to sRGB. When some of those edited images come back to Bridge, they might be presented in B&W, though no color is lost to the file upon displaying in Photoshop, and I did not edit the file to be a B&W image. I have DNG, Canon RAW, Tif and Jpeg files, and most of these are displayed in color, but some are not, and I have not figured out the missing link just yet. So to be clear, I have Jpeg color images, displaying as b&w images, but they are color images. Only b&w images should be displayed as b&w.
This problems started once I learned I could edit one image in photoshop out of a series of images, then after editing, i could bring the single photo file back to bridge, and then copy/paste image settings onto a groups of images in Bridge, and all those images would then have the same adjustments made to them as a batch edit adjustment.
But now sometimes I get a B&W display on some images even when I do not apply a Bridge settings edits, and when I never edited the image for a B&W display.  I has to a setting somewhere in Bridge, and I just have not figured it out yet.
Thanks in advance for all suggestions:

Answer 1

ssprengel wrote:
Yammer asked a pertinent question that remains unanswered—is that “settings” badge (small lines-triangles-in-a-circle) shown on the B/W image thumbnails (at least).  If you’re not sure, then include a screenshot of a few Bridge thumbnails where some are color and some are B/W, using the little camera icon on the web version of the forum messages.
And the answer is NO!. I only have those showing up associated with the .DNG files (Camera RAW)
Another similar question would be if you see a B/W thumbnail in Bridge, try doing a right-click (or whatever the Mac equivalent is) and choose Open in Camera Raw.  Is the image in B/W or color in Camera Raw.
A <Control Click> (on MAC), opens the .jpeg file in b&w, as shown in the thumbnail.
Can you upload three versions of one of the images that display as B/W:  the original PSD/raw/TIF file, a normal Save As JPG that is in color, and a Save For Web JPG that is B/W?  Use something like http://www.dropbox.com/ and post a public download link to the images, here.
NO, I thought I explained that real well. Only the .jpeg file that was saved through the "Save for Web" processing ( that is, the a jpeg the goes through greater compression to reduce image file size for web display), is the image file process that produces the b&w thumbnail in Bridge ONLY. All opened images, of various file formats (ie: DNG, Psd, Tif, Jpeg, & Jpeg for Web), all present Color presentations (for editing in Photoshop, and or in display browsers). It is only the thumbnail of that particular jpeg formatting processing for Web Images that produces the b&w image "THUMBNAIL" in Bridge.
When you Save As JPG or For Web, are you ever overwriting the original image with a new one or do you always save the PS-edited image with a new name?
No, never. I leave my RAW files, as RAW originals, and work on newly names images files.
A theory about what is happening is that Bridge uses Camera Raw to generate its thumbnails, and the images that are B/W have some embedded Camera Raw setting, perhaps pasted from a different filetype, that makes CR think the image should be rendered as B/W, but when you open the images on Photoshop, you are opening them directly, without using the Camera Raw plug-in, so any embedded settings are ignored, and the image displays in its original state without the settings having been applied.
It makes since, (what you are saying), and it certainly does respond in that fashion. Your suggestion to open Ctrl Click, or Right Click to open the thumbnail in Camera RAW, was an interesting test, and the response was to open the previously save color image with a b&w thumbnail, into Camera RAW as a b&w image. So Camera RAW is responding to what is in the xmp settings that describes this images thumbnail to be displayed b&w. It is weird that a browser does not.
As to what is in the window selections for the "Save for Web" editing windows, Presets for jpeg are :
Progressive
Optimize
Embed Color Profile
And I use Embed Color Profile.
Even the Preview button at the bottom of the window, shows the color image as displaying color.
I vaguely remember about a year ago doing some CS 4 Photoshop and Bridge web tutorials from an unnamed tutoring website and guy named D_k_ . It is his fault. Just kidding, I actually enjoy those tutorial.
**** Okay, this is perhaps originating from Camera RAW presets, where you can apply previously made settings to other images and then saved them as Presets. Though I don't have this checked in Camera RAW ( still something goofy is going on there), I did find that in Bridge I can reset the individual "saved for Web" image thumbnail back to the the color image by :
Right Click  (Ctrl Click, MAC) on the thumbnail
menu down to the "Development Settings" and select :
"Previous Conversion", and this presents the color thumbnail.
I have now tested all the Camera RAW settings in Camera RAW, by opening an image in each one of these :
Image Settings
Camera RAW Defaults
Previous Conversion
Custom Settings
and then reducing image file size, and saving for the web, while changing file name, and each and every one of these Settings produces a Sepia Toned thumbnail. I found out the images were a subtle Sepia Toned image by enlarging the Bridge Thumbnails bigger for a better view. So I can correct the thumbnail after it has been created, but so far, I can't get the thumbnail to be correct on first creation of the web saved jpeg image file. Regular jpeg image file thumbnails save correctly.