Purging Adobe Bridge Cache

ACK! Ok, so I am a photographer, not a computer person. I'm a single middle aged mom going back to school and my minor is photography..... I am still learning all I can do in CS5.... I just recently noticed my computer slowing down and now I am getting a pop up when I launch Bridge telling me to purge the cache folder in preferences.
First off I don't completely understand what the cache folder is or what it does.
Secondly I know enough to know not to trust all popups.... so i need to understand what I lose if I purge the system.
Third... what options do I have to fix this problem?
Any help in basic untechy simple minded mom terms would be fabulous. I really need to understand what this cache thing is...and what problems I am going to encounter if I purge it.... and what options I have to stop the pop up but maintain integrity of my files.
thanks!!!
Jen

Any help in basic untechy simple minded mom terms would be fabulous.
I never have met a simple minded mom, and one who decided to go back to school could not simple minded so I leave that qualification to you, nevertheless CS5 is pretty complicated so basic untechy is not all that easy...
Without knowing what computer system you are on I give it a try.
Curt already told you that it was save to purge this cache.
The cache folder in Bridge contains data that is created by Bridge when it produced viewable thumbnails and High Quality previews, purging this data would only mean that you trash this data and have to let Bridge again build it's previews and thumbnails so you can see them again in the content and preview window. No more no less. So dumping this cache only causes you the problem of letting it run this process again.
This takes a bit time depending on amount and size of file, obvious the more files and size the longer it takes.
But be aware of the fact that it is possible Bridge Cache is not the only thing causing your computer to behave slow. Usually You should have at least 10% of free space left on your Hard Drive, this space is needed for the computer to write down temporarily files and data and the more space the quicker it will be but a minimum of 10 % is a common rule.
Also having multiple applications running and not having enough RAM (memory that applications use to store temporarily data) is also causing problems.
And to learn more besides from school try adobe TV and view some tutorials about Bridge.

Similar Messages

CS2: Adobe Bridge Cache File on Desktop...Why?

For some unknown reason...CS2 has started placing "Adobe Bridge Cache" file shortcuts on my desktop. When I click on one, I receive a Win XP error message that says the file .bc is unkown and can't be opened.
These shortcuts have never appeared before. Now the simple act of opening Bridge and looking at jpeg files seems to initiate it.
Questions: Why is PS doing this? Do I need to pay attention to it? If not, how do I stop PS from cluttering up my desktop.
Thanks!
Ed

Ed,
Yes you can. The cache facilitates the quick display of images in a folder.
When there's no cache, Bridge has to render thumbnails from every image file upon viewing a folder's contents. This can take a couple of minutes.
Rob
P.S.
>I do, indeed, have image files in a folder on my desktop.
This would mean that there is a cache inside that folder, *not* on the desktop itself.

Feature Request (again); Adobe Bridge Cache Manager

In Adobe Bridge, the Cache is still a problem and a huge memory hog. I asked for a good Cache Manager over 3 years ago when it was needed CS4.
Now in CS6, I am disappointed that the cache system in Bridge has not changed. Why do you have a section in the Adobe Forums that asks for 'Feature Request' and then ignore them?
http://forums.adobe.com/message/2652688#2652688
"I would personally like a tool within Bridge that allows me to manage and control the Cache in a more personal and effective way. I would like a toggle that would keep '100% previews' in one folder for a selected period of time (1 day to 1 month) before the folder's cache is automatically purged. And another toggle that would give me the option to keep a selected folder's cache permanently intact (such as an Important Portfolio Folder or an Edited Images Folder).
As a photographer, I take and edit a lot of photos. When I import a photoshoot with 1,500 photos (not uncommom at all) I enjoy having the Bridge Previews at 100%, but for only a limited time. Unfortunately, I forget to purge the individual cache of that folder and the cache builds to a point that makes Adobe Bridge CS4 very slow. I then have to Purge the whole Bridge Cache in order to make Bridge run smooth again.

gumbogood wrote:
A Cache Manager tool that lets me either schedule a cache cleaning on a folder, or keep it permanent, would be a huge help. And I don't think that it is unreasonable for me to ask this of Adobe.
If you submit a feedback poll where Yammer pointed you, and it gets a couple of hundred (thousand?) users agree you might get Adobe's attention.
I agree with Yammer that Bridge is a low priority project with Adobe. Think their target audience is the casual user with a few hundred photos added each year. Your use pattern is more specialized and you either have to adapt with scripts or move to another product IMO.
The size of cache takes a lot of people by surprise. It can grow humongous if you use HQ thumbs and save 100% previews. One can dump the cache in preferences, but many are reluctant to to this as they think it will delete all their keywords and edits. In addition, to do a search you have to re-index all your files, which can take a long time.
If you have "export cache to folders" checked, dumping the cache in preferences only dumps the central cache. To dump the folder cache you have to visit each folder and click on Tools/cache/purge cache for xxx folder. Again, most people do not recognize this. This technique purges both the central and folder cache for this folder only.
It the 100% previews are the problem for you it would seem like a simple task for the script people to write one that would delete it after xx days as the 100% previews are held in a specific folder.
Bridge is not a good digital asset manager. You are probably in that arena dealing with several hundred thousand images. Omke uses a DAM as it does some functions better than Bridge, but Bridge is still his main program. Can't remember the name, but if you read these posts you might have seen it.

Corrupt Files in Adobe Bridge Cache

Bridge has left me with corrupted files in Bridge Cache which I cannot delete, or scan with Macafee or look at with any other program I have.
When I access the folder containing the corrupt files my PC just hangs.
I have the latest versions of Photoshop and Lightroom running on Windows 7 (64 bit).
Can anyone help?

Apparently some programs can read them, but general advice is to use an underscore instead of a dot.
Before Mac OS X (that was based on unix) it would not make any difference how many dot's, commas, spaces, slashes, etc you where using, the file always opened in the correct application.
But used to that I soon came to realize that not all systems work this way and since I have to distribute my files for commercial use I made a habit of using only 1 dot in a filename and that is the one before the extension. No spaces (instead an underscore '_' or divider '-') and no other 'strange' characters like /, \, '', :,' etc. but normal alphabetic and numeric ones.
I also started to use the creation date in my filenames starting with yyyymmdd and some extra info and sequence number for series. Sometimes people have trouble to find or open the jpeg attachments from my Apple Mail send emails to a windows machine but otherwise I have no problems with clients. I like to keep it that way

Adobe Bridge Cache problem

When I try to open Bridge I repeatedly get a message telling me to purge the cache. I have tried doing this, but Bridge just runs very very slowly or hangs. I have to close my PC down to get Bridge to re-start.

Try the suggestions mentioned on the below article and check if that helps.
http://helpx.adobe.com/bridge/kb/troubleshoot-errors-freezes-bridge-windows.html
[Moved the discussion to Bridge Forum]

Work with the Adobe Bridge cache

This question was posted in response to the following article: http://help.adobe.com/en_US/creativesuite/cs/using/WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-736 3a.html

jugenjury,
Here is a post in thead "Bridge Slow to load thumbs, building criteria", where Bridge constantly rebuilds thumbnails. An interesting theory and seems to have some evidence to back it up. Do you have Generate 100% Previews Checked? J&K thinks this is problem in certain instances.
81. J&HK,
May 21, 2013 12:56 AM in reply to SandraChung
Report
Discovered today, 21 May 2013. HOPEFULLY, the ANSWER!!
Open BRIDGE
Select THUMBNAIL OPTIONS from the icon on the address bar at the right/top of the screen.
This should have HIGH QUALITY PREVIEWS checked.
Check GENERATE 100% PREVIEWS.
Immediately UNCHECK GENERATE 100% PREVIEWS
This should reset the registry key that causes BRIDGE to continuously reload 100% previews of thumbnails!
A further symptom that this is occurring is that once the folder has been re-cached by Bridge (before doing the above), all the image files in that folder will have 100% previews already (no "Loading 100%" when the spacebar has been pressed and a left-click on the image to load the 100% view), even though this switch is un-checked.).
It appears that something causes BRIDGE to set this flag in the registry (incorrectly), while showing the flag as not set in the visual user interface. Setting and un-setting the flag causes the registry key to be correctly re-initialised.
I have encountered this on two PCs running CS6. On my own PC, re-installing CS6 to fix the loss of the connection between BRIDGE and PHOTOSHOP also corrected the above problem, so it appears to be an intermittent fault when CS6 is installed. Sometimes the registry flag is initialised correctly, and sometimes it is not.
The other occurrence was on a friend's PC. That PC has also lost the connection between Bridge and Photoshop, so it could be that the registry "corruption" causes both problems. The continuously loading thumbnails (and displaying the message "Building Criteria ... " while Bridge does this) appear to be resolved by performing the above action (or by re-installing CS6). That PC's owner has now re-loaded a whole swag of his image folders in Bridge. Some have needed to re-cache the thumbnails. When this has been done once (relatively quick, now that Bridge is not re-building 100% previews), returning to that folder loads the Bridge database and thumbnails for that folder almost instantly.
On my own PC, opening a folder containing 900 image files (450 .DNG with original raw embedded + 450 large JPEGs, with user-applied metadata, takes less than 5 seconds). Changing this switch for an open folder immediately precipitates the long process of generating 100% previews for that folder. This is PAINFULLY slow! This operation can only be cancelled by re-setting the switch back to un-checked.
A study of two PCs doth not a representative sample make, I know; but it does seem to validate the theory.

Clear central cache? (in Adobe Bridge) message

I am using iMac with 10.5.8 and running Adobe CS3. In Bridge I am getting the following message:
"Bridge encountered a problem and is unable to read the cache. Please try purging the central cache in cache preferences to correct the situation."
I cannot find any cache under the Adobe folders so does this mean it is an OS cache?
Can anyone help? I think it is a Mac problem but if more expert users than me think it is an Adobe one I will try there for answers.
Your help is much appreciated, as always!

I've had this problem on and off for years. I would purge the central cache like it says but it wouldn't fix the problem.
Finally, I found out how to perform a master reset on Adobe Bridge and posted about it at the link below.
http://easttexashomestead.com/2014/08/adobe-bridge-cache-error-fixed-with-factor y-reset/
Bridge encountered a problem and is unable to read the cache. please try purging the central cache in cache preferences to correct the situation.
It sounds like you got it figured out, but hopefully this will help someone in the future.

Adobe Bridge Icon is Everywhere, What's with that?

   I have literally hundreds & hundreds of the [Adobe Bridge Icon] with the text following: Adobe Bridge Cache .bc or .bct.........
   These are everywhere imaginable, open any folder and see them. They are in the most unlikely places that have no connection to photoshop at all. The icons are usually paired, one with the .bc and the other with the .bct
   I'm always trashing them, it doesn't affect anything, nothing changes or happens by doing it. But, it's very annoying, there can be long strings of them especially in folders of pics. They can & do appear anywhere/everywhere but usually just in pairs, in or outside of subfolders but ultimately within a folder. Not sure, but come to think of it, they may appear on the desktop periodically. Also, when I do trash them they always seem to reappear later....maybe not all of them but most-
Is there a way to stop this?
I'm running Ps CS2
My system: 17" iMac G4: 1.35GHz, 1GB SDRAM, 80GB HD, 200GB Maxtor Ext.HD, Leopard 10.5.8.
**XLR8 MAChSpeed G4 7457 CPU+512 Cache**

This has nothing to do with Photoshop. Those files are Bridge cache files. In CS2, there was an option to use Central or Distributed cache. It sounds like you have the Distributed option selected.
[From: http://www.adobepress.com/articles/article.asp?p=483796]
By default, Adobe Bridge stores its cache in a central location. To make the cache more robust you can choose the Use Distributed Cache Files When Possible option in the Bridge Advanced Preferences dialog box. When this option is chosen, Bridge stores the cache for each folder in that folder. Doing so makes the cache more robust and eliminates the need to export the cache before burning a CD or DVD. However, this creates a pair of cache files in every folder. They are normally hidden, but you can view them if you choose View > Show Hidden Files. There are other caching options in the Cache submenu of the Tools menu, and in the Bridge Advanced Preferences.
regards,
steve

Switching From Windows To Mac: ACR Database, Bridge Cache Questions

I am planning to switch from Windows XP to the Mac running Leopard. I am now running CS2 in Windows, but will upgrade to CS3 on the Mac. I am maintaining my RAW file settings in ACR central database and my Bridge cache in a centralized cache file. I've searched the forums but couldn't find answers to my migration questions: 1. Can one move the ACR database file from Windows (in folder C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Adobe\CameraRaw) to a folder somewhere on the Mac to preserve the settings on RAW files that are also moved to the Mac? Or does one need to export individual XMP files for the RAW files in Windows and move both the RAW files and their associated XMP files to the Mac? 2. I have a similar question for migrating the Bridge cache from Windows XP to the Mac. Can one somehow move the Bridge cache over (I think it's in C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Adobe\Bridge\Cache\Thumbnails\) or do I need to export the cache for each folder and subfolder and move them over along with the folders and subfolders? I would appreciate any help or pointers to any Adobe documents or directions. Thank you.

Man-Kong,
Since you said that you were also migrating from CS2 to CS3 I would have said that their cache files were incompatible. That is what I experienced with CS1, CS2, and CS3 in the past. But Thomas indicated it should work. I must be missing something.
The XMP files move fine for me. The local cache (folder) files have completely different names with each version and I see no evidence that they can be shared. This is also a problem with archived CDs. CS3 always has to rebuild cache if they were archived from CS1 or CS2.
Since the central cache must have some folder references, and this structure will be completely different on Mac, I dont see how it can work. It doesnt work for scripts or actions either.
So my humble recommendation is to set your preferences to store cache and XMP files in the local folders where possible. Then simply bite the bullet. Each time you visit a folder for the first time in the new environment, cache will be rebuilt.
Cheers, Rags :-)

How do I manually delete Adobe Bridge CS6 preferences?

So I've come across some problems with Bridge not starting after I downloaded PS CS6, and many people have said to clear the preferences. I've tried doing the whole "hold ctrl & open Bridge" but it doesn't work in my situation, so I was wondering where exactly do I go to manually delete the preferences
Bad question no doubt, but will there even be preferences made if I haven't actually been able to start Bridge once?
Thanks,

Seem like the links to Adobe fact sheets are broken, so have not been able to find one on manually resetting preferences.
Since you have not set up cache for a different location it should be in C:\Documents and Settings\[user name]\Application Data\Adobe\Bridge[#]\Cache, at least that is what one source says.
If not there look in C:\Documents and Settings\[user name]\Application Data\Roaming\Adobe\Bridge[#]\Cache.
Be aware AppData is a hidden file so turn that on in Windows Explorer.
In your case I think you either have a bad install or there is some conflict with Bridge and another program on your computer preventing it from opening. Anti-virus programs are the #1 cause for problems.

Error Message: Need to purge Cache in Adobe Bridge CC (on PC)

I tried purging using Adobe Bridge by going to Edit/Preferences/Cache then purging, but it becomes non responsive. The error message said the problem files were at Users/(my user name)/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/BridgeCC/Cache. There are 4 files in there that are taking up 124 GB! Can I simply delete these files or will it corrupt my regular files? I tried doing as some other forums suggested and hold the ALT key down when opening Bridge before purging, but no luck.

Yes, you can delete the cache files manually, Just be advised that Bridge will become very, very slow until it finishes rebuilding its caches. Depending on your files, that can take a few minutes or several hours.
A good way of doing it is at night, so you can do it before going to bed and let Bridge rebuild caches overnight.
If you can, save the cache files before deleting them to an external drive, so that you'll have them as backup if something goes wrong.

I have problem with adobe bridge cs6. Every time I open it Bridge tells me to Purge Cache. I have CS

I have problem with adobe bridge cs6. Every time I open it Bridge tells me to Purge Cache. I have CS6 on two computers and it works fine on one of them. I have tried to reinstall it without succeeding to fix the problem. Does anyone have the same problem and a solution to it?
"Bridge encountered a problem and is unable to read the cache. Please try purging the central cache in Cache Preferences to correct the situation."

You must have a Mac. Try this.
Quit Bridge, from user library (NOT system and root library) preferences folder find and delete the com.adobe.bridge5.plist file manual. Do this also in same user library caches folder (Caches/Adobe/Bridge CS6) and inhere find and the folder called 'cache' and drag it to the trash.
restart Bridge holding down option key and choose reset preferences, then try again.

Every few minutes Adobe Bridge CC asks me to purge my cache. It is also running really slowly since I just upgraded to Yosemite.

Adobe Bridge is barely working after my recent upgrade to Yosemite (my computer is an imac that is less than one year old, and is working perfectly in non-Adobe programs). It never ever acted up for me, not even once, before. I use it frequently as I am a graphic designer. Previous to Yosemite I had NEVER gotten the purge cache message, and it never took longer than a few seconds to open folders with large amounts of raw photos. Now it has seriously effected my workflow, and I am considering just giving up on cc and reverting to cs5 which I still have on disk. I'm not going to pay the monthly fee if I can't use Bridge properly.
It frequently asks me to purge my cache, and also takes over 2 minutes to load a folder. I have the cache set to 500,000, and have tried all of the recommended settings and the problem persists. I just uninstalled and reinstalled bridge cc, and the first thing that popped up when I opened Bridge freshly after being reinstalled.... Was an message to purge my cache. This is really unexpected. Do you know what is going on??
Also, after Yosemite, Photoshop opens about every third photo as a mosaic of chopped up image parts and bright pink pixelated squares, then locks up so I have to quit out of it and reload photoshop.

I said that I had got back my Bridge today. It lasted 5 hours before it again crashed for the same reason with the cache problem. So it was only a temporary solution. I have maximum capacity in my Bridge cache. Every time I press the OK button after getting the message " Bridge encountered a problem and is unable to read the cache. Please try purging the central cache in the Cache Preferences to correct the situation", Bridge freezes.
Any other thoughts to remedy this please.

When I start the program I instantly see this message: "Adobe Bridge encountered a problem and is unable to read the cache, please try purging the central cache in cache preferences to correct the situation". I have tried this and it only results in a s

When I start the program I instantly see this message: "Adobe Bridge encountered a problem and is unable to read the cache, please try purging the central cache in cache preferences to correct the situation". I have tried this and it only results in a stalled/locked program. I have tried restarting my machine multiple times and tried reconfiguring how the cache is managed. Do you have anyone who could walk me through each step to correct this problem which just started two days ago. I have owned this program for at least a year now...

BOILERPLATE TEXT:
Note that this is boilerplate text.
If you give complete and detailed information about your setup and the issue at hand,
such as your platform (Mac or Win),
exact versions of your OS, of Photoshop (not just "CS6", but something like CS6v.13.0.6) and of Bridge,
your settings in Photoshop > Preference > Performance
the type of file you were working on,
machine specs, such as total installed RAM, scratch file HDs, total available HD space, video card specs, including total VRAM installed,
what troubleshooting steps you have taken so far,
what error message(s) you receive,
if having issues opening raw files also the exact camera make and model that generated them,
if you're having printing issues, indicate the exact make and model of your printer, paper size, image dimensions in pixels (so many pixels wide by so many pixels high). if going through a RIP, specify that too.
etc.,
someone may be able to help you (not necessarily this poster, who is not a Windows user).
a screen shot of your settings or of the image could be very helpful too.
Please read this FAQ for advice on how to ask your questions correctly for quicker and better answers:
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/419981?tstart=0
Thanks!

Why i am always ask to purge my cache in adobe bridge?

adobe bridge

I have gone to the Bridge preferences and purged my cache several times and that has not done anything to rectify the situation.
You still haven't provided much information (what computer, how much RAM, how much free space left etc etc.)
But in general, the central cache sometimes get corrupted, purging it in prefs is not always the solution, you might try it manual yourself. Quit Bridge and go to your user library (by default hidden, use Finder, menu Go with option to reveal) and inhere find the folder Caches / Adobe/ Bridge CC. In this folder are two files, a plug in and a folder called Cache. Drag both files outside the library, preferable trash, and restart Bridge to create both earlier deleted files again as new, fresh but empty files. Take a bit of time to recache your folder and try if this solved the problem.

Purging Adobe Bridge Cache

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