Someone asked why doesn’t Adobe just integrate all of the best features of Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign into one all-powerful product that can do everything?
Well, at the moment, I gave a short answer – “They don’t,” I said. “They might do one day,” he continued, “but for now, we have to use them all separately – though that doesn’t mean they can’t all be utilised as one single application.”
I went on to detail some of the best practises for combining InDesign and Photoshop in the blog, but there was one item I didn’t mention: Adobe Bridge.
What Is Adobe Bridge?
Adobe Bridge is a media browser or file finder, and it’s likely that you already have it installed on your computer. It lets you quickly find, organise, explore, preview, and batch process your content files, which include most image, vector, music, and video files. The application functions as a bridge or gateway between your most frequently used Adobe applications, such as InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator, as its name suggests. To break it down even further, the functionality of InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator are all different. Illustrator is used to create vector graphics, Photoshop is used to edit and enhance images and other raster-based imagery, and InDesign is used to combine all of your graphics into a single document or project.
When you use Adobe Bridge, you don’t need to combine the power of InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator into one mighty application because Adobe Bridge seamlessly connects all three (and other Adobe applications) to give you easy access to Photoshop and Illustrator files while you’re working in InDesign. Simply said, it enables you to get the most out of your creative projects’ workflow. Does that make sense? It should, because you can acquire it for free, either by itself or in combination with other Adobe Creative Cloud Projects. But, just in case you need more convincing, here are a few additional reasons why Adobe Bridge can help you improve your workflow.
The Best Reasons to Use Adobe Bridge :Placing Files Into Other Programs
One of the best advantages of Adobe Bridge, as I mentioned earlier, is its ability to allow the user to gather all of the digital files he or she requires in one single spot before starting work. Assume you’re creating a flyer for an upcoming event. You’ve created all of the flier’s individual graphics in Illustrator, but you’ve (smartly) decided to put the page together in InDesign. This is the point at which you should open Adobe Bridge. You can simply drag and drop Illustrator files into InDesign from within Bridge by selecting File > Place > InDesign.
Of course, you can utilise this functionality with almost all of the Creative Cloud tools, making it even easier to include digital materials into your work without having to go through a series of repetitious put commands and menu clicks.
File Management
This is the most obvious application for Bridge, but it’s also where it shines as a product. To be honest, no other application compares in terms of navigation, search, keyword tagging, and the capacity to manage mixed media files. Not to mention the fact that Bridge makes it simple to import files from a digital camera or external drive (File > Get Photos from Camera…) and move files to new locations on your hard drive without leaving its interface.
Mini Bridge
The Mini Bridge panel is one of the nicest features Adobe has given to (certain) Adobe Creative Cloud programmes in recent years. The Mini Bridge, which is presently only available in Photoshop and InDesign, gives you complete access to your files from within other applications, allowing you to open/place files as needed without leaving the app you’re working in. This is a tremendous time saver, and it’s only a matter of time before they include it throughout the rest of the CC product line. In Photoshop, navigate to Window > Extensions > Mini Bridge to open Mini Bridge. Navigate to Window > Mini Bridge in InDesign.