Photoshop CC: The Missing Manual

Importing and Managing Photos

Bridge makes importing images a snap, and it can perform all kinds of wonderful housekeeping chores for you. For example, it can automatically rename photos and add keywords, descriptions, and copyright info to each file. You can also have it back up your files (either to an external hard drive you’ve plugged in or to another spot on your internal hard drive) as part of the process of importing photos from your digital camera or memory card.

POWER USERS’ CLINIC: Customizing the Bridge Window

You can customize the Bridge workspace just like you can in Photoshop, or use one of its built-in layouts. Near the top of the Bridge window is a row of workspace buttons that arrange the program’s panels in a variety of ways (see Figure 23-1). Here’s what each one does:

• Essentials is the arrangement you see when you first open Bridge: The Favorites and Folders panels are on the left, the Content panel is in the middle, and the Preview panel is on the right. It’s a handy workspace for sifting through files.

• Filmstrip is great for looking at photos you’ve imported. The Favorites and Folders panels are still on the left, but the Content panel is down at the bottom of the window as a wide, thin strip, and the Preview panel takes center stage. Photographers like this workspace because it gives ’em a nice big preview area.

• Metadata shows you all kinds of info about your images. There’s no big Preview panel in this workspace; the Content panel takes precedence, displaying ...