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Automate tasks in Adobe Bridge

Last updated on Apr 27, 2021

Run tasks from the Tools menu

Use Photoshop and Illustrator extensions in Adobe Bridge

The Tools menu contains submenus for various commands available in different Adobe products. For example, if you have Adobe Photoshop installed, you can use the commands under the Tools > Photoshop submenu to process photos that you select in Adobe Bridge. Running these tasks from Adobe Bridge saves time because you don’t have to open each file individually.

Note:

Third parties can also create and add their own items to the Tools menu for added functionality in Adobe Bridge. For information about creating scripts, visit the Bridge Developer Center.

Adobe Bridge also includes useful automation scripts. In Adobe Bridge, the Adobe Output Module script, for example, lets you create web photo galleries and generate Adobe PDF contact sheets and full-screen presentations. The Auto Collection CC 2014 script stacks sets of photos for processing into panoramas or HDR images in Photoshop.

Select the files or folders you want to use. If you select a folder, the command is applied where possible to all files in the folder.
Choose Tools > [Component], followed by the command you want. (If your component doesn’t have any automated tasks available, it doesn’t appear in the Tools menu.)

For information about a particular command, see or search the documentation for that component.

Batch rename files

You can rename files in a group, or batch. When you batch rename files, you can choose the same settings for all the selected files. For other batch-processing tasks, you can use scripts to run automated tasks.

Select the files that you want to rename.
Choose Tools > Batch Rename.
Set the following options:

Destination Folder

Place the renamed files in the same folder, move them to another folder, or place copies in another folder. If you choose to put the renamed files in a different folder, click Browse to select the folder.

New Filenames

Choose elements from the menus and enter text as appropriate to create new filenames. Click the Plus button (+) or Minus button (-) to add or delete elements.

String Substitution

Allows you to change all or part of a filename to custom text. First, choose what you want to replace: Original Filename replaces the string from the original filename. Intermediate Filename replaces a string that is defined by preceding options in the New Filenames pop-up menus. Use Regular Expression allows you to use regular expressions to find strings based on patterns in filenames. Replace All replaces all substrings that match the pattern in the source string.

Options

Select Preserve Current Filename In XMP Metadata to retain the original filename in the metadata. For Compatibility, select the operating systems with which you want renamed files to be compatible. The current operating system is selected by default, and cannot be deselected.

Preview

One current and new filename appear in the Preview area at the bottom of the Batch Rename dialog box. To see how all selected files will be renamed, click Preview.
(Optional) Select a preset from the Presets menu to renaming with frequently used naming schemes. To save batch rename settings for reuse, click Save.

For more information on batch-renaming files, see any of the following tutorials:

Stacking and renaming files, by Conrad Chavez
Batch-renaming, by Deke McClelland
Changing obscure camera filenames with the Batch Rename command, by Michael Ninness

Automatically stack HDR and panoramic images

Stack HDR and panoramic images in Adobe Bridge

The Auto Collection script in Adobe Bridge assembles sets of images into stacks for processing as high dynamic range (HDR) or panoramic composites in Photoshop. The script collects images into stacks based on capture time, exposure settings, and image alignment. Timestamps must be within 18 seconds for the Auto Collection script to process the photos. If exposure settings vary across the photos and content overlaps by more than 80%, the script interprets the photos as an HDR set. If exposure is constant and content overlaps by less than 80%, the script interprets the photos as being part of a panorama.

Note:

You must have Adobe Bridge with Photoshop CS5 or later for Auto Collection to be available.

To enable the Auto Collection script, choose Edit > Preferences (Windows) or Adobe Bridge > Preferences (Mac OS).
In the Startup Scripts panel, select Auto Collection, and then click OK.
Select a folder with the HDR or panoramic shots, and choose Stacks > Auto-Stack Panorama/HDR.

Note:

If autostack does not work on the folder, manually select the required HDR/panorama files in the folder and then choose Stacks > Auto-Stack Panorama/HDR.
Choose Tools > Photoshop > Process Collections In Photoshop to automatically merge them and see the result in Adobe Bridge.

Note:

For more information about panoramas and HDR in Photoshop, see Create panoramic images with Photomerge and High dynamic range images.

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