Viewing "Online only" file in Adobe Bridge

...particularly because the original answer to this question didn't seem to have a firm grasp of how one uses Bridge.

It's pretty simple... anything that needs to access a file, whether it's you opening it, a backup process, virus scan, etc., will cause Dropbox to download the file and mark it as Local.

Except for looking at file thumbnails in Finder... which is all I'm trying to do in Bridge, which then downloads the whole file.

I'm sure I (and the OP) aren't the only 2 users in the world who also use Bridge as part of our workflow, for whom it seems crazy that there's not a way to prevent this.

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spedwig wrote:

Except for looking at file thumbnails in Finder... which is all I'm trying to do in Bridge, which then downloads the whole file.

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And as I stated earlier, why it does that is a question for Adobe. Dropbox simply downloads the file because Bridge is requesting it. It has no control over the functions within Bridge or what it does with the files. If Bridge needs a file, Dropbox downloads it.

Ask Adobe.

Asking both places in hopes of an intersection of knowledge.
Nobody here will know how Bridge is seeking thumbnail/file information.
Nobody there will know how SmartSync is serving thumbnail/file info to Finder.

It would seem that both halves of that information would be necessary for a full understanding. I was asking this "community" in hopes that someone had already been through this and might have fuller information and a possible fix.

I believe that the solution to this issue is in the hands of Dropbox and Adobe together. As a service for their users that want to use both applications (and I think there are quite a few of us) they should work this one out.

Just wondering if there has been any progress on viewing the files thumbnails in Bridge.

Cheers

Hi sherridge, as file thumbnails aren't included in online-only files, any program that requests information on online-only files, such as viewing a thumbnail, will force the file to download to your machine. This would also apply to Adobe Bridge.

Thanks for the info.

With online-only files, how is it that the OSX Finder can see the thumbnails but Adobe Bridge cannot?

Cheers

There may be a cached version of the thumbnail in Finder itself the last time it was previewed, so it doesn't need to download the file from Dropbox. Adobe Bridge most likely can't access these cached images from Finder.

I don't think that's what's happening. Here's why.

I'm in Bridge with no thumbnails of some jpegs.

Then I right click on one of the files, to reveal the files in a  Finder window.

The folder window opens with all files having no thumbnails in the window, but just the little cloud icon on the corner of each file.

All of a sudden, all of the files refresh with their thumbnails, while still maintaining the cloud icon on each file.

If Finder can show thumbnails (and update these thumbnails without downloading the files), why would Bridge not be able to?

As mentioned previously, Finder most likely contains some form of cache of the file thumbnail, which might take a little time to preview.

Regardless, as Adobe Bridge is a third party application, if it requests any information on a file, then the Dropbox desktop application would detect this as a request for the file and would download it to your machine.

This needs to be revisited and looked into seriously since Dropbox and Adobe Bridge are both used in a daily workflow hand in hand.  In no way is it practical for a user to download every image JUST TO SEE A THUMBNAIL PREVIEW.

Dropbox must find out why thumbnails can be previewed in the mac Finder window, but NOT when viewed in Adobe Bridge.  Instead, they show up as generic image placeholders.  Who must we reach out to to get a proper response and a bug report submitted? 

Yep, totally agree.

If osx can see/grab the thumbnails then we must find a way for Dropbox to see the thumbnails too.

I may have to leave Dropbox after years of use if the thumbnails can't be viewed in Bridge.