Quick Fast Adobe Bridge Tip

Photoshop CS5 introduced the Mini Bridge panel as a means of accessing your images. While useful to have on hand, Mini Bridge requires the full Adobe Bridge application to be launched. If you want quick access to Adobe Bridge AND you want a panel that can float between ALL your desktop apps, then you need to starting using Compact Mode. Best part, this is a tip that you can use with Adobe Bridge CS2 and above.

Compact Mode can be entered by choosing View–>Compact Mode from the menu, the keyboard shortcut CMD+RETURN (Mac) or CTRL+ENTER (PC), or the program icon found to the right of the Search control.

Once in Compact Mode, Bridge will act like a floating panel regardless of which application you are running. Use Adobe Bridge when you need assets for a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation. Use it to move files between Photoshop & Illustrator. You can use the keyboard shortcut or click the program icon to return Bridge to Full Mode.

How will you use Adobe Bridge for your next project?