If you’re so into InDesign that you read blogs about it, then I’ll bet this scenario sounds familiar: You’re driving around, running errands, or on your way home from work, and you think, “Man, I’m jonesin? for some face-time with other InDesign users. I just can’t concentrate on anything else until I learn a new GREP tip.” The tremors and sweating begin. You tighten your grip on the steering wheel and pray you can make it to your destination safely.
Friend, I’m here to tell you that there is no reason to suffer withdrawal. Pull over, whip out your iPhone or iPod Touch and tap the InDesign User Group app. Ah, sweet relief.
The IDUG app lists all upcoming InDesign User Group meetings anywhere in the world in chronologic order. Tap one of the meetings, and meeting details fill the screen:
Additionally, the meeting details screen has two buttons not shown above, Map this location and Email a reminder. The Email option creates a new outbound email on your iPhone/iPod Touch with all the details and the cursor blinking in the To field. I plan on using that feature a lot with InDesign users I run into who’ve never been to a user group meeting.
Weirdly, you won’t find the InDesign User Group app in the App Store … not yet, anyway. (I’m still trying to track down why that is.) Instead, boot up Safari on your iPhone or Touch and have it go to this URL:
https://indesignusergroup.com/iphone/meetings
If the page detects that you’re on an iPhone or Touch, you’ll see instructions on installing it as an app on your device (a simple thing requiring a couple taps). Note that if you go there from your computer, you’ll see something different, the main information page for the app itself. I’ve never installed an app from a URL, but it worked just fine.
Give the app a try … and remember, while InDesign User Group meetings are not anonymous, they are addicting. So be careful out there.
This article was last modified on December 20, 2021
This article was first published on December 9, 2009
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