New York City InDesign User Group Home Meeting Summary Archive

Meeting Summary

Charts, Long Documents and Plug-ins, oh my!
Wed, May 27th, 2009 at 6:30 PM
School of Visual Arts Theater
Event Details

Thank you to all 137 members who attended the NY IDUG chapter meeting held on May 27, 2009.

Presentation on Scripting by Hanaan Rosenthal
Hanaan Rosenthal, author, business owner, and scripting expert for the NY Times, presented the concept of scripting for InDesign. Scripting offers designers the ability to perform repetitive processes in an efficient manner. He showed several uses of AppleScript to create data tables and charts. Hanaan uses scripting to generate the entire financial section of the Times. For those who are interested in finding out more about scripting or contacting Hanaan, visit: www.customflowsolutions.com

Presentation on Long Document Creation by Noha Edell
Noha Edell rounded out the meeting with a presentation of InDesign's long document creation capabilities. She demonstrated several InDesign features: • How to create long documents using the Book feature • Setting up a Table of Contents and Index • How to apply styles throughout a book • And more…
For a version of her presentation, you can check Noha's recorded session: http://my.adobe.com/p38082740

Also, the same subject matter is covered by Michael Murphy’s 5 video podcasts on long documents at www.theindesigner.com/blog/category/long-documents.

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IMPORTANT NOTICES AND REMINDERS
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If you have noticed the Word style mapping preset bug in the CS4 version of InDesign, and you want to see it fixed, please report it to Adobe. The more people who report it, the higher on the list of things to get fixed it will go. The problem occurs when mapping Word styles when importing a Word file. While you can still map the styles, you can no longer save them as a preset as before. So, if you have multiple files using the same Word styles, you will have to map them again and again each time you import a file. To report this bug (#2255226), go to http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform and fill out the form. You’ll be doing yourself and your friends a favor.

Special InDesign Magazine subscription offer to IDUG members
InDesign Magazine (http://www.indesignmag.com) would like to offer ALL IDUG members special discount pricing on a two-year subscription -- just US$39! This is a $30 savings off their regular subscription rate. Use this code -- IDUG09 -- to get this very special pricing. Just enter the promo code on the order page to have the discount applied. If you are a current subscriber, you can extend your current subscription for two years with this offer and pricing.

Remember to check your member benefits page for additional offers and discounts on training, magazines, books and workshops.

Thank you

Thanks to those companies who sponsored our raffle by providing gifts. They are Adobe Systems, Markzware, Apress, and Peachpit Press.

Job Opportunities

Job Description for Pre-Press Mac Operator

• Responsible for creating direct to plate PDF files to the jacket printer
• Extensive knowledge of PDF creation and workflows
• Knowledgeable in numerous programs including Adobe Indesign CS4, Illustrator, Quark 7 Acrobat, Photoshop
• Experienced and advanced knowledge of the printing process
• Advanced color correcting skills
• Ability to work well with and translate files from designers
• Train and support the designers on staff
• Supply support to freelancers so they can supply the appropriate files for output
• Act as liaison between technical/prep personnel at vendors and Art Dept
• A good design sensibility is helpful but not necessary

If interested please respond to Steve.Kotrch@simonandschuster.com.

Comments from attendees

"Meeting was fabulous. Noha's presentation was well organized and easy to follow. Highlighted key features in a linear fashion for producing a book. Her presentation style is motivating. Applescript presentation was great."

"I really needed and enjoyed the long document session and appreciate the new Grep style feature."

"Very productive meeting, I learned a lot."

"Both speakers were great. Could have done one talk per meeting.

"Wish there was more time for Hanaan to discuss Applescript. Thanks for the good presentation on long docs."

"Hanaan's demo was impressive, particularly showing how he builds the entire page of NY Times graphs in Illustrator and InDesign through Applescript."

Next Meeting

Our next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 18, 2009, so please mark your calendar. Our topic will be "Best Practices for Preparing Your Files."

Our special guest speaker is James Wamser (InDesign, ACI) from Sells Printing in Milwaukee, WI. His presentation will cover how to avoid common production problems when creating documents for commercial printing. Learn how to create PDFs your printer will love!

Photos From This Meeting
Photos are available from this user group meeting.
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