Meeting Summary: Using InDesign CS5 to produce Interactive Documents presented by Tom Piwowar

Wed, Mar 16th, 2011 at 6:00 PM

U.S. Navy Memorial Auditorium

Event Details

Wow!! What a great meeting. Nearly 300 people showed up for Tom Piwowar’s presentation on producing interactive documents using InDesign. This may have been the largest group we have ever had for a regular meeting, which is a testimony to Tom’s popularity and the importance of this topic. Adobe continues to put more and more interactive/ePub technology into its products. We can certainly expect this trend to continue.

The evening started with folks consuming a record 36 extra-large Papa John’s pizzas, tons of cookies and lots of water and drinks. People then chose to sit in either the auditorium or the Presidents' room where they could see a simulcast of Tom’s presentation. Tom’s use of real-world examples (with real-world problems) made the presentation seem more real. Attendees’ reaction to the presentation was all over the place. Some found it easy to understand, while others considered it quite complex. Most learned something they didn’t already know, which is the sign of a successful event.

Thank you

The turnout for this event required extra effort from a number of people. I'd especially like to acknowledge the staff of the U.S. Navy Memorial & Heritage Center: Andrea, Tony, Chris and the rest of the crew for getting the A/V to work in the Presidents' Room and keeping the place neat and clean while we ate and drank.

Thanks to all of you who calmly handled the confusing emails.

Upcoming Industry Events

2011 Print and ePublishing Conference
May 23-25, 2011, Washington, DC
http://indesignsecretslive.com/conference.html

Join the world’s top InDesign experts and members of the Adobe InDesign team for the InDesign event of the year! Find answers and valuable insight on the topics publishing for eBooks, print, interactive documents, and more! Be inspired by fresh ideas and new products. This two 2-day multi-track conference is followed by a full day of post-conference tutorials.

IDUG members can receive a discount on the registration fee. See the Member Benefits area for the discount code and details.

Comments from attendees

Very fun and unthreatening—informative, clear. Also clear that there's a lot to learn.

Tom is a very engaging presenter. I enjoyed his complete, COHERENT (sic) answers.

OK, my head is spinning, but in a good way.

This was special. I have struggled mightily to learn ActionScript.

Great location and it was so nice that you provided food. Maybe some cool music beforehand playing in the background.

I appreciate hearing someone very knowledgeable about ID and upcoming software who speaks with humor and makes it simple and easy to understand.

Next Meeting

The next meeting is currently scheduled for May 17.

Ken Chaletzky
Chapter Representative
Washington, D.C. InDesign User Group
washingtondc@indesignusergroup.com

Photos from this Meeting

See the photos