eBooks Beyond the Basics

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Laura Brady

eBooks Beyond the Basics

Friday, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

You already know how to export an EPUB from InDesign. So what comes next? This workshop will be a deep dive into some of the more complex issues in reflowable and fixed-layout EPUB – a full set of 2017 best practices for creating accessible EPUBs with rich navigation and a next-level reading experience.

Partly in InDesign and partly in the code, this will be a hands-on look at next-level EPUBs including topics like semantic markup, accessibility, images, CSS, media queries, navigation, and troubleshooting.

Come prepared to get your hands dirty in messy code – and to figure out how to tame it!

  • EPUB3: where are we now? Is there any reason to export as EPUB2?
  • What is semantic markup? Tips for exporting the best HTML from ID, and improving it post-export
  • Scripts, code editors and other tools
  • Building one file to rule them all
  • Tools for troubleshooting
  • Future-proofing markup into your development process

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Build a Mobile App Without Breaking the Bank

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Keith Gilbert

Keith Gilbert

Build a Mobile App Without Breaking the Bank

Friday, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Creating mobile apps with InDesign content can be expensive, often requiring a subscription to a service such as DPS/AEM, Twixl, or Aquafadas. In this session you will learn how to build a complete “content-first” mobile app for less than $200, using InDesign to create the app content, screens, and interaction. This workflow would work well for a project such as a travel guide, a “how-to” app, or an interactive annual report. You will learn how to:

  • Identify if your project is a good fit for this type of workflow
  • Use Adobe XD to quickly prototype and test your app ideas
  • Set up InDesign files for mobile content creation
  • Add interactivity to InDesign files
  • Create HTML output from InDesign using scripts or In5
  • Use Adobe PhoneGap Build (included with Creative Cloud) to build apps for iOS and Android that include your InDesign-built HTML content
  • Enroll as an Apple and Android developer and submit your app to App Stores

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The Future of Publishing: Seeing with a 2020 Lens

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Anne-Marie Concepcion

Anne-Marie Concepción


David Blatner

David Blatner

The Future of Publishing: Seeing with a 2020 Lens

Thursday, 4:45 pm – 5:30 pm

We’re seven years into the second major publishing revolution, but what has changed? And what is about to change? Get a glimpse into the future from our expert panelists, and learn how to manage your documents and workflow to best prepare for 2018… 2019… and 2020!


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Publishing to Amazon Kindle in 2017

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Kevin Callahan

Publishing to Amazon Kindle in 2017

Thursday, 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm

The Amazon Kindle is not just a device, it’s a platform for distributing books, magazines, apps, and digital documents of all sorts. And if you’re not publishing for Kindle, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to get your documents into people’s hands. Learn the “how-to” essentials from a master of Kindle production!


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Setting Up InDesign to Be the Hub of Multi-Channel Publishing

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Sean Harrison

Setting Up InDesign to Be the Hub of Multi-Channel Publishing

Thursday, 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm

Digital book production is usually done separately from print production. This means that every digital format — EPUB, Kindle .mobi, App data package, web content — has to be created separately, and becomes yet another product to maintain. In short, digital is alienated from print. What would it mean if the digital versions of a product could be created automatically from the print version? Peace, harmony, and unity? At least we could cut down on frustration, tedium, and mistakes!

In this practical workshop, we will lay out the path to integrate digital book production into the existing print production workflow. There are several milestones that we will examine on this path, including:

  • Preparing the InDesign book interior for digital production
  • Styles, not overrides
  • Bookmarks for document structure
  • Dynamic endnotes using cross-references
  • Conditions to differentiate digital content from print content
  • Articles to organize complex content for digital output
  • Image handling
  • Curating the book files as a “canonical living source” for both print and digital products
  • Preparing digital publications from the book source files

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Exporting Layouts to HTML5 Apps and Publications

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Chris Converse



Justin Putney

Exporting Layouts to HTML5 Apps and Publications

Thursday, 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm

What do web pages, EPUBs, digital magazines, and web applications have in common? Yep, you guessed it: HTML5.

Wouldn’t it be great to export your InDesign files directly to HTML5? Well, you can. There are quite a few ways to move your formatted content out of InDesign. What’s more, there are even solutions for converting animations, slideshows, media elements, and layouts from InDesign into fully interactive experiences!

Join Justin and Chris as they explore the possibilities of creating, enhancing, animating HTML with InDesign.

And once we have our HTML, we’ll discuss delivery options, including delivering your content as a Web App. Which means no app stores!

In this session you’ll learn:

  • Why HTML?
  • How animations work in HTML
  • InDesign tools for interactivity (animations, slideshows, interactivity)
  • Export options
  • When to use PDF
  • Using online services for document delivery
  • Plug-ins for advanced HTML exporting (in5)
  • The difference between (native) Apps and Web Apps
  • Converting HTML into native apps (PhoneGap, Baker Framework, LiquidState, etc.)

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New Web-based Collaboration Services for Publishing Teams

/in ,

Anne-Marie Concepcion

Anne-Marie Concepcion

New Web-based Collaboration Services for Publishing Teams

Thursday, 2:15 pm – 3:00 pm

The field of web-based collaboration and review is hot, hot, hot! If emailing PDFs out to remote clients and authors for review is slowing you down, you’ll be glad to learn about these newer, more streamlined alternatives.

Join Anne-Marie in this lively session as she runs through a bunch of solutions available today, many of which are free or low-cost.

  • Initiating and managing reviews using Creative Cloud services
  • Using 3rd-party cloud-based review services like GoProof, Tweak, and PageProof
  • 2-way collaboration with remote users via WordsFlow or InCopy

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Create Amazing Experiences in iBooks Author

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Erica Gamet

Erica Gamet

Create Amazing Experiences in iBooks Author

Thursday, 2:15 pm – 3:00 pm

If you haven’t considered adding iBooks Author to your digital publication workflow, give it a look in this session! Apple’s iBooks Author provides a ready-made, template-driven digital publishing solution, in a fun, easy-going way. We’ll look at what it has to offer, how it integrates with your existing workflow, and where it still falls short. This rapid-fire session will show you how an iBooks Author project can be an easy-to-use, interactive content tool to have in your digital publishing toolbox.

  • Why templates and widgets are cool
  • Where iBooks Author fits into your workflow
  • Using third-party add-ons
  • Integrate interactive files from Keynote, Sketch-Up, and others

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HTML First: Single-Sourcing to Print, PDF, EPUB, and More

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Nellie McKesson

HTML First: Single-Sourcing to Print, PDF, EPUB, and More

Thursday, 2:15 pm – 3:00 pm

In this session, we’ll explore why publishers seeking new, innovative workflows should look beyond traditional commercial desktop publishing suites and embrace open web technology as the building blocks for next-generation book authoring and production tools. Topics will include:

  • HTML5 as a semantic source format
  • Print typesetting with CSS Paged Media
  • Using HTML5 as a base format from which all other formats can be created

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Designer/Developer Collaboration for Digital Publishing

/in ,


Kim Converse



Chris Converse

Designer/Developer Collaboration for Digital Publishing

Thursday, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

When your design is done and ready for development, do you hold your breath and hope it resembles what you intended?  Have you heard the sentence, “Yeah, it’s not exactly what you gave me, but it works”?  

You can breathe a bit easier if you collaborate with your developer. You both bring skills to the table, right? Then why not join forces! Setting expectations of how your layout will behave in this multi-device digital world, and knowing where to compromise, can save time and anxiety. And who knows, there may even be an elegant solution trick up your developer’s sleeve.

We’ll take you through the process of delivering a design with assets and instructions for your developer. Then we’ll reveal what a developer needs to do to make it all happen. We’ll show, with a little collaboration, how you can both be happy. Win, win! 

  • How design is translated to HTML and CSS
  • Designer and Developer compromises
  • Workflow & production strategies
  • Getting ‘usable’ HTML from InDesign
  • Generating CSS from Photoshop
  • Exporting web assets from Photoshop and Illustrator
  • Animation and interactive possibilities
  • Free sample files!

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