Carry all your handbooks in your pocket

Ok, I admit it. I am a techno geek. I love everything electronic. Give me $100.00 and tell me I can either spend it at Best Buy or WhiteHouseBlackMarket and I will run to Best Buy. Tell me I can spend it anywhere and I will run to my local scrapbook store By Design Scrapbook Boutique . But a close second is anything electronic.

So it didn't surprise my husband in October when I found a way to use my IPhone for scrapbooking. After receiving my Gypsy and playing with it for a while, I realized that there are some images that I need the manual to figure out all the layers or features of a certain cartridge. The whole reason I bought the Gypsy is to leave my carts and manuals behind and create on the go.

The it donned on me. I always have my IPhone with me. Figure out a way to put them on the IPhone. So that is what I did. There are two ways to do it.

Option 1
Create a book mark in Safari or create an Icon on your Home Screen for each manual

1. From your Home screen on your IPhone, hit the safari button
2. Go to cricut.com
3. Tap the information tab at top of screen
4. Tap Cartridge Library Icon
5. Scroll down to the desired manual (you may need to magnify your screen by using the backward pinch technique on your screen)
6. Tap View in the handbook column
7. Once the handbook comes up on your screen, tap the + sign at the bottom of your IPhone
8. You can choose Bookmark if you want to only add a Bookmark within Safari (very similar to "add to favorites" on your Internet on your computer. OR
9. You can choose Add to Home Screen
10. Whichever you choose, another screen will pop up giving you the option to name the bookmark or Home Screen icon.
11. The cursor will blink in the name field. Just type the name of your Cartridge in that field.
12. Tap Add at the top right.
13. If you chose add to Home Screen, your Safari will close and on your IPhone you will see a new icon for that direct link to that web page.
14. If you chose add Bookmark, when you open Safari, hit the little book icon on the bottom left and a list of bookmarks will come up and just tap the desired bookmark.

This option works for both the Itouch and IPhone. However, you need Internet access to get to the handbooks. So if you have your Itouch and you do not have Internet access you won't be able to see the handbooks. If you have your IPhone, you can do this but depending if you are on the G network, E network or wifi will depend on the speed of which the handbook will load.

Option 2

Use a PDF Reader and download handbooks to your IPhone or Itouch. This option works well for both because you only need Internet access for the initial set up. Once it is set up, you will just open the application on your IPhone and then open the handbook that you want to see.

1. Make sure both your device (IPhone or Itouch) and your computer are on the same wifi network (If you are doing this at home, more than likely your device is on the same wifi as your computer)
2. On your computer, Create a folder for the handbooks
3. Go to your Internet and go to the Cricut Cartridge Library
4. Download the desired handbooks to your new folder on your computer (To do this, click view on column for handbook, the manual will pull up in PDF format, when the handbook pulls up, tap file on the left side of screen, then 'save as" and find your folder, name your file and then click save.)
5. On your IPhone, open your PDF Reader application. (if you don't have one, go to the App store and search for PDF Reader and purchase. I think it was 1.99).
6. When you open your PDF Reader you will see an IP address at the top of the screen. (Get your glasses on because it is small) it will look something like this: http://%20192.168.1.205:2000/
7. Whatever the IP address is on your home screen of your PDF Reader, type it exactly as it reads on your computer in your Internet address bar.
8. You computer Internet will go to a screen that says "IPhone Http Server"
9. Tap the browse button, this will allow you to browse your computer and look for the handbooks you downloaded onto your computer earlier
10. Once you select the handbook you want to add to your IPhone or Itouch, click the open button on the screen and your computer file screen will close and you will be back at the Internet site for the Http server.
11. Click upload.
12. The PDF version of the handbook will miraculously appear on your IPhone or Itcouh within the application.
13. Repeat steps 8-11 until you have downloaded all the PDFs you want onto your Itouch or IPhone.

Remember, in order for you to get your handbooks onto the PDF reader on IPhone or Itouch, your computer and your device must both me on the Internet via wifi. Here is the link to applications official how to. But once they are on your device, internet access is no longer needed.

I hope this has been helpful. If you are more of a visual learner, let me know and I will do a video on how to do this. On a side note, I am in the process of updating my blog so you may see it change colors or see some wacky stuff. I can only do it in the morning between 4 am and 6 am, so sometimes I may need to leave in the middle of it. So I am asking for forgiveness in advance.