Ufish IN User Manual
Your visual library for Adobe InDesign files — browse, search, and share your entire design portfolio without opening InDesign.
What is Ufish IN?
Ufish IN is a macOS app for graphic designers who work with Adobe InDesign. It indexes your .indd files and generates visual previews automatically, so you can browse, search, and share your entire design library without ever opening InDesign.
Your files stay on your Mac. Ufish never uploads your design files or uses them to train AI models.
First Steps
Click the + button in the toolbar or drag a folder onto the app window. Ufish scans all subfolders automatically.
The status bar shows scanning progress. Previews appear as soon as they are ready — you can keep working while this runs in the background.
Your files appear as cards in the grid. Each card shows a visual preview, file name, and action icons at the bottom.
Press ⌘. or click the Stop button to cancel scanning immediately without losing already-indexed files.
Browsing Your Library
Type in the search bar to filter by file name, tag, or auto-detected keyword. Results update instantly as you type.
Click the color palette icon to filter by dominant preview color. Only colors actually present in your previews are shown.
Click the tag icon or open the tag sidebar (right panel) to filter by auto-generated tags such as Flyer, Poster, A4, and more.
Click the heart icon on any card to mark files as favourites. Use the toolbar to filter and show only favourited files.
Card Icons
Each card in the grid has a row of action icons at the bottom. From left to right:
Click-Preview Modal
Click any card preview image to open a full-size preview modal. Inside you will find:
A high-resolution preview of the currently selected page.
Displayed at the bottom — click any thumbnail to jump to that page.
Left and right arrows to navigate between pages, plus a page counter.
Slideshow
Open a slideshow from the toolbar menu to present your work. Two styles are available:
Classic full-screen slideshow with a clean frame around each preview. Autoplay with configurable timing.
A layered photo-stack effect that fans through your previews. Ideal for presenting a design portfolio.
Use the toolbar controls to play, pause, and navigate. All slideshow windows open centred on screen and support full-screen mode.
Auto-Tags
Ufish reads your preview images using Apple's Vision framework and automatically assigns tags to each file.
Flyer, Poster, Brochure, Business Card, Catalog, Magazine, Menu, Banner, Packaging, Invitation…
A4, A3, A5, Letter, DL, Square — detected from layout proportions in the preview.
40+ known brand names detected from visible text in your preview images.
File Information
Click the ℹ icon on any card to open the File Information panel:
Cloud Backup
Ufish backs up your generated preview files to a cloud provider of your choice. Your original InDesign files are never uploaded.
Located in the right side of the toolbar.
On first use, pick from iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive.
Previews are copied to a private Ufish Capsule folder — not directly browseable by default.
A small animation confirms the sync. No progress bars or popups interrupt your workflow.
Subscription Plans
| Feature | Free | ★ Starter | PRO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Files in library | 100 files | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Preview pages per file | 1 page | 3 pages | All pages |
| Color filter | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Auto-tags | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Slideshow | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cloud backup | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Monthly price | Free | $2.90 / month | $9.90 / month |
Cancel anytime in System Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions. To restore a purchase, go to Help → Manage Subscription.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Troubleshooting
Open InDesign → Preferences → File Handling → Always Save Preview Images with Documents → Extra Large 1024×1024. Re-add the folder in Ufish.
Multi-page previews require InDesign to have saved page snapshots. Open the file in InDesign, make a small change, and save it.
Ufish scans in the background. You can browse already-indexed files while scanning continues. Press ⌘. to stop at any time.
Make sure the folder contains .indd files. Check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Files and Folders to confirm Ufish has access.
Go to Help → Manage Subscription → Restore Purchases. Make sure you are signed in with the same Apple ID used for the original purchase.
Support & Contact
ufish.pt — documentation, FAQ, and release notes.
askme@ufish.pt — we reply within 1 business day.