MY
TRIP

AI Hands-on Lab

Make a Trip Book with Claude AI

The objective of this lab is to show where AI stands today. You'll use photos from one of your trips to make an electronic trip book. See the San Francisco demo book to get a feel for what you'll make. You'll be able to flip through it like a real book and share it with your family and friends. Along the way, you'll see what Claude gets right on its own — and what it has to infer.

Tap the small + square next to any heading below to open that section — tap it again to close it.

What to bring

Choose one of these three setups — a phone is required either way (needed to receive a verification code if you sign up with a non-Google email):

  • Phone + laptop — recommended: read the handbook on one screen and work in Claude on the other
  • Phone + tablet — a solid middle ground if you don't have a laptop
  • Phone only — works, but the small screen makes it harder to read the handbook and work in Claude at the same time

Getting set up

Before you start your book, you'll create your own free Claude account and a Project to keep it in. Take it one step at a time.

1. Create your account
  1. Go to claude.ai in your browser.
  2. Click Sign up.
  3. Choose how you'd like to sign up — see the two options below.
  4. If you used email: check your inbox for a message from Claude and click the link inside it (or type in the code it shows you). You'll then be asked for a mobile phone number and sent a 6-digit code by text message — type that in.

Sign in with Google email
If you sign in with Google, expect an email from Google titled "You shared some Google Account data with Claude." That's normal — it just confirms Google shared your name, profile picture, and email with Claude so you could sign in. Nothing to do here.

Sign in with non Google email
The phone number step only applies if you signed up with email — it's how Claude checks you're a real person in that case. It needs to be a mobile number that can receive text messages (not a home phone).

2. Turn on internet access
  1. Open claude.ai in your browser — on any device. (On a laptop, the Claude app works too.)
  2. Click your name or initials (bottom-left), then Settings.
  3. Open Capabilities.
  4. Turn on Code execution and file creation.
  5. Turn on Allow network egress — this lets Claude fetch real map data for your book.

The phone and iPad apps don't have this switch, so use a browser. You only need to do this once; it applies to every chat, including in the app.

3. Create your Project
  1. Look for Projects in the menu and click it.
  2. Click New Project on a computer, or +New project on a phone/tablet.
  3. Type a name for your project (like "My Trip Books") and confirm.

4. Add the rules
  1. Inside your new Project, find the instructions box — Instructions on a computer, Add Instructions on a phone/tablet — and tap into it.
  2. Copy this line exactly as written — tap Copy, or select it yourself:
    Build trip book by following the spec in https://xwueng.github.io/trip-book-builder/trip_book_spec.html
  3. Paste it into that instructions box, then tap Save.

That's it — your project now knows how to build your book. You won't need to touch this again.

Step 1 — Start your book and add your photos
  1. Open Claude in your browser and go to your Project. (Already set up? Skip to step 2.)
  2. Click the + at the bottom of the chat.
  3. Choose 3–4 photos to start with. (On a phone, tap each one — no need to grab your whole camera roll.)
  4. Click the icon to send them.
  5. Claude will ask for a title and the trip dates. Answer if you'd like, or choose to skip; Claude can work from the photo dates instead.
  6. Flip through your book on the screen.
During busy hours, Claude can take a little longer to generate your book — if the first page doesn't appear right away, just give it a few minutes.

Step 2 — Put it in order and polish

Have more than one small change? Put them all in one message instead of sending them one at a time — this saves you messages, which matters most on a free account.

Like what Claude did? Click the thumbs up icon below its reply. Not happy with it? Click thumbs down instead. To save tokens, skip "please" and "thank you" — just say what you want changed.

Made a lot of edits in one sitting? You might hit your usage limit for a while. If that happens, no need to worry — just wait a few hours and pick up right where you left off.

Ask Claude to make any of these changes — just type or say it in plain language.

What you want to doWhat to type/say
Change the order"Move the bridge photo to the front."
Remove a photo"Remove the blurry photo on page 4."
Add a fact"Add a fact about the Cliffs of Moher."
Confirm an inferred locationSee a "confirm venue" tag on a photo? Claude inferred the spot — tell it the real place: "That's actually Fisherman's Wharf."
Fix the wording"Change the line on the castle photo to…"

Example — one message, three edits: "Move the bridge photo to the front, remove the blurry photo on page 4, and change the line on the castle photo to 'We got soaked but couldn't stop laughing.'"

Flip through and check it reads the way you want.

Words to help you remember

You don't need fancy words. One true sentence is plenty. Finish one of these for a photo:

  • "This was the moment we…"
  • "I'll always remember the…"
  • "We didn't expect…"
  • "The best part of this day was…"
  • "We laughed because…"
  • "This is where we…"

Or just ask Claude: "Give me a question about this photo."

Step 3 — Share your book

When your book looks right, Claude asks how you want to share it. Type the number of your choice:

  • Get a PDF — works on any account, including free ones. Claude makes a PDF file you can attach to an email or text. The pages don't turn like the live book, but everything else looks the same. Always get the PDF from Claude; saving the book as a PDF through your browser's print menu doesn't work.
  • Share a public link — paid accounts only. A web address you paste into an email or text. Whoever gets it can open your book in any browser on any device and flip through the pages. Only send it to people you'd share these photos with. If you change your book later, the same link shows the new version, so there's no need to send a new one.
  • Not now — keep working and share later.

Then show the class your cover and one favourite page!

What Claude AI does and doesn't

A quick summary of what's happening behind the scenes as you build your book:

#What Claude does for youHow
1Builds your trip bookFollows your instructions to turn photos into a flip-through book
2Reads your photosDescribes what's in each photo and infers the place; flags any it's unsure about so you can confirm
3Edits on requestMakes the change you ask for in chat — moves a photo, changes the cover color, makes the fonts bigger, and more
4Shares your bookMakes a PDF, or publishes a public link on paid accounts
5Runs on a token budgetEvery message costs a little bit of Claude's "fuel" (called tokens) — bundling your edits into one message is like carpooling instead of five solo trips, stretching your usage budget so you can fit in more edits before you hit the limit

Limited by: account type and book size. Public links need a paid account and work up to 16 MB; otherwise Claude makes a PDF (see Step 3).

Doesn't: Claude doesn't generate a perfect trip book. The book might have misalignment, truncated text, or other rough spots — check it over before sharing.

Questions & feedback

Have a question after class, or something to tell us? Open the Questions & Feedback page. It has answers to common questions and a short form. No account or sign-in needed. Leave your email if you'd like a reply. Your family can use it too. Names and emails are never posted on the page.

Extra — try it again on something new

You already know how this works: send photos, tell Claude about them in your own words, then share what you made. Pick one of the ideas below, then either start a new chat in the same Project or start a whole new Project — either works. Tell Claude what kind of book you're making this time, then send your photos.

  • Recipe book — Photos of dishes you cook, with the story behind each one. ("My mother taught me this one.")
  • Pet memory book — Photos of a pet, one per page, with a note about each.
  • Garden or craft journal — Photos of a garden through the seasons, or a project you're making, showing how it changed over time.
  • Short life-story page — A few photos from years ago, one memory per page.

Last updated: 2026-10-20 23:52 UTC