Have you noticed how many LDS apps are built to work together to make using them very intuitive and natural?

This is “interoperability.” Interoperability refers to a product or system (usually a computer program), that has the ability to work with other products or systems without restricted access or extra implementation steps on the part of a user.

While the term seems a bit technical, the results are non-technical so you won’t have to think about what’s happening in the background when using a software program.

Here are a few places “interoperability” in LDS apps makes your life easier:

  • Inside Gospel Library for iOS, when you pick “Music” and select a hymn, at the top of your mobile screen you’ll see a button that says “Open in LDS Music.” If you have the LDS Music app installed, the hymn will open with musical scores and not just text. You can stay in tune and sing along.
  • In LDS Tools when you locate a person in the ward or stake directory, the address links to “Maps.” You can zoom in and see street names and zoom out to map a path to where you need to go without having to go online and open a separate program. Maps and Meetinghouse Locator at LDS.org uses your unit directory and works similarly.
  • LDS Tools lets you create custom lists. You create the list and add members to it from their profiles pages. You can also use the “Add to Contacts” from the profile detail and the person will be added to your native “Contacts” app on your tablet or smartphone. From there add to “Favorites” and use your contacts to call your favorite members. If an address or phone number changes, you’ll need to manually update it, but it will save having to enter a pin number or scroll through many names to find people you contact often.

  • LDS Tools connects to your default email on your mobile device and uses your local email program to send an email from a member profile. Getting email addresses in LDS Account profiles and encouraging members to make them visible is a worthwhile goal. Other apps, such as Leader and Clerk Resources, use profile information and links to email and messaging to help leaders with their callings.
  • Your ward or stake “Calendar” in LDS Tools has a feature where you can pick an item and using an inline toolbar or share feature to copy the event to the local calendar on your mobile device. There is no need to copy and paste or re-type any information from one place to another.
  • In your “Family Tree” at FamilySearch.org, ancestors on your reserved list for temple ordinances may be shared with another person. With many youth getting involved in family history, finding names, and reserving them, this is an ideal way for them to share names with extended family. They simply check next to names to share, fill in a template and include the recipient’s email address, and click send. The recipient gets an email from FamilySearch.org with an invitation to accept the names and if not claimed within two weeks, they revert back to the sender.

Perhaps you know of other ways LDS apps or websites use interoperability features to connect apps so they work seamlessly together. Interoperability makes sharing and communicating easier.

If you have things you’d like to see interconnect, developers are open to suggestions and read the feedback they receive when prioritizing product enhancements. Look around for interconnections and add “interoperability” to your “non-technical” vocabulary.


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