Adobe

Dynamic PDF documents


 

Creating a dynamic PDF document is a good way to create an interactive slideshow. You can create interactive documents with buttons, movies and sound clips, hyperlinks, bookmarks, and page transitions. You can also set up documents in InDesign that can be converted to forms in Acrobat.

    Create interactive documents for PDF

    You can export Adobe PDF documents that include the following interactive features.

    Bookmarks
    Bookmarks you create in the InDesign document appear in the Bookmarks tab on the left side of the Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader window. Each bookmark jumps to a page, text, or graphic in the exported PDF file. See Bookmarks.

    Movies and sound clips
    You can add movies and sound clips to a document, or you can link to streaming video files on the Internet. These movies and sound clips can be played back in the exported PDF file. See Movies and sounds.

    Hyperlinks
    In an exported PDF document, clicking a hyperlink jumps to another location in the same document, to a different document, or to a website. See Hyperlinks.

    Cross-references
    A cross-reference refers readers from one part of your document to another in the exported PDF file. Cross-references are especially useful in user guides and reference manuals. When a document with cross-references is exported to PDF, the cross-references act as interactive hyperlinks. See Cross-references.

    Page transitions
    Page transitions apply a decorative effect, such as a dissolve or wipe, when you turn the page in the exported PDF while in Full Screen Mode. See Page transitions.

    1. Choose File > Export.

    2. Specify a name and location for the file.

    3. For Save As Type (Windows) or Format (Mac OS), choose Adobe PDF (Interactive), and then click Save.

    4. Specify options in the Export To Interactive PDF dialog box, and then click OK.

    Export to interactive PDF options

    The following options appear in the Export To Interactive PDF dialog box.

    Pages
    Indicate whether all pages in the document, or a page range is included. If you select Range, specify a page range, such as 1-7, 9 to print pages 1 through 7 and 9. See Specifying pages to print.

    View After Exporting
    Opens the newly-created PDF file in the default PDF viewing application.

    Embed Page Thumbnails
    Embeds a thumbnail preview for each page in the PDF, increasing the file size. Deselect this setting when users of Acrobat 5.0 and later will view and print the PDF; these versions generate thumbnails dynamically each time you click the Pages panel of a PDF.

    Create Acrobat Layers
    Saves each InDesign layer as an Acrobat layer within the PDF. The layers are fully navigable, which allows users of Acrobat 6.0 and later to generate multiple versions of the file from a single PDF.

    Create Tagged PDF
    During export, automatically tags elements in the story based on a subset of the Acrobat tags that InDesign supports. This includes recognition of paragraphs, basic text formatting, lists, and tables. (You can also insert and adjust tags in the document before exporting to PDF. See Adding structure to PDFs.)

    Use Structure for Tab Order
    During export, uses the Tab Order specified using Object > Interactive > Set Tab Order. This option is only available for tagged PDFs.

    View
    Initial view settings of the PDF when it’s opened.

    Layout
    Initial layout of the PDF when it’s opened.

    Presentation
    Select Opens In Full Screen Mode to display the PDF in Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader without menus or panels displayed. To advance the pages automatically, select Flip Pages Every and specify the number of seconds between page turns.

    Page Transitions
    Specify one page transition to apply to all pages during export. If you use the Page Transitions panel to specify transitions, choose the From Document option to use those settings.

    Buttons And Media
    Select Include All to allow movies, sounds, and buttons to be interactive in the exported PDF file. Select Appearance Only to include the normal state of buttons and the video posters as static elements.

    Compression
    Choose JPEG (Lossy) to remove image data and possibly reduce image quality. However, file size is reduced with a minimal loss of information. Choose JPEG 2000 (Lossless) to export the file without lossy compression. Choose Automatic to let InDesign determine the best quality for color and grayscale images.

    JPEG Quality
    Specifies the amount of detail in the exported image. The higher the quality, the larger the file size. This option is dimmed if you choose JPEG 2000 (Lossless) for Compression.

    Resolution
    Specify the resolution of bitmap images in the exported PDF. Choosing a high resolution is especially important to allow viewers to zoom in on pixel-based content within your exported PDF. Choosing a high resolution can significantly increase the file size.

    Creating PDF forms (CS5.5 and CS5)

    Although InDesign does not provide tools for adding form fields, Adobe Acrobat does. You can create a form in InDesign that includes placeholders for fields such as radio buttons, check boxes, and text fields. Then you can export to PDF, and use Acrobat to convert the placeholders into form fields.

    1. In InDesign, create the document you want to use for the form. Use tables and text boxes to create the placeholders for the fields.

      You can also add interactive buttons in InDesign.

    2. Export the document to Adobe PDF.

    3. Start the form wizard to convert the placeholders into form fields. Use the form tools to add and edit the form. For more information, see the Adobe Acrobat documentation.

      • In Acrobat X, choose Tools > Forms > Create to start the form wizard.

      • In Adobe Acrobat 9, choose Forms > Start Form Wizard.

    Additional Resources

    Gabriel Powell provides a video tutorial about creating a PDF form design in InDesign and finishing it in Adobe Acrobat at InDesign and Acrobat Forms Workflow.

    The Acrobat team provides an article on Designing forms for auto field detection in Adobe Acrobat.

    Michael Murphy provides a video tutorial about creating forms at Acrobat Friendly Form Design.

    Bob Bringhurst provides an article about designing forms at Creating PDF Forms in InDesign.

    Preview interactive documents

    Use the Preview panel preview interactivity and animation of the current selection, the current spread, or the entire document. You can resize, dock, or float the Preview panel, or move it to a second monitor.

    1. Choose Window > Interactive > Preview.

    2. To preview the interactivity and animation, do any of the following actions:

      • Click the Set Preview Selection Mode button  to preview the current selection.

      • Click the Set Preview Spread Mode button  to preview the current spread.

      • Click the Set Preview Document Mode button  to preview the current document.

    3. Click the Play Preview button  to preview the selection, spread, or document. If necessary, click interactive items such as buttons in the Preview panel to test them.

      If you’re previewing the document, you can click the Go To Previous Page and Go To Next Page arrows at the bottom of the panel to move to different pages.

    If you edit your document, you can refresh the preview by clicking the Play Preview button in the Preview panel.

    Preview the document in a web browser

    1. Choose Test In Browser from the Preview panel menu.

    2. Click the interactive items in you document to test them.

    Edit Preview settings

    1. Choose Edit Preview Settings from the Preview panel menu.

      The Preview Settings dialog box shows the current settings of the Export SWF dialog box.

    2. Edit the settings as needed. See SWF export options.

    Use Presentation Mode

    Presentation Mode displays the active InDesign document as a presentation. In Presentation Mode, the application menu, panels, guides, and frame edges are hidden. The background area has a dark color by default in case your document size is a different proportion from your current monitor dimensions.

    Presentation Mode is a helpful companion feature to the Adobe Connect feature. You can start a web meeting by using the File > Share My Screen command. Once the screen sharing has started, you can put your InDesign document into Presentation Mode.

    1. Choose View > Screen Mode > Presentation.

    2. Use any of the following keystrokes.

      Action

      What it does

      Mouse click, Right arrow, or Page Down

      Next Spread

      Shift-click, Right-click, Left Arrow, or Page Up

      Previous Spread

      Esc

      Exit Presentation Mode

      Home

      First Spread

      End

      Last Spread

      B

      Change background color to black

      W

      Change background color to white

      G

      Change background color to gray
    You cannot edit the document in Presentation Mode. However with a dual screen monitor, you can have two windows open on the same document and put one of them into Presentation Mode. This approach lets you edit the document in the window set to Normal view and immediately see the results in the window set to Presentation Mode.
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