Adding multimedia to PDFs

Adding video, sound, and interactive content transforms PDFs into multidimensional communication tools that increase interest and engagement in your documents.

Acrobat Pro automatically converts video to FLV files. This format ensures both high-quality viewing and compatibility across computer platforms. FLV files are also compact, so converting multimedia to this format is helps reduce the size of multimedia PDFs.

All multimedia that is developed in Flash® as well as multimedia that is H.264 compliant can be played back in Adobe Reader® 9 and later. (H.264, also known as MPEG-4 part 10, is a video compression standard that provides high quality video without substantially increasing file size.) Video files of varying formats and filename extensions can be H.264 compliant.

Media files in other formats can be played back in earlier versions of Adobe Reader. However, users must install the appropriate application (such as QuickTime or Windows Media Player) to play the multimedia.

Another way to add multimedia is by entering a URL that refers to a video file or streaming media. Three types of URLs can be used: RTMP, HTTP, and HTTPS. Flash Media Servers use RTMP to host FLV files and H.264-compliant media files. On HTTP and HTTPS servers, FLV files and H.264-compliant MOV and MP4 files are supported.

Interactive content developed in Flash and produced as SWF files (.swf) can be added to PDFs to provide complimentary tools for text. Examples of applications developed in Flash include an RSS Reader, calculator, and online maps. For more information about the interactive applications that you can download from Adobe, see www.adobe.com/go/learn_acr_interactive_en.

Add multimedia files to a PDF

Acrobat Pro supports FLV files, F4V, mp3, SWF files, and other files encoded in H.264 (with AAC audio). You can convert other file types into one of the supported formats by using Adobe Media Encoder. You can also add mp3 audio files to a PDF for playback on any platform.

For a list of supported multimedia file formats, see this TechNote.

Advanced multimedia options (Acrobat Pro)

To view advanced multimedia options when you insert video, sound, or interactive content, select Show Advanced Options in the Insert dialog box.

You can also change these options after multimedia has been added to a PDF. Double-click the multimedia with the Select Object tool (Tools > Interactive Objects > Select Object).

These features are available for FLV and SWF files only. In Acrobat Pro you can convert supported files to these formats.

Different options are available in the dialog box depending on the format of the file.

Displays when you insert SWF files.

Flash developers can use the FlashVars field to add ActionScript™ variables for the selected file.

SWF file developers can select this option to replace the Acrobat Pro context menu with the context menu of the originating SWF file. When the user right-clicks the SWF file, the available options are from the originating file.

Use these settings to determine how the media is started and stopped, where it is displayed, and what is displayed when the media isn’t running.

Select options to determine when the media is played and stopped. From the Playback Style menu, select Play Content In Floating Window to have the video or interactive content run outside the page. Content in a floating window enables users to read the page and view the video or application at the same time.

Creates a black border around the video or interactive content. For sound, the border surrounds the poster image.

To use an image that is not part of the file you are adding, select Create Poster From File. Click Browse to find the image you want to be displayed when the video, sound, or interactive content is not activated.

Use this tab to list all files that are required to run a SWF file. When a file is displayed in the list of added files, you can click it to set the file properties.

When you click a filename in the Resources list, the full filename (including the path) is displayed in the Name field. You can rename the resources to ensure that scripts run properly.

Use to set up which play back controls (skins) are available.

Select the set of play back controls (skin) you want to be displayed on the video.

Click to open the color palette and choose a color for the controls.

Sets the degree of transparency for the play back controls.

When selected, hides the play controls when the mouse pointer is not over the multimedia.

Available when you are adding a video that is not in FLV format.

Drag the Start and End markers below the slider bar to remove unwanted frames from the clip. This option is only available when a video clip is first added to a PDF.

The poster image is displayed when the video isn’t playing. Drag the marker on the top of the slider bar to the frame you want to use, and then click Set Poster Image From Current Frame.

Use Chapter Points to create markers in a video from which to launch specific actions. For example, in a training video, chapter points can link to additional information in a file or on the Web.

To create a chapter point, move the slider to the frame you want to use. In Chapter Points, click the plus sign. To add an action, highlight the chapter point in the list and click Actions.

Insert video into Word and PowerPoint files (Acrobat Pro)

Acrobat Pro adds a feature to Word and PowerPoint that enables you to add video in FLV or SWF format to a Word or PowerPoint document. Video that is created in other supported formats is converted to FLV format when it is added.

After adding a video to a Word or PowerPoint document, you can convert the document to PDF and edit the video properties if needed.

Edit the play area (Acrobat Pro)