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.
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.
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.
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.
Forms 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.
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 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.
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.
Display Title
Choose what to display in the title bar of Acrobat when it opens your PDF. Available options are Document Title and File Name.
Language
Choose the document language for the PDF. This determines the default language for the exported PDF. If the required language is not in the list, you can also type the standard language ISO code.
Require Password To Open The Document
Select this option to require users to type the password you specify to open the document.
Use A Password To Restrict Printing, Editing, And Other Tasks
Restricts access to the PDF file’s security settings. If the file is opened in Adobe Acrobat, the user can view the file but must enter the specified Permissions password to change the file’s Security and Permissions settings. If the file is opened in Illustrator, Photoshop, or InDesign, the user must enter the Permissions password, since it is not possible to open the file in a view-only mode.
Permissions Password
Specify a password that is required to change the permissions settings. This option is available only if the previous option is selected.
Enable Text Access For Screen Reader Devices For The Visually Impaired
Lets visually impaired users read the document with screen readers, but doesn’t allow users to copy or extract the document’s contents.
Enable Plaintext Metadata
Allows users to copy and extract content from the PDF. Selecting this option allows storage/search systems and search engines to access metadata stored in the document.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
Note:
If you edit your document, you can refresh the preview by clicking the Play Preview button in the Preview panel.
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Edit the settings as needed. See SWF export options.
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.
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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
Note:
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.