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kristof_2027
Participant
May 4, 2026 8:10 AM UTC
Answered

Export animations not working (buttons do work)

Hi, I am working on my exam (due may 7th) when exporting to interactive pdf my buttons are working but none of my animations work ? Can anyone help me out ? I have attached my indesign file and the exported pdf. Thank you so much, Kristof

BobLevine
BobLevineCorrect answer
Community Expert
May 4, 2026 11:02 AM UTC

I’m curious...what led you to think animations were supported in PDF? They have NEVER been supported. There is quite simply no way what your teacher showed you was a PDF with animations in it.

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11 replies

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Jeffrey_SmithCommunity Expert
Community Expert
May 4, 2026 6:15 PM UTC

The animations will work if you use publish online.

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BobLevine
Community Expert
BobLevineCommunity Expert
Community Expert
May 4, 2026 6:56 PM UTC

Yeah, I pointed that out and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that’s what the teacher was showing.

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BobLevine
Community Expert
BobLevineCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
May 4, 2026 11:02 AM UTC

I’m curious...what led you to think animations were supported in PDF? They have NEVER been supported. There is quite simply no way what your teacher showed you was a PDF with animations in it.

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kristof_2027Author
Participant
May 4, 2026 11:27 AM UTC

Well I did manage to get animations in the interactive PDF between pages so I guess PDF does support it somehow. I will share a link in publish that will not give me these issues...

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BobLevine
Community Expert
BobLevineCommunity Expert
Community Expert
May 4, 2026 11:34 AM UTC

Those are page transistion effects, not animations. Animations work, in addition to fixed layout epub, in Publish Online.

I strongly believe that either one is what your teacher showed you.

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leo.r
Community Expert
leo.rCommunity Expert
Community Expert
May 4, 2026 8:24 AM UTC

In brief: Animations in PDF don’t work, don’t waste your time and give it up. Include links to the videos instead. 

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    kristof_2027Author
    Participant
    May 4, 2026 8:46 AM UTC

    Well that’s something Adobe should look at ;-) My teacher did share some working pdf’s from other students so somehow they got it working… I will not pass if I don’t animate :-)

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    leo.r
    Community Expert
    leo.rCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    May 4, 2026 9:07 AM UTC

    It’s quite possible that someone managed to create a PDF where some videos appear to be working under certain conditions. However, it’s not a rule. As a rule, there’s no guarantee that videos in PDF will work, or will work reliably, or will not stop working at some point.

     

    Did your teacher test that PDF with videos in every possible PDF viewer, including internet browsers? Hint: It's impossible because the number of PDF viewers is infinite.

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