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Question

How to Click Through Interactive Buttons in InDesign

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
August 22, 2024
2 replies
1025 views

Hi!

I have an interactive button made up of rectangles (see grey boxes in image). When I click a separate button I want to show this button (essentially hiding some of the coloured boxes). The problem is that the coloured boxes are all links to pages in the indesign document and when I have the grey rectangle button turned on it seems I can't click "through" the button, even though there's no element there. Is there any way to solve this without making every single grey rectangle into a separate button?

Thank you

/Kaj

How to

This topic has been closed for replies.

Derek Cross

Community Expert

What is your final output format?

K

KajNAuthor

Participating Frequently

An interactive PDF.

BobLevine

Community Expert

Will you be able to ensure that only Acrobat and Reader are used to view this PDF? If the answer is no, abandon this project right now. Even if it's yes, you are most likely in for a battle that is not worth fighting.

Abhishek Rao

Community Manager

Hi @KajN,

I understand the challenge you're facing with interactive buttons and their clickable areas. Some suggestions that you can follow:

1. Ensure that the grey rectangle button is on a separate layer above the colored boxes. This can help manage the stacking order and visibility of interactive elements.

2. If you want the grey rectangle to be visible but not interfere with the clickable areas underneath, you can set its `Button` action to `Show/Hide Buttons and Forms`. Configure this to only show or hide the grey rectangles without affecting the interactive layers below.

3. Another approach is to adjust the transparency of the grey rectangles. Reducing their opacity might make them less obtrusive, allowing clicks to pass through more effectively. However, this might not always be desirable if you need the grey rectangles to remain fully visible.

4. If you find these methods don’t meet your needs, consider breaking down the grey rectangle into smaller segments or using different methods to manage the visibility of the interactive areas.

Could you provide more details about your current setup?
- Are there specific settings or interactions that are causing issues?
- What version of InDesign are you using?

Leaving the discussion open for more insights by our esteemed community experts.

Looking forward to your response and happy to help further!

Thank you,
Abhishek Rao

K

KajNAuthor

Participating Frequently

Hi Abhishek!

Thank you for your response. Your suggestion number 2 would work for me, but I can't figure out how to make the rectangles not affect the layers. How do I do this?

For information, I'm using inDesign 2024 on Windows 11.

Thank you!

/Kaj

Abhishek Rao

Community Manager

Hi @KajN,

I’m glad to hear that suggestion number 2 is a good fit for you! Sharing the step-by-step guide on how to set up your grey rectangles so they don’t interfere with the clickable areas below:

1. Click on the grey rectangle that you want to use to show or hide.

2. Go to `Window > Interactive > Buttons and Forms` to open the panel.

3. Then set up the Button Action:
- With the grey rectangle selected, choose `Button` from the panel’s dropdown menu.
- Click on the `+` button to add a new action.
- Select `Show/Hide Buttons and Forms` from the action options.
- Configure this action to hide the grey rectangle itself when another button is clicked. You can also configure it to show or hide other elements if needed.

4. Ensure that the grey rectangle’s visibility doesn’t obstruct the clickable areas by setting it to only appear or disappear based on your interactions. This way, it won’t block clicks to underlying elements.

Let me know if you need further assistance or if there’s anything else I can help with!

Thank you,
Abhishek Rao

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