MP3 stop playing when leaving page

I have a number of MP3s in an interactive PDF which I have set the following Lauch Setting property for:

 

Disable when: 'Disable Content' is selected from the context menu.

 

However, whether the MP3 is set to play on the page or a floating window, it stops playing when I leave the page. This happens on both a Mac running Big Sur and a Windows 10 machine.

The PDF was put together in Indesign (the latest version that will run on Big Sur - possibly 2023? Sorry, I don't have my Mac with me atm).

 

I've uploaded an example file. The MP3s can be played from the various boxes on the second and third pages. The main box triggers the MP3 to play on the page, whilst the icon with an arrow will play the same file in a floating window.

 

This seems like a bug rather than user error, though I'm not sure if it's due to Acrobat or from Indesign. It worked fine for me a few months back.

 

Thanks for any help that might be suggested!

By PaybyPlateMa @James29783211fbil

Hello,

Thank you for providing a detailed description of the issue you're experiencing with MP3 playback in your interactive PDF.

Based on the behavior you've described, where the audio stops when you navigate away from the page, this is the standard and intended functionality of how Acrobat handles embedded multimedia content. The "Disable when: 'Disable Content' is selected from the context menu" setting you've configured pertains to the user's ability to manually disable the content, not to its continuous playback across different pages.

Here's a breakdown of why this happens:

PDF Page Model: Acrobat processes each page as a self-contained unit. When you navigate to a new page, the resources and actions associated with the previous page are typically suspended or terminated to free up system resources. This includes the playback of embedded audio.

Audio Playback Scope: By default, embedded audio, whether played directly on the page or in a floating window, is scoped to the page it was triggered from. The floating window is still considered a part of that page's context.

Possible Workarounds
While it may not be possible to achieve continuous playback with the standard embedded audio functionality, here are a few potential workarounds you might consider:

Use a JavaScript-based Solution: It's possible to use JavaScript within Acrobat to create a more persistent audio player. This is a more advanced approach that would involve scripting to control the audio playback and ensure it persists across page changes. However, this method can be complex and may have compatibility issues with different PDF readers.

External Link with a Separate Media Player: Instead of embedding the MP3, you could link to the MP3 file on a website. This would open the audio file in a web browser's media player, which would not be affected by page changes in the PDF. This method has the drawback of requiring an internet connection.

PDF with a Single Audio Player on a Dedicated Page: If your PDF allows for it, you could dedicate a single page to be the main "audio player" page. Users would navigate to this page to start playback and then could use the PDF's navigation to move through the document while the audio continues playing on the dedicated page. This would require the user to stay on the page with the audio player.

Try a Different Format or Embedding Method: While it's unlikely to change the core behavior, you could experiment with embedding the audio using a different method in InDesign, if available, or try a different file format (e.g., AAC). However, this is not a guaranteed solution.

The behavior you've observed is not a bug but a fundamental aspect of how Acrobat handles embedded multimedia. If you've previously seen it work differently, it may have been due to a specific version of Acrobat or a different type of embedding that has since been deprecated or changed. The standard behavior, as of recent Acrobat versions, is to stop audio playback when you leave the page.