Flipbook or similar for online-based PDF viewing/reading.

[Joe_Caldwell]

Hello all,

I have for sometime used a Flipbook to display PDF documents online. The flipbooks look out of focus and the colors seem to be fading or washed out, unlike the original PDF file. The PDF looks much better, far sharper and the colors are just as bright as the original I created using Adobe's InDesign. The service I have used to make the conversion seems to have used Flash in the past but claims to be using HTML5 now. Despite this change I haven't noticed any significant improvement in the quality of the flipbook.

Question:

Is there an app or a way to display a PDF online so that the viewing experience is similar to that of viewing a flipbook? By similar I mean that I can set the document to be viewed as a spread with two pages displayed at a time but with both covers displayed as single pages. I would also like to have the ability to limit viewers to reading and not grant permission to copy the document. In case this makes any difference the document I have is now the single document in a subdomain so when viewers type that web address they already land on my flipbook document (and would hopefully equally land or arrive at the PDF version, if it is possible to do it).

Thank you in advance for any help you can share.

[try67]

No. It's either a PDF or it's a "flipbook". Can't be both.

[Joe_Caldwell]

Hello TRY67,

I understand your point and perhaps my question wasn't clear enough. The document can be and should be a PDF. However, my goal is to have it read and/or viewed with the aid of an app or some web-based technology that would allow the document to be displayed and read without the option to copy or download it. In case it can be flipped in a way similar to a flipbook, it's even better. However, this is an absolute necessity. All I want is for readers to land on the webpage and immediately have the PDF opened for them to read it.

[try67]

It used to be possible to do it using Flash, but that's gone now. Adobe doesn't offer any other means of converting a PDF into a flipbook.

Also, you can't control how viewers will open the PDF file. It depends on their browser settings.

[Joe_Caldwell · Accepted solution]

TRY67,

First I wish to thank you for your help and for taking the time to answer my post. I am grateful and appreciate your help.

I have found new information after some research that seems to solve my problem and wanted to share it with you and all others who may stumble accross these posts of ours.

The solution I have been trying to find is right here, created by Adobe itself. It's called Adobe PDF Embed API. This solution allows you to share a PDF online, control how it's viewed, and you can even block viewers from downloading and/or printing the document.

I am working on it right now. It's not working yet but I hope to have it up and running soon. The design is clean, seems like a great way to share a PDF online with a well-designed interface and precisely what I needed.

Hope this helps.

[try67]

Interesting. I wasn't aware of this new option. I suspect that what it will generate will not be an actual PDF file, but if you can share a sample link I'll be happy to look into it.

[snooque]

I'm somewhat in the same boat. I had read somewhere that I could turn my InDesign 'books' into pdf flipbooks in Acrobat. But apparently not! I just want to share that for the past few years I've been uploading my pdf booklets to a site that presents them as beautiful flip books that cannot be copied or downloaded. They can be viewed full-screen and I can log on to see my viewing stats, upload changes, etc. The site is issuu.com. It's a 'magazine' format, suitable for me, and free to use if you're just uploading and not selling, etc. Going forward, I want to be able to embed a pdf link on my website that will take someone to the flipbooks, slideshows, etc. that I create in InDesign and LightRoom (keeping everything in CC). I'm going to take a look at 'Adobe PDF Embed API' that is suggested below. Thanks for listening ... I'm now following this thread.

[jbshedden]

Very interesting. I produce a 40 page , monthly newspaper through InDesign. I currently source my "flipbook" out to a 3rd party. I am extremly interested to see if it can be done through Adobe.

Thanks

Jim

[LeeLove]

Can someone explain why the ONLY way to publish a flipbook is by paying a monthly subscription to a flipbook hosting company?

Isn't this a= PDF to HTML5 conversion with an embedded player?

When searching for pdf to html5 or "pdf to flipbook software" EVERY wants me to pay every month for a service I might or might not use.

And the ones that offer a free version do not allow me to host the flipbook.

I already pay for webhosting, I do not want to pay someone else to host an html5 document.

What am I missing here?