Can I add a print button to an interactive pdf that prints out a different document?

[BMurr2]

I have created an interactive PDF in InDesign, and the client wants to be able to print it out using a "Print" button within the interactive pdf. Due to the nature of the design, with interactive items overlapping each other, I need to create a separate layout with the elements that the client want to be visible when printed. Is there a way to add a button in either InDesign or Acrobat that will print out a completely separate document?

[try67]

You can use printing and non-printing layers to achieve that.

[BMurr2]

How do I use those?

[BMurr2]

I have Acrobat Pro DC 2015

[try67]

You should do it in InDesign.

[BMurr2]

Ok, a couple of things. I submitted this question to the InDesign forum and they said to try the Acrobat forum. Also, can I embed and entirely different file into that? because the Interactive PDF is the dimensions of an IPad, and the print version is designed to print on 8.5x11.

[try67]

It's possible to add layers in Acrobat, but I think ID is the more natural

place to do it. In Acrobat you would do it via the Layers panel on the

left. Click the Options button and then select Import As Layer, and then

set the settings for it. After you do that right-click it and select

Properties. You will then be able to set when that layer is visible.

Creating layers with different page sizes might be tricky, but try it...

[BMurr2]

I am going to try this in Acrobat but do you know how to do it in InDesign?

[try67]

Not off the top of my head. You can try asking over at the ID forums...

[BMurr2]

Can you set pages in a pdf to not be visible but they print. Also concurrently can you make pages visible but not print?

[try67]

No, only layers or fields.

[BMurr2]

Can I give a button the name print but actually tell it to launch an embedded .pdf file. Then the user could use the normal print button in Adobe to print the print-layout version.

[BMurr2]

Here is a simple way to put it. How do I make pages not visible when viewing a pdf digitally, but then print out when I print the pdf?

Second Simple question, How do I set a page as a none printable page?

[try67]

Neither of these things is possible.

[John Mensinger]

I've done something like this by using an attachment. In the on-screen document, I set a link to "Open a Printer Friendly Version". Here's how:

1. With your for-print document saved as a PDF (with a Print button visible on page 1, or all pages if desired), open the on-screen document in Acrobat and choose View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Attachments.
2. In the Attachments pane, click the Add a New Attachment button, navigate to your for-print document, select it, and click Open to attach it.
3. Back in the on-screen document, swipe-select the text you'll set as the link to open the attachment, right-click and choose Create Link.
4. In the [Create Link] dialog, set your appearance preferences, under Link Action select Go to a Page View and click Next.
5. In the Attachments pane, double-click your for-print document attachment, and it will open to page 1 in a new tab.
6. In the [Create Go To View] dialog, click Set Link.

By default, the link will open the for-print attachment and close the on-screen document. If that's the behavior you want, there's no more to do. If you'd prefer it opens in a new tab, go back to the on-screen document and enter form-edit mode.

1. Double-click the link field created above to launch the [Go to a page in another document] dialog.
2. Choose New Window from the Open in: menu.
3. Change any other desired settings under Options and click OK.

Although it requires the user opens the on-screen document in Reader (not a browser plugin), this is the best way I've found to have 2 separate documents deploy together without them getting bound up in each other's functions.

[BMurr2]

So I have figured out what I need to do to hide the pages I want to be hidden until I print. And the proper print functions for my "Print" buttons. but now I am trying to add the same functionality to File>Print and I am not getting the same results. THis is what I have done:

I turned the pages I do not want visible, but want to print into page templates and unchecked their visibility. I then added var a=getTemplate("Page Templatei Title");a.spawn(); to the "Print" button to spawn these pages before printing. I then added the this.deletePages({nStart: #,nEnd: #}); to delete these pages after printing. I got this to work as desired.

Now I am looking to add these javascript commands to the File>Print menu item. How would I do so?

I tried adding the above javascripts to Document Actions>Document Will Print and Document Did Print, respectively, but it did not have the same effect. Is this the correct place to add these?

[try67]

You can't attach code to the Print command under the File menu. You would need to create your own Print button, either in the file or in the menu items (using a folder-level script).

[BMurr2]

I have already created buttons that do this. Also if I can not add javascript to the File>Print menu item then why does Acrobat have a place for me to add javascript to it?