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marksheppard68
Known Participant
May 15, 2023
Question

Embedded PDF not displaying properly on mobile or tablet

  • May 15, 2023
  • 1 reply
  • 1563 views

Hello all:

I recently built a batch of Health & Safety Compliance training modules for a client.  They all consist of an embedded multi-page PDF of a SOP (that the users must acknowledge reading), and a quick knowledge check.  All of these modules are SCORM 1.2 residing on a hosted LMS.

The client recently informed me that when users access these modules via their mobile devices or tablets, only the first page is viewable...there's no scrolling function or means to review the entire PDF.

Am I forced into rebuilding all modules as "responsive", or is there a setting I can check to ensure the PDFs are fully viewable?

 

 

This topic has been closed for replies.

1 reply

Lilybiri
Lilybiri
Brainiac
May 15, 2023

You talk about 'embedded pdf', is that indeed the case? It may be better to upload the pdf to a webserver, and link to that URL (if the LMS allows it). 

I looked up the support for embedded PDFs in mobile browsers and learned that they are mostly more limited than is the case for desktop browsers. The way to navigate in a multipage PDF depends on the used browser:

Most modern mobile browsers have built-in support for viewing PDF files.This is from ChatGPT4:

However, the specific navigation options available when viewing a multipage PDF in a mobile browser may vary depending on the browser and device1. Some mobile browsers may have Next and Previous buttons for navigating through pages, while others may rely on scrolling or other methods

 

On my phone I always use a dedicated PDF app to view PDFs, but when a PDF is embedded in a Captivate output it will try to display in the browser. 

 

As for your last question: I don't think building a responsive project would change anything for the PDFs.

 

 

M
marksheppard68Author
Known Participant
May 15, 2023

Thanks for the swift response, Lieve. I can't seem to attach the source .cptx file, for some reason.

If I'm interpreting your reply correctly, my two options are: change the link location for the PDFs, or, include the SOP text directly into the body of the project, and just bypass the problem altogether?

Lilybiri
Lilybiri
Brainiac
May 16, 2023

It has never been possible to attach a cptx-file in this forum and BTW I don't download them myself. Other users may be prepared to do so.

Indeed, since you don't have any idea about which browsers are used by the mobile device users, and this seems to be very important for navigation in mulistate PDFs it looks like pushing the learners at opening the PDF using a dedicated PDF-reader would be a safe way. As I wrote before, this is valid also for a responsive project.

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