export InDesign pages as animated gif

[Patricia Childers]

Can I export pages in an InDesign doc as an animated gif.

I would like the gif to automatically progress from beginning to end of the book.

Almost like an auto progression in a slide show.

Thanks

[Peter Kahrel]

Nope. InDesign exports only the formats that you see in its export window. No (animated) GIF there, just PNG and JPG.

P.

[damianb_]

I believe the person asked a simple question, as Indesign has an animation function, and the 'go to' for many people would be a gif.

[Derek Cross]

You would probably better using Photoshop to produce an animated GIF.

If you want animations in an InDesign document you can use the InDesign Publish Online feature.

[Derek Cross]

There is a way using the InDesign plug-in, in5 (at extra cost):

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/in5-animated-gif-maker/dldadkjlkldanpbaicclkikgkgpgpflj

[Laubender · Accepted solution]

Hi Patricia,

don't know how many pages you want to process.

You could export the whole book to PDF files. One PDF file per page.

Then you work on with PhotoShop.

There is a script that comes with PhotoShop that can load a folder of images or PDFs to layers. Each image to its own layer.

From that you can create key frames with PhotoShop's timeline feature and export the result to animated GIF. For every key frame you do, a different layer ( a different rendered PDF page ) is visible in the stack of layers. Do that with the Alt key by clicking the Eye icon in PhotoShop's Layer panel. You can define the duration of every key frame in the timeline. You even could do tweens between single selected frames to do smooth blending.

Perhaps all the tasks in PhotoShop can be automated with a PhotoShop action. You could ask this in the PhotoShop forum:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop/bd-p/photoshop?page=1&sort=latest_replies&filter=all

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

[Patricia Childers]

Thanks, Uwe, I had tried uploading pdf pages to photoshop layers but ran into a problem with white backgrounds turning black in the final gif. After reading your message I tried it again after adding white to the background of all master pages in InDesign. This time it worked! Thank you, Patricia

[Eric Dumas]

 unless I am missing something in the original question, I would export to pdf, play that full screen while using ScreenToGif free tool to record as a animated gif the flicking of the book.

[kalieb20845839]

Just tried the ScreenToGif FREE app ... so easy and simple! Thanks for the lead. It is kind of crazy that InDesign doesn't include a way to export animations. This was such a huge time (and $$) saver.

[Justin Putney]

This option exports InDesign pages as animated GIFs:

https://ajarproductions.com/blog/2019/10/11/how-to-create-an-animated-gif-with-indesign-in5/

(Disclosure: I'm the creator of this product)

[Silke R23099732yjr3]

Quite expesive, sadly 😞

[m quiggl47890392]

There is another Adobe program for that, too...Creative Cloud Express. formerly Adobe Spark. Create in that software. It is not included in the CC bundle, however.

I believe we are being stretched too thin...

[brook22231196w6h1]

the entire adobe creative cloud suite is $600/yr and ya'll want $240/yr for the most basic export function that InDesign should already provide in order to make their product usable for this one...small...project. 

[Derek Cross]

The Photography Plan includes Photoshop, Lightroom and cloud storage for around $10 a month.

[Kevin2560403583lr]

Such a bummer that InDesign does not allow you to export as a GIF. This would be an easy export function for InDesign to include. The In5 add-on is great but way too pricey. 

[Derek Cross]

Why not use Photoshop to create an animated GIF?

[_Marika_]

I'd say that's what most of us do, it's just bizarre they have an animation pane in indesign now but no ability to export the animation as anything other than epub or pdf, both useless for web. Extra steps in photoshop are tedious and it would be such an easy inclusion. 

[PA-Sami]

well photoshop doesn't have the same mail merge preview / file relinking /layout features that indesign has. I honestly think it's more useful than adobe thinks. This is the whole reason I have a Canva subscription that I would happily remove as I hate uploading images that I could just relink to on my computer and save a significant amount of time.

[damianb_]

Absolutely. Also Publish online is as clear as mud, and links that it created didn't work for my team (for their purpose).

As for the Publish Online Dashboard, well, see attached.

Incredible, to me, that simple DTP tasks we did FAST and in VOLUME back in the 90s are a complete mess in 2022

[_Marika_]

I would like to do this too, I just found the animation pane and thought I could skip the tedious export to photoshop, import as stack & keyframe situation. Sadly no. DAMN it would be so easy to animate the sale ads I do in 502334323 different sizes directly from InDesign!

[kalieb20845839]

The ScreenToGif freeware worked FANTASTIC for me. I built a complex text animation in InDesign (the software I use most and therefore am most familiar with) as the animation features are SO simple and easy to use compared to the tutorial I watched for doing the same in photoshop or animate. It took about 90 seconds to download, set it up to screen record my InDesign and then save as a GIF. Highly recommend.

[_Marika_]

Damnit, like much of the design industry I'm on a mac... they only allow download on a pc

[Eric Dumas]

There is a Mac equivalent, GIPHY Capture

[Loic.Aigon]

Hi Patricia,

Allow me to jump in this discussion to ask you a question: if you could create animated GIF file out of Adobe InDesign without needing external tools, would you like having this possibility? 

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Loic

[m quiggl47890392]

Yes, I believe that for many of us who have to make 'ads' for social media would appreciate such software since InDesign does not allow, using only that software, to make animated GIFs. We must purchase another software to animate. 

Or why doesn't Adobe just buy Ajar? They buy lots of other programs to further expand their software capabilities... Just talking out loud here.