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ajrichardson
Participating Frequently
June 24, 2020
Answered

HELP - Video Content for Interactive PDFs

  • June 24, 2020
  • 4 replies
  • 2635 views

Dear Adobe Users,

I'm very simply trying to place a .mp4 file into an InDesign template to export as an Interactive PDF so that the video is available for viewing (package attached). 

When I got "Click to active" the content using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC - a banner comes up saying "3D content has been disabeld. Enable this feature if you trust this document" and once enabled another banner appears saying "This PDF's content requires Flash Player, which will no longer be supported after December 2020".

If I try to use the Rich Media tool provided with Adobe Acrobat and try incorporate the video material that way, the PDF just eventually crashes.

Am I missing something? How are people getting around this Flash Player issue? Are there any niche .mp4 settings I am missing? I've tested with media exported from AfterEffects as well as downloading samoke .mp4's online and the outcome is the same.

Many thanks in advance.

Anthony

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Diane Burns

Agree with BobLevine, mutlimedia PDFs are not very practical. Recommend instead you try Publish Online, built right in to InDesign, and available with one click.

Here are some examples, including many with video: http://bit.ly/PubOnCollection

4 replies

Diane Burns
Diane BurnsCorrect answer
Inspiring
June 24, 2020

Agree with BobLevine, mutlimedia PDFs are not very practical. Recommend instead you try Publish Online, built right in to InDesign, and available with one click.

Here are some examples, including many with video: http://bit.ly/PubOnCollection

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    ajrichardsonAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    June 24, 2020

    Thanks Diane_Burns - I've tested it and it works perfectly that way!

    Derek Cross
    Community Expert
    Derek CrossCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    June 24, 2020

    Have a look at in5 https://ajarproductions.com

      A
      ajrichardsonAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      June 24, 2020

      Thanks for your suggestion Derek_Cross!

      D
      Dave Merchant
      Legend
      June 24, 2020

      You are doing everything correctly, but Adobe is hell-bent on breaking rich media in PDF. They messed up by insisting that Flash Player be involved whenever someone wants to play video or audio in a PDF (despite there being no reason why the embedded MP3 or MP4 can't be played natively, just like your Web browser does), and now they're trying to force people off the bus by messing with the user interfaces in Acrobat and InDesign.

       

      FXL EPUB-3 is the way to go in the medium term, but it's a more complicated user experience at the moment (with the default EPUB apps like Apple Books you can't just "open" a random file or email attachment, you have to import it to your library, which puts a copy into some hidden folder you've never heard of and syncs it to your phone, etc. etc.)

       

      For info on all those warnings see here.

        BobLevine
        Community Expert
        BobLevineCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        June 24, 2020

        I hate pointing people to FXL EPUB because of the reader situation. Beyond the Books app, there's not much out there and even Adobe's reader app, Adobe Digital Editions is really bad.

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          ajrichardsonAuthor
          Participating Frequently
          June 24, 2020

          Thanks for the help everyone, I think I will just publish online as an alternative in the meantime!

          BobLevine
          Community Expert
          BobLevineCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          June 24, 2020
          My advice hasn't changed. The use of multimedia in PDFs is a horrible idea.

          Even if you can get it to work in Acrobat or Reader the likelihood of it working anywhere else is miniscule.
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