Indesign Interactive PDF - Where do i find the button attribute to be able to select a button to sho

[Maz67]

I want to be able to have my button tabs (that jump to other pages within my document) to show in the interactive pdf, but when aren't visible when the user hits the print button.  I've tried several ways, but not getting it to work.. any suggestions would be appreciated!

[Derek Cross]

You can have a word or words or an image (such as a button shape) as a document hyperlink to another page in the document, or to an external website.

Some devices, for example, iPads, don't have rollover capability – only click – you should avoid multi-action buttons like On Click, On Roll Over, etc. Multi-state objects (MSO) don’t work at all in Interactive PDFs.

[John Mensinger]

I've tried several ways, but not getting it to work..

If I understand the problem, it's not surprising, but you haven't provided much detail. In what way does it not work?

[Jeffrey_Smith]

Here is my guess on OP's situation:

Interactive PDF that has a hidden element. A button (when clicked) will show the hidden element, and allow the user to print. The PDF works as expected in Acrobat/Reader, but when PDF is viewed in a browser, the button does not trigger and show hidden element.

[John Mensinger]

Hmmm...I read it as "I want buttons visible in PDF, but hidden when printed."

[Maz67]

Hello Guys, sorry I will try to be more specific when outlining my problem.  I have an interactive PDF that has button tabs, that when clicked will jump to (say) page 2 of the document.  If the user wants to print the document, I want the interactive button tab, not to appear on the page when it is printed, but still be visible on the interactive pdf...

I've attached a screenshot of my doc..

thanks for your advice 🙂

[Maz67]

Yes John, that's correct.. 🙂

[John Mensinger]

Did you try...

With a button selected (in InDesign, pre-export), deselecting "Printable" at the bottom of the Buttons and Forms panel?

[Maz67]

Yes, i did try that.  Which did work, but it left the purple tab there and didn't print the words (so halfway there).  I then also tried creating the tabs as buttons as well, but that didn't work, I've also tried grouping the text and the tab but that didn't work either..

[Maz67]

This is what i get now.. having deselected "Printable" on all of the tabs.. now my question is how do I get the purple tab not to print - I've tried grouping the text and the shape, but that didn't work.. any ideas?

[BobLevine]

You can't just have the words in the button, you need to make the background purple tab be part of the button. That is the only way you'll get this to work and you should be aware, that there is zero way to guarantee that any of this will work with anything other than Acrobat or Reader.

[John Mensinger]

You can also then try:

Open the version with the tab and text grouped as the button in Acrobat Pro. Enter Form Edit mode, select the button field and open its properties. On the General tab, choose "Visible but Doesn't Print" from the Form Field menu.

Side note: Diane's advice is good. "interactive PDF" was something that never worked 100%, and never will. You'll be chasing gremlins like this for as long as pursue delivery of the format.

[Diane Burns]

Do you really have to use PDF? It has SO many problems with buttons and the like, with any kind of interactivity. Any chance you could use Publish Online instead? Document can be read in any browser and all of ID's interactive features are supported. Here are several sample docs: http://bit.ly/PubOnCollection

[Maz67]

Thanks Diane appreciate your comments and for the link (they all look amazing)... I had run this idea of publish online with my client, but they prefer to have the interactive PDF option at this time.  They want to be able to print their documents as well as view them interactively online.

Any thoughts about how I can combine a two buttons that can be visable in the interactive PDF, but not visible to print?

[Maz67]

Previously, I created two documents... one as an interactive PDF, the other as a printable PDF (where I would hide my interactive layers so it would be printable at all).  I was hoping to get away from the cumbersomeness of having to create two different documents (one for viewing and one for printing), but just having my interactivity be not visible when the user clicks the 'print' button.  I will go back to this though, If i cant solve this problem

[Diane Burns]

Just keep in mind, as Bob mentioned, the only reliable reader is Adobe's Acrobat/ Reader. If you can't control this on your user's end, which is usually hard to do, "Interactive PDF" really doesn't exist, and you'll need to look at something like Publish Online or Ajar Production's In5, if the interactivity is important. Good luck!

[JR Boulay]

"now my question is how do I get the purple tab not to print"

Turn them into non-printable buttons

[JR Boulay]

" "interactive PDF" was something that never worked 100%, and never will. "

It is exactly as if you said that the PSD format does not work correctly because software other than Photoshop does not interpret this format correctly (although nothing prevents them).

[John Mensinger]

It is exactly as if you said that the PSD format does not work correctly because software other than Photoshop does not interpret this format correctly . . .

Well not exactly, but fair enough. I'll clarify:

I've authored many interactive PDF's over the years, and I've had almost as many experiences in which one feature or another didn't work...in Acrobat/Reader. This is especially true of features that were initiated in InDesign pre-export. For software users, the presence of a feature or capability strongly implies that a realistically predictable result is not only possible, but reliable. However you'll find InDesign forum threads on the subject littered heavily with "it depends" or "MSO's aren't supported" and "you can only do that in Acrobat, post-export".

If you were to investigate, you'd find I've posted quite a few replies here in defense of Interactive PDF. That's because most of the interactive forms I designed are still out in the world working just fine. But I'd say that's mostly because they were all authored only without any InDesign-born interactivity and deployed into closed-loop applications where proper Reader utilization is reasonably assured.

Most problems with Interactive PDF arise when it's implied capabilities foster notions of a viable broadcast-delivery format for "rich media," and non-linear interactivity, which it surely isn't.

My replies in this thread were specific to the OP's application, and in that context I stand by the characterization I offered.